ABSTRACT
The 40-year socialist period is sometimes described, with a typical bitter Czech sense of humour, as 'a long, hard and distressing road from capitalism to capitalism' [Krasny, 1992]. Although tremendous changes have occurred since the fall of the communist regime, the old regime still strongly influences the contemporary patterns of society, the economy and the everyday life of people in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. Nevertheless, the gap is narrowing between East and West. Distribution is also experiencing convergence.
