ABSTRACT
The social transformation, which had begun in the political sphere, soon spread to the economic sphere. In all the countries studied there have been cuts in state social benefits since the beginning of the political transformation process - either indirect cuts as a result of increasing inflation rates, or direct cuts through the reduction of subsidies, price increases or the abolition of specific measures. The changes in the employment sphere which have taken place in the former socialist countries since the transformation process began differ in extent and in the way they are seen in the individual countries. In the former socialist countries there were sufficient social measures making the future of the individual secure. One important consequence of the social transformation processes in the Eastern European countries is the reduction in the desire to have children.
