Microeconomic Issues in the Transition to a Market Economy

Jan Svejnar

Journal of Economic Perspectives, 1991, vol. 5, issue 4, 123-138

Abstract: The socialist system introduced microeconomic distortions that probably transcend those observed in the third world. The recent developments in Poland, Yugoslavia, and the Soviet Union also support the hypothesis that macro stabilization will be difficult to achieve in the transforming socialist economies in the absence of adequate micro adjustments. In this paper, I address what I consider to be the most important micro issues related to the transition from socialist to market economies. First I summarize the initial microeconomic conditions, covering labor, capital, and energy markets; the product markets, industrial organization, and trade; and the market for land and housing. Then, I describe the main changes that have taken place in the early stages of the transition. Finally, I discuss the micro policy agenda that needs to be addressed if the transition is to be successful

JEL-codes: P21 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1991
Note: DOI: 10.1257/jep.5.4.123
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (21)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.aeaweb.org/articles.php?doi=10.1257/jep.5.4.123 (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:aea:jecper:v:5:y:1991:i:4:p:123-38

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.aeaweb.org/journals/subscriptions

Access Statistics for this article

Journal of Economic Perspectives is currently edited by Enrico Moretti

More articles in Journal of Economic Perspectives from American Economic Association Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Michael P. Albert ().