ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book is about a complex process of economic and social transformation in a relatively unknown, for Western development economists, region of Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, the former socialist economies. From an economic development aspect, the countries in our study may also be ranked based on their external performance. The commodity-dependent countries (CDC) designation is significant in economic development terms. On the one hand, the CDC factor may be seen as the ultimate "resource curse" that invokes a host of associated problems of underdevelopment. On the other hand, despite the "resource curse," in the post-socialist context, there may be an opportunity to leverage the CDC position to stimulate sustained and inclusive growth. The EBRD report offers interesting insights by systematizing its approach to the analysis of a very diverse set of countries under the general "transition" umbrella.
