Privatization in Eastern Europe: Is the State withering away? [antikvár]

The chapters of this book trace the development of our ideas on privatization and its role in the transition to a market economy in the countries of Eastern Europe. All but the last of them are slightly revised versions of earlier published papers, often written in response to events, debates with other observers, and the evolving formulation of policies in the region. In preparing these papers for publication, we faced the choice of retaining their original form or rewriting them as chapters of a tightly organized book. Given the importance of their historical context, we have decided to preserve their original flavor and not engage in extensive editing. But we believe that the papers included here naturally develop out of each other and present a rather coherent overall evolution of a theory of privatization in Eastern Europe. The papers included in this volume contain separate acknowl- edgements of our specific debts to various individuals and institutions. Here, we would only like to add our general expressions of gratitude. Many of our research and policy advising activities, which enriched our understanding of the privatization process in Eastern Europe, would not have been possible without the generous support of George Soros, who also shared with us many of his insights into the nature of open societies and market economies. We are also very grateful to our colleagues in the CEU Privatization Project, and especially to John S. Earle and Joel Turkewitz, for their help and dedication to our common research efforts. We also acknowledge the support for this book from the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, CV Starr Center for Applied Economics