ABSTRACT
The international community places priority on energy in the transition economies because security trade and environmental concerns compel it. It is possible to understand change in the array of economies by concentrating on the larger countries and on the strong connections between energy and economy and energy and environment in those countries. The economies in transition encompass over 400 million people living in the regions of Central and Eastern Europe, Russia, and Central Asia. High energy intensity could be economically efficient in places where energy costs are low, or when a less-developed nation must produce large quantities of energy-intensive basic materials, or when labor and capital costs are relatively high. Fortunately for environmental energy economists, reform has resulted in some improved energy efficiency at least as measured in terms of energy intensity. Implementing hard budget constraints, meaningful prices, institutional reform, and economic restructuring has paid off in economic recovery and environmental improvement.
