Economies in transition: The long-run view

Chair: Erik Berglof, Chief Economist, EBRD

Speakers: Professor Gérard Roland, University of California, Berkeley. Dr Rania Al-Mashat, Assistant Sub-Governor and Head of Monetary Policy Department, Central Bank of Egypt.

Professor Roland, editor of Economies in Transition: the Long-Run View, will present some of the main findings of the volume, which focuses on the long-term development of the former Soviet bloc. The book discusses a range of important issues, including institutional development, demographic trends and the role of civil society, and provides a unique perspective on the past 20 years, as well as the economic prospects for the future.

Dr Al-Mashat will then discuss the volume from the perspective of the ‘Arab spring’. As countries in the southern and eastern Mediterranean embark on their own transition towards greater democracy and institutional change, Dr Al-Mashat will draw out some of the lessons of 20 years of transition in central and eastern Europe that may be applicable to the Middle East and North Africa.

The twentieth anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall has stimulated much reflection on the political, economic and social transitions that have taken place in the past two decades. Many Central European and Baltic countries initially appeared to epitomize a successful transition to markets and democracy, becoming full members of the European Union. Yet the impact of the recent global financial crisis has called into question the stability of their success, and the viability of existing political arrangements. This book focuses on the long-term development of the former Soviet bloc, providing a stimulating discussion on a range of important issues, including institutional development, demographic trends and the role of civil society. Twenty-three eminent scholars discuss the effects and implications of reform policies, providing a unique perspective on the past as well as the economic prospects for the future.

From left to right, André Sapir, Rania Al-Mashat, Erik Berglöf, and Gerárd Roland. European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, London, June 2012