ABSTRACT
Central-East European Countries (CEECs)1 have been integrated into the international economy to a great extent through inward investment by multinational companies (MNCs). This high level of foreign ownership and control over their economies has justified a claim that these countries have developed a form of dependent capitalism. There are reservations to the characterisation of economic dependency. The conventional understanding rightly emphasizes the dependence on outside knowhow and technology, but overstates the degree to which the economic structures are vulnerable, or unsustainable, and one-sidedly dependent on decisions taken in other countries.
