Transition and Economics

Author: (Belgian) Jean Tirole
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-05-01
Features: The transition from a planned economy to a market economy is one of the major economic events of the past decade. It not only affected approximately 1.65 billion people but also shifted the focus of economics from standard price and monetary theory to contracts and their institutional environment. Research on transition economies has shown that institutions are not only crucial but also that their evolution depends on the initial state and sustained political support. Unlike early transition economics literature, which focused on the so-called "Washington Consensus," this book provides a review and analysis of current research that addresses new questions raised by transition practices that existing economic theories cannot answer. The book is divided into three parts. Part 1 examines how political procedures make dynamic decisions on large-scale reforms. Part 2 explores the impact of liberalization on general equilibrium and macroeconomics in the absence of markets. Part 3 examines the economic behavior of firms during the transition process, comparing the roles of privatization, structural restructuring, and financial reforms. While focusing on transition economics, the book is closely related to political economy, development economics, public economics, corporate finance, and more. Jean Tirole is Belgian and is currently a professor in the Economics Department at the University of California, Berkeley, USA.