The east European economies in transition

Acknowledging that the communist monopolies will not be reinstated in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, the author analyses the political and economic changes taking place, for instance, the diffusion of electoral and property rights. Accompanying discussions about prices decontrol is the existence of supply/demand imbalance. The route to equilibrium is from a supply-determined to a demand-determined mechanism. This is going to be difficult as there is aversion as well as fear of risk of innovation and entrepreneurship -- there is no "commercial culture". There is a strong role for the western industrial nations in all this. Western companies can be encouraged to compete and supply capital to the East via a variety of means -- joint ventures, direct investment or OECD encouragement.