Economic transition in Hungary and East Germany : gradualism and shock therapy in catch-up development / Johannes Stephan.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Stephan, Johannes, 1966-

Contributor:

Class of 1897 Book Fund.

Series:

Studies in economic transition

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Hungary--Economic policy--1989-.

Hungary.

Economic policy.

Hungary--Economic conditions--1989-.

Economic conditions.

Germany--Economic policy--1990-.

Germany.

Germany--Economic conditions--1990-.

Physical Description:

xv, 293 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm.

Place of Publication:

Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire : Macmillan Press ; New York, N.Y. : St. Martin's Press, 1999.

Summary:

What factors determine the success of economic transition, development and growth? This book examines the contrast between the two diametrically different cases of the East German shock therapy in the early 1990s and Hungary's gradualism that had begun in the 1960s prior to the collapse of the communist regime.

Methodologically, the analysis uses the experience from the East German case of full and immediate integration to generate a set of generalisable necessary conditions of catch-up development which are subsequently reflected against the most recent developments in Hungary. The assumption that economic development in post-socialist economies could best be promoted by their full and immediate integration proved to be misconceived in the East German case, and thereby highlights the danger of premature integration for Hungary. This authoritative comparison between two paradigmatic experiences of transition and true policy recommendations offered make this book of interest to all scholars and policy-makers interested in the economics of transition.

Contents:

List of Figures ix

List of Tables x

List of Abbreviations xii

Series Editors' Preface xiv

1.1 The Two Polarised Paths of Systemic Transformation in Hungary and East Germany 3

1.2 Systemic Transformation and Economic Catch-up Development 5

1.3 Reader's Guide 12

II Shock Therapy in the New Bundeslander

2 East Germany's Economic Integration and Socialist Legacies 27

2.1 East Germany's Economic Structure Inherited from the Socialist Era 28

2.2 East Germany's Integration and the Need for Economic Restructuring 40

2.3 'Sell or Slaughter' Privatisation in East Germany and the Treuhandanstalt 47

3 German Monetary Union and Currency Reform 51

3.1 The Introduction of the DM as the Importation of Monetary Stability 51

3.2 Implications of the Conversion Rate 57

4 German Unification and the Prospects for Catch-up Development 72

4.1 The Overvaluation of East Germany's Stock of Capital 76

4.2 The Possibility of a German Mezzogiorno in the East 80

III Hungary's Gradualism and Catch-up Development

5 The Development of a Financial Sector in Hungary 105

5.1 Financial Sectors in PSEs: General Considerations 106

5.2 Reforms of the Hungarian Banking System 117

5.3 Hungarian Consolidation Efforts 137

6 Monetary Stabilisation Policies in Hungary: Constraints and Opportunities 150

6.1 Transitional Monetary Instability 150

6.2 Restrictive Monetary Policy and Economic Development 159

6.3 Income Policy and Monetary Stabilisation 164

7 Hungarian Foreign Trade and Catch-up Development 177

7.1 Integration and the Complementary Advantages of Regional Co-operation 177

7.2 'Outward Orientation' as a Condition for Catch-up Development 190

8 The Austerity Programme: A Strategic Reorientation? 223

8.1 The Macroeconomic Developments of 1993 and 1994 225

8.2 The Austerity Programme and its Initial Results 235

8.3 The Scope of Hungary's Strategic Reorientation in Light of the Conditions of Economic Development 240

9.1 Systemic Transformation and 'Premature Integration': The East German Case 252

9.2 The Priority of Monetary Stability in Catch-up Development: The Hungarian Case 254

Name Index 283

Subject Index 286.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 257-281) and index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Class of 1897 Book Fund.

ISBN:

0333751434

0312219911

OCLC:

43341173