ABSTRACT
Economic reform and transition of socialist societies affect more than a quarter of the world’s population. The process began with the experiments in some east European countries during the 1960s, which was followed by China from 1978. The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 opened the way for comprehensive political and economic transformation across central and eastern Europe and eventually led to the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1992. There is no doubt that this transition represents an important progress in the societies affected and paved the way for a long-term freedom and prosperity among their people. At the same time, the transition has brought with it many social and economic problems, such as a decline in GDP,
collapse of the old industrial factories, large-scale increases in unemployment, inequalities in income distribution and the emergence of poverty.
