Economic reform and political evolution in Eastern Europe

Examination of the relationship between economic reform and political evolution in Poland, Czechoslovakia and Hungary, focusing on past changes to the economic management system in response to declining economic performance, suggests that economic reform made little difference either to the operation of the system or to its performance. Five barriers existed to effective economic reform in the past, and while ideas emerged for overcoming these barriers, it was only with the complete ending of communist power that the economic system could be changed substantially. Current attempts at a transition to a market economy show that some new obstacles have emerged, and difficulties in implementing economic policy are influencing the shape of emerging political structures.