ABSTRACT
The centrally planned economies have faced serious problems in transition. They have had to deal with three key sets of reforms: liberalization and stabilization; institutional changes that support market exchange and shape ownership; and the establishment of social programmes to ease the pain of transition (World Bank 1996). As noted by Jeffries (1993, p. i),
The rejection of central planning by so many countries in 1989 represents one of the truly extraordinary events in the history of economics. But the transition to the market also presents economists with formidable challenges because the path has never been trod before. The issues raised will remain at the top of the economic agenda for many years to come.
