ABSTRACT

Czechoslovakia, or CSFR, with its population of 15.6 million people could be said to have a rather favourable position among the East European countries when it comes to economic reforms, i.e. the transition from a socialist planned economy to a marketoriented economy-including reforms within the housing sector. On the one hand the economic position of the country is relatively good, its foreign debt amounts to 5.7 billion dollars (compared to its neighbours Poland with 37.3 billion dollars and Hungary with 20 billion dollars) and the country has an industrial tradition and an extended and differentiated industrial sector. On the other hand, this industrial sector is obsolete and worn-out and there are severe environmental problems in many cities and regions.