The mainstream view of the way in which best to transform the communist economies was that there should be a rapid transition to a free market economy and political democracy. The articles in this book challenge this view. They do so from the standpoint of economic and political theory, and from an evaluation of the comparative experience of different reforming countries in Europe and Asia. This book represents the first systematic attempt to try to explain the dramatic contrast in outcome between reforming countries that have pursued comprehensive system reform and those that have pursued cautious, experimental strategies.

Preface - Notes on the Contributors - PART 1: THEORETICAL AND HISTORICAL OVERVIEWS - Europe versus Asia: Contrasting Paths to the Reform of Centrally Planned Systems of Political Economy; H-J.Chang & P.Nolan - Capitalist Triumphalism in the Eastern European Transition; P.Wiles - Economic Theory and Transformation of the Soviet-type System: The Challenge of the Late Industrialisation Perspective; D.Lo - PART 2: POLICY ISSUES - Frittering Away the Gains: Real Wages and Reconstruction in Eastern Europe; A.Glyn - The Transition in Eastern Europe: the Case for Industrial Policy; I.Abel & M.Landesmann - Reflections on the Privatisation Issues; K.Cowling - Financial Fregility in the Transition to Market Economies; L.Harris - Equality, Efficiency and Economic Progress: The Case for Universally Applied Equitable Standards for Wages and Conditions of Work; F.Wilkinson - Social Security Reform in Urban China: The Case of Shanghai; S.Pudney - The Role of Foreign Direct Investment in the Transformation of Eastern Europe; H.Radice - PART 3: LEARNING FROM EXPERIENCES - The Lessons of History: New Economic Policy in China and the USSR; C.Bramall - Nicaragua: The Sandinista Experiment and Its Aftermath; G.Palma - Return to Europe?: Is There Anything for Eastern Europe to Learn from East Asia?; H-J.Chang - Political Economy and the Reform of Stalinism: the Chinese Puzzle; P.Nolan - Index