DOCSLIB.ORG

Foreign Trade in the Transition the International Environment and Domestic Policy Public Disclosure Authorized

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Foreign Trade in the Transition the International Environment and Domestic Policy Public Disclosure Authorized STUDIES OF ECONOMIES IN TRANSFORMATION - 15Go 4 AqCiI jq Foreign Trade in the Transition The International Environment and Domestic Policy Public Disclosure Authorized Bartlomiej Kaminski, Zhen Kun Wang, and L. Alan Winters 20 Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized THE WORLD BANK RECENT STUDIES OF ECONOMIES IN TRANSFORMATION No. 1 Country Department III, Europe and Central Asia Region, Food and Agricultural Policy Reforms in the Former USSR: An Agendafor the Transition No. 2 Michalopoulos and Tarr, Trade and Payments Arrangementsfor States of the Former USSR No. 3 Country Department III, Europe and Central Asia Region, StatisticalHandbook: States of the Former USSR No. 4 Barr, Income Transfersand the Social Safety Net in Russia No. 5 Country Department III, Europe and Central Asia Region, Foreign Direct Investment in the States of the Former USSR No. 6 Wallich, Fiscal Decentralization:Intergovernmental Relations in Russia No. 7 Michalopoulos, Trade Issues in the New IndependentStates No. 8 The World Bank, StatisticalHandbook 1993: States of the Former USSR No. 9 Holt, Transport Strategiesfor the Russian Federation No. 10 Fong, The Role of Women in Rebuildingthe Russian Economy No. 11 de Melo and Ofer, PrivateService Firms in a Transitional Economy:Findings of a Survey in St. Petersburg No. 12 Chu and Grais, MacroeconomicConsequences of Energy SupplyShocks in Ukraine No. 13 Michalopoulos and Tarr, Trade in the New IndependentStates No. 14 The World Bank, StatisticalHandbook 1994: States of the Forner USSR No. 15 The World Bank, Russia : Creating Private Enterprisesand Efficient Markets No. 16 Lieberman, Ewing, Mejstrick, Mukherjee, and Rahuja, Mass Privatizationin Central and Eastern Europe and the Former SovietUnion: A Comparative Analysis No. 17 Le Houerou, InvestmentPolicy in Russia No. 18 Belkindas and Ivanova, ForeignTrade Statisticsin the USSR and SuccessorStates No. 19 The World Bank, StatisticalHandbook 1995: States of the Former USSR STUDIESOF ECONOMIESIN TRANSFORMATION Foreign Trade in the Transition The InternationalEnvironment and DomesticPolicy Bartlomiej Kaminski, Zhen Kun Wang, and L. Alan Winters 20 The World Bank Washington,D.C. Copyright © 1996 The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/THE WORLDBANK 1818 H Street, N.W, Washington, D.C. 20433, U.S.A. All rights reserved Manufactured in the United States of America First printing April 1996 Papers in the Studies of Economies in Transformation series present the results of policy analysis and research on the states of the former USSR. The papers have been prepared by World Bank staff and consultants and issued by the World Bank's Europe and Central Asia Department III under the supervision of Constantine Michalopoulos. In light of the worldwide interest in the problems and prospects of these countries, dissemination of these findings is encouraged for discussion and comment. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this paper are entirely those of the author(s) and should not be attributed in any manner to the World Bank, to its affiliated organizations, or to members of its Board of Executive Directors or the countries they represent. The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this publication and accepts no responsibility whatsoever for any consequence of their use. The boundaries, colors, denominations, and other information shown on any map in this volume do not imply on the part of the World Bank Group any judgment on the legal status of any territory or the endorsement or accep- tance of such boundaries. The material in this publication is copyrighted. Requests for permission to reproduce portions of it should be sent to the Office of the Publisher at the address shown in the copyright notice above. The World Bank encour- ages dissemination of its work and will normally give permission promptly and, when the reproduction is for non- commercial purposes, without asking a fee. Permission to copy portions for classroom use is granted through the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., Suite 910, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, Massachusetts 01923, U.S.A. The complete backlist of publications from the World Bank is shown in the annual Index of Publications, which contains an alphabetical title list (with full ordering information) and indexes of subjects, authors, and countries and regions. The latest edition is available free of charge from the Distribution Unit, Office of the Publisher, The World Bank, 1818 H Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20433, U.S.A., or from Publications, The World Bank, 66, avenue d'1ena, 75116 Paris, France. Bartlomiej Kaminski is Director of the Center for the Study of Post-Communist Societies at the University of Maryland and a consultant to the International Trade Division in the International Economics Department of the World Bank. Zhen Kun Wang is a consultant working on the World Bank's World DevelopmentReport and was for- merly a consultant to the Transition Economics Division in the Policy Research Department of the World Bank. L. Alan Winters is Division Chief of the Intemational Trade Division in the Intemational Economics Department of the World Bank. ISSN: 1014-997X Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Kaminski, Bartlomiej, 1944- Foreign trade in the transition: the international environment and domestic policy / Bartlomiej Kaminski, Zhen Kun Wang, and L. Alan Winters. p. cm - (Studies of economies in transformation, ISSN 1014-997X; 20) Includes bibliographical references. (p. ). ISBN 0-8213-3611-8 1. Europe, Eastem-Commercial policy. 2. Europe, Eastern- Economic policy-1989- 3. Former Soviet republics-Commercial policy. 4. Former Soviet republics-Economic policy. 5. Intemational trade. 1. Wang, Zhen Kun, 1963- . 11. Winters, L. Alan. III. Title IV. Series: Studies of economies in transformation ; paper no. 20. HF1532.7.K36 1996 382' .3' 0947-dc2O 96-14513 CIP Contents Foreword v Preface vii 1. Introduction 1 2. The Collapse of Central Planning and the CMEA 5 The Trade Legacy 6 ForeignTrade Under Central Planning 6 The Unravelingof the CMEA 8 The TradeAdjustmentProblem Facing the NIS 9 The Trade Potential of Transition Economics: Inherited Distortions 10 3. Shifting Patterns of Foreign Trade 15 Export Performancein OECD Markets in the 1980s 16 Shifting Patterns, 1988-94 17 An Index of Export Performance 22 Changes in Imports 25 iv FOREIGNTRADE IN THE TRANsrnON 4. Changesin MarketAccess 27 Incomplete Normalization of Relations 28 Preferential Market Access 31 The Significanceof Improved Market Access 32 5. Policy and TradePerformance 37 Exogenous FactorsAccounting for Differencesin Trade Reorientation 37 Trade PolicyReform 38 Fast VersusSlow Reformers 39 Useof Export Controls 41 Changes in Domestic Institutional and Policy Settings 42 Settingsof Good and Poor Trade Performners 42 6. The Impact of Transitionon Developing Countries' Trde 47 Trade Displacement in EU markets 48 Primary Commodities Markets 50 7. Condusion 55 Notes 57 References 59 Foreword Despite a common legacyof central planning, transi- tion economies have differed widely in their foreign trade performance. The dissolution of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance and the demise of the Soviet Union required them to reorient their trade suddenly and dramat- ically,and the extent to which they succeeded in doing so has varied considerably. This study provides strong evi- dence that the vigorous implementation of economic reforms aimed at macroeconomic stability and openness to international trade is the single most important variable explaining differences in the pace of trade reorientation. The countries which made the strongest progress in mov- ing to a market-based economic system have been precise- ly those which have most successfullyreoriented their for- eign trade in line with comparative advantage and eco- nomic opportunities. The link between domestic policy and export perfor- mance has been long suspected, but has not previously been carefully documented. Given that the World Bank has supported and advised countries in their efforts at transformation and that it has consistently argued the vi FOREIGNTRADE IN THETRANsmoN case for an open trade regime, it is appropriate on a close collaboration with staff in the that this evidence be widely disseminated. The Europe and Central Asia Regional Vice- research reported here was undertaken by Presidency.In view of its relevanceto the latter's economists in the Bank's Development operational work, I am pleased to indcludeit in Economics Vice-Presidency, but it was based this series. Johannes Linn Vice President Europe and Central Asia Preface This paper started as one of a series of overviewarticles initiated by the Transition Economics Division of the World Bank's Policy Research Department to review and assessthe growing body of evidenceon the determinants of a successfultransition. It was intended to survey the inter- action between international trade and trade policy on the one hand and progress in transition on the other. It had long been recognizedthat sound economic policy played a crucial role in both development and transition, but the extent to which this factor appeared to dominate the deter- mination of trade performance was a surprise. As this pic- ture began to emerge from the survey,the objective of this paper evolved beyond a reviewof the literature into a more substantial research exercisedesigned to test the proposi- tion and document more systematically the evidence
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Microeconomic Reform and Income Distribution: the Case of Australian Ports and Rail Freight Industries
    Eleventh Floor, Menzies Building Monash University, Wellington Road CLAYTON Vic 3800 A USTRALIA Telephone: from overseas: (03) 9905 2398, (03) 9905 5112 61 3 9905 2398 or 61 3 9905 5112 Fax: (03) 9905 2426 61 3 9905 2426 e-mail: [email protected] Internet home page: http//www.monash.edu.au/policy/ Microeconomic Reform and Income Distribution: The Case of Australian Ports and Rail Freight Industries by GEORGE VERIKIOS Centre of Policy Studies Monash University and XIAO -GUANG ZHANG Productivity Commission Melbourne General Paper No. G-230 July 2012 ISSN 1 031 9034 ISBN 978 1 921654 39 1 The Centre of Policy Studies (COPS) is a research centre at Monash University devoted to economy-wide modelling of economic policy issues. MICROECONOMIC REFORM AND INCOME DISTRIBUTION: THE CASE OF AUSTRALIAN PORTS AND RAIL FREIGHT INDUSTRIES George Verikios Centre of Policy Studies, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia 3800. Xiao-guang Zhang Productivity Commission, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia 3000. Abstract We analyse structural changes in the Australian ports and rail freight industries during 1990s that were driven by microeconomic reform. We estimate the direct and indirect effects on household income groups of these industry changes by applying a computable general equilibrium model incorporating detailed household income and expenditure accounts, and microsimulation behaviour. The model contains both top-down and bottom- up linkages. The structural changes lead to a small increase in household welfare in most regions, with an overall increase of 0.18%. Income inequality is estimated to have decreased slightly by 0.02%. JEL codes: C68, C69, D31, L92.
    [Show full text]
  • The Emerging Culture of Educational Administration 27P
    DOCUMENT RESUME ED 354 577 EA 024 424 AUTHOR Bates, Richard TITLE The Emerging Culture of Educational Administration and What We Can Do about It. PUB DATE Jul 92 NOTE 27p.; Paper presented at the National Conference of the Australian Council for Educational Administration (Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia, July 1992). PUB TYPE Information Analyses (070) Viewpoints (Opinion/Position Papers, Essays, etc.)(120) Speeches /Conference Papers (150) EDRS PRICE MF01/PCO2 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS 'Cultural Background; Cultural Context; Cultural Traits; *Educational Administration; Elementary Secondary Education; Foreign Countries; *Free Enterprise System; Global Approach; Postsecondary Education IDENTIFIERS *Australia; *Australian Culture ABSTRACT A historical perspective on Australian culture that draws on the meaning of culture and its relationship to the culture of administration begins this paper. Explored is the tension of middle level administrators who are continually caught up in the traffic between policy directives and community needs. The writer posits that the culture of a divided society must be worked at simultaneously at the political, the administrative, and the personal levels. A challenge to Australia's cultural history has been mounted and is nothing less than an attempt to turn Australia from its commitment to the state as a fundamental organizing principle and toward its replacement by the market. Kemmis's (1992) theory of cultural maps illustrates the types of influences on individuals that result in a pervading market culture. The administrative achievement of this and the resulting exclusion of social consideration of value or validity is highlighted. Using contemporary policy from Australia, Britain, Canada, and the United States as examples, school reform issues of school choice, market mechanisms, transfer of resources, equity, self-managed schools, and curriculum change are addressed.
    [Show full text]
  • US Policy and Russia's Economic Plight: Lessons from the Meltdown
    US Policy and Russia's Economic Plight: Lessons from the Meltdown Mark Kramer November 1998 PONARS Policy Memo 36 Harvard University This policy memo discusses economic reform in Russia and the role of the US government between 1992 and 1998. It begins by reviewing the general strategy of shock therapy in Eastern Europe, comparing it with what actually happened in Russia. It then highlights the shortcomings of US support for specific economic policies in Russia and the pressure exerted by the United States on the International Monetary Fund (IMF) when the Fund was reluctant to provide new disbursements to Russia. The final section draws conclusions about US policy and offers recommendations for the future. Shock Therapy versus Aborted Reform Approaches to economic reform in Central and Eastern Europe have varied markedly over the past eight years. The results suggest that shock therapy is the best way to move from a centrally planned economy to a free-market system. The countries that have adopted the boldest reforms, with a strong emphasis on macroeconomic stabilization, are all faring better--in most cases much better--than the countries that opted for a go-slow approach. The fast reformers include Poland, Slovenia, Hungary, Estonia, the Czech Republic, and (to some extent) Slovakia. Overall, the more slowly that countries have gone, the worse their performance has been. The shock therapy programs adopted by Poland and other reforming countries have encompassed four types of policies: • macroeconomic stabilization; • liberalization of prices and commercial transactions; • small-scale privatization and removal of barriers to small-business formation; and • restructuring and liquidation (or privatization where feasible) of large enterprises.
    [Show full text]
  • For Free Distribution
    #9 (91) September 2015 Why Moscow is swapping The upcoming The chronicles of Ukraine's separatist leaders new wave of privatization separation from the Soviet Union WWW.UKRAINIANWEEK.COM Featuring selected content from The Economist FOR FREE DISTRIBUTION coNteNTS | 3 BRIEFING SOCIETY 5 The DNR Game: 28 Archetypes of the Donbas War: Opportunists 2, Idealists 0 How the locals see themselves How self-declared republics after more than a year of the conflict are preparing to return to Ukraine 29 Aliens Versus Predator: 7 Grenade Out of Nowhere? Kateryna Barabash on the verdict Yuriy Makarov on what caused to Oleh Sentsov as evidence the August 31 violence of atrophied social intelligence POLITICS NEIGHBOURS 8 Send in the Clones: 30 Sprechen Sie Power? In the run-up to nationwide What makes German hip again local elections this fall, 33 Leonidas Donskis on political the President’s team leadership of our time is working to counter 34 Philippe de Lara on the nature competing parties with of Soviet and Russian colonialism political clones HISTORY ECONOMICS 36 The Independence Imperative: 10 Ambiguous Debt Restructuring: The chronicles of Ukraine’s How good the deal separation from the Soviet Union with Ukraine’s private 42 Tymur Bobrovsky: creditors is "We had a chance to present what 12 Big Sale Coming Up: has been preserved in Chersonese as Reform of public property unique heritage of the world scale" management and plans Ukraine’s top archeologist on of massive privatization mechanisms to protect cultural and FOCUS historical heritage in
    [Show full text]
  • Memories and Meanings from a Time of Turmoil
    Opioids Crisis • Edward Gorey • Bauhaus Centennial MARCH-APRIL 2019 • $4.95 1969 1969 Memories and meanings from a time of turmoil Reprinted from Harvard Magazine. For more information, contact Harvard Magazine, Inc. at 617-495-5746 Dormie Network is a national network of renowned clubs combining the experience of destination golf with the premier hospitality of private membership. ARBORLINKS · NEBRASKA CITY, NE BALLYHACK · ROANOKE, VA BRIGGS RANCH · SAN ANTONIO, TX DORMIE CLUB · PINEHURST, NC HIDDEN CREEK · EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP, NJ VICTORIA NATIONAL · NEWBURGH, IN WWW.DORMIENETWORK.COM | [email protected] | ASHLEY OWEN 812.758.7439 Reprinted from Harvard Magazine. For more information, contact Harvard Magazine, Inc. at 617-495-5746 190309_DormieNetwork_ivy.indd 1 1/24/19 12:20 PM MARCH-APRIL 2019, VOLUME 121, NUMBER 4 FEATURES 36 The Opioids Emergency | by Lydialyle Gibson Harvard affiliates who care for people suffering from addiction work to revamp medical practice and policy, and seek new ways to relieve pain 44 What a Human Should Be | by Lily Scherlis A centennial exhibition on the Bauhaus and Harvard 50 Vita: Samuel Stouffer | by Jackson Toby Brief life of a skillful survey researcher: 1900-1960 p. 32 52 Echoes of 1969 | by Craig Lambert Recalling an era of tumult and challenge, and its continuing University resonances JOHN HARVARD’S JOURNAL 18 Transferring technology and reinforcing research, high-flying stem-cell scientist, the General Education reboot—and further thoughts on course preregistration, skills for the “culinarily chal- lenged,” from admission to inclusion for low-income students, a chancellor for Commencement, the Undergraduate on Smith Campus Center (no napping, no politicking), and a hockey p.
    [Show full text]
  • Economic Reform and National Development: a Comparative Analysis of Nigeria and China, 1999 - 2010
    ECONOMIC REFORM AND NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF NIGERIA AND CHINA, 1999 - 2010 BY ONWUCHEKWE JOSEPH NDUBUISI PG/MSC/09/51164 SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF MASTER OF SCIENCE (M.SC) DEGREE IN POLITICAL SCIENCE (INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS) DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, NSUKKA SUPERVISOR: PROF. JONAH ONUOHA MARCH, 2011 i ABSTRACT Economic reforms are the different macroeconomic and microeconomic policies designed by the government to redress the distortion in the economy of any nation. It is important to mention that Economic reform is not peculiar to Nigeria alone. Almost all countries the world over have undertaken different forms of economic reforms at one time of the other. The contents and strategy of reforms have varied from country to country depending on the circumstance of each country. One of the countries that have consistently implemented economic reform policies in recent time is China. The rapid rise of China as a major economic power within a time span of about 30 years is often described by analysts as one of the greatest economic success stories in modern times. The Nigerian government over the years has embarked on several economic reforms aimed at bettering the lives of its citizenry but these policies have always failed to live up to their projections. This study attempts to answer the following questions; has the economic reforms impacted on National Development in Nigeria and China? Policy inconsistencies and policy consistency is implicated in the economic reforms failure in Nigeria and success in China? The Political economy approach as propounded by Karl Marx was employed as our theoretical framework.
    [Show full text]
  • Microeconomic Policies and Structural Change 235
    Microeconomic Policies and Structural Change 235 Microeconomic Policies and Structural Change Peter Forsyth 1. Introduction From about the mid 1980s, Australia has sought to improve the performance of its markets and industries by actively implementing a program of microeconomic reform. It was recognised that there was a plethora of distortions which had the effect of promoting inefficient performance, and the reform program was directed towards removing these distortions. These reforms held the promise of significantly increasing real GDP per capita. Financial deregulation and reductions in protection came first in the early to mid 1980s. After this, governments turned their attention to improving the performance of public enterprises and regulated industries. Government services were subjected to competitive tendering. In the 1990s governments turned their attention to more difficult sectors, such as the natural monopoly utility industries, which they have been attempting to open up to more competition. Reform is still ongoing, though much of the effort is being directed towards completing and redesigning reforms already started, and extending the scope of competition policy. There remain some areas, such as health and education, which are regarded, rightly, as difficult, and in which there has been limited progress. Now is a good time to review progress, since sufficient time has elapsed for many of the reforms to produce measurable outcomes. In this paper, a start is made by looking briefly at the overall productivity picture. Reforms are not directed solely at productivity, and their possible other consequences are examined in Section 3. Reform brings costs, some of which may be taken account of in productivity measures, and some of which may not; these are considered in Section 4.
    [Show full text]
  • PER E. 0. I 2958, AS AMENDED ~ F!/'L-41~ President Gorbachev : Thank You
    SECRE'f \.....1 i..- '-' l \ t.... I 7491 THE WHITE HOUSE WASHINGTON MEMORANDUM OF CONVERSATION SUBJECT: G-7 Meeting with President Gorbachev PARTICIPANTS: George Bush, Pr esident of the United St ates Francois Mitterrand, President of the French Republic Helmut Kohl , Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany Brian Mulroney, Prime Minister of Canada Guilio Andreotti, Prime Minister of Italy Toshiki Kaifu, Prime Minister of Japan Jac ques Delors, President of the Commission of the European Communities John Major, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Mikhail Gorbachev, Pres~dent of the USSR DATE, TIME Wednesday, July 17, 1991, 2:20 p.m.-6:15p.m. AND PLACE: Music Room, Lancaster House, London, England Prime Minister Major: We're all very pleased that President Gorbachev is here. We are among his well-wishers. We've all heard that President Bush and President Gorbachev have resolved START. We're all very pleased. This is an historic meeting-­ the first of its kind. I'm delighted that it's taking place. We've all studied your letter. We agree with much of what you have to say. We have moved from confrontation. We're united behind your efforts. We want to integrate you into the world economy. The USSR has immense human and natural resources. There are immense challenges, but limitless opportunities. We accept your personnal commitment to reform. We hope you'll talk in detail, not just on the nature of economic reform, but also h ow it will be i mplemented ... so we can help you . You can also learn what we can do to help out and our inhibitions .
    [Show full text]
  • Download (1532Kb)
    FORTNIGHTLY BUREAU DE DEPOT BRUXELLES "X" lst April 1995 - N" 66 +*+ * t TOGETHER I * 4w + *+* T /I[ EUROPE S-S"r EC NEWSLETTER FOR CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE REI,ATIONS WITH THE ETJROPEAIY I'NION CONTENTS CWTT]RE STARTS ITALL REI,ATIONS WITH THE EUROPEAN T]NION The first joint meeting between the EU ministers and the ministersof the associated countriesof central andeastern Europe within the framework of a structured pre-accession strateg5l dia- logue approved in Essen, will not be the meeting of ministers of CULTURESTARTSITALL 1 finance, but of ministers of culture. Perhaps the French Presi- dency, when postponing the finance ministers meeting until May, ADOPTION OF EUROPE recalled Jean Monnet's saying that if it was possible to start with AGREEMENTS TO ENI}IRGED the integration process in Europe once more, he would start with UNION & URUGUAY ROUND culture. RESULTS 3 The culture ministers of the associated countries will meet their EU counterparts during the Audiovisual/Culture Council to ASSISTANCETOALBANU 1 be held in Luxembourg onApril3-4.It is hoped that the meeting will result in the adoption of a resolution by the EU Cultural INDUSTRAL COOPERATION Council on cooperation with the associated countries in culture. WITH ASSOCUTED The aim of the joint meeting isto get a better knowledge of COUNTNES 5 the priorities of the associated countries and to gain an under- standing of their eventual will to cooperate in two major fields: DE SILGWPRESENTS REPORT culture as such, and in the audiovisual sector in particular. The ONCZECHECONOMY 6 associated countries will, in principle, be invited to joint the EU programmes in this field.
    [Show full text]
  • The Ukrainian Weekly 2014, No.51
    www.ukrweekly.com ХРИСТОС НАРОДИВСЯ! CHRIST IS BORN! THEPublished U by theKRAINIAN Ukrainian National Association Inc., a fraternal W non-profit associationEEKLY Vol. LXXXII No. 51 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2014 $2.00 Poroshenko sets course for Ukraine’s Euro-Atlantic Congress passes Ukraine Freedom Support Act security integration Obama signs bill, but says no, for now, to new sanctions RFE/RL No easy feat to get bill passed Ukrainian National Information Service Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said on To get to the final vote on the Ukrainian Freedom WASHINGTON – The Ukraine Freedom Support Act of December 17 that he will soon ask Parliament to abandon Support Act was no easy feat. 2014 (HR 5859) was passed by the U.S. Senate in the late the country’s neutral “non-bloc” status, and suggested he As Ukraine faced ongoing Russian aggression, the hours of Saturday, December 13, clearing its final hurdle would steer the country closer to NATO. Ukrainian community vigorously advocated U.S. assis- for passage by the 113th Congress. A law passed in 2010, under then-President Viktor tance to Ukraine. That advocacy, which has continued and With the unanimous consent vote in the Senate – Yanukovych, precludes a NATO membership bid. grown since the beginning of the year, took the form of which followed passage of HR 5859 by the House of Speaking in the Polish Parliament in Warsaw, Mr. public demonstrations, meetings with legislators in Representatives on Thursday, December 11 – the bill was Poroshenko said, “Today in this chamber, I have made the Washington, phone calls, letters, e-mails and tweets.
    [Show full text]
  • The Central Role of Entrepreneurs in Transition Economies
    Journal of Economic Perspectives—Volume 16, Number 3—Summer 2002—Pages 153–170 The Central Role of Entrepreneurs in Transition Economies John McMillan and Christopher Woodruff ll sorts of small enterprises boomed in the countryside, as if a strange army appeared suddenly from nowhere,” remarked Deng Xiaoping, re� ecting A in 1987 on the � rst eight years of China’s economic reforms (Zhao, 1996, p. 106). These startup � rms drove China’s reform momentum; they were arguably the single main source of China’s growth. But their rapid emergence, Deng said, “was not something I had thought about. Nor had the other comrades. This surprised us.” The reformers had not foreseen the key to their own reforms. The other ex­communist economies had similar experiences. As in China, new � rms were drivers of reform. They strengthened the budding market economy by creat­ ing jobs, supplying consumer goods, mobilizing savings and ending the state � rms’ monopoly. As in China, also, the reformers usually did not anticipate the force of entry. Of the two routes to a private sector—privatizing the existing � rms and creating new ones—the policy debates focused almost exclusively on the former. Little attention was given to what reform policies would foster entry. Dusan Triska, for example, the architect of Czechoslovakia’s privatization program, said priva­ tization “is not just one of the many items on the economic program. It is the transformation itself ” (Nellis, 2001, p. 32). It is not surprising that those who had spent their lives under central planning did not foresee the impact of entrepre­ neurship, but few analysts from the West predicted it either.
    [Show full text]
  • Productivity and Growth
    Proceedings of a Conference PRODUCTIVITY AND GROWTH Economic Group Reserve Bank of Australia Proceedings of a Conference held at the H.C. Coombs Centre for Financial Studies, Kirribilli on 10/11 July 1995 PRODUCTIVITY AND GROWTH Editors: Palle Andersen Jacqueline Dwyer David Gruen Economic Group Reserve Bank of Australia The publication of these Conference papers is aimed at making the results of research done in the Bank, and elsewhere, available to a wider audience. The views expressed are those of the authors, and not necessarily those of the Bank. References to the results and views presented should clearly attribute them to the authors, not to the Bank. The content of this publication shall not be reproduced, sold or distributed without the prior consent of the Reserve Bank of Australia. ISBN 0 642 23409 4 Printed in Australia by Ambassador Press Pty Ltd Table of Contents Introduction Jacqueline Dwyer 1 The Determinants of Long-Run Growth Steve Dowrick 7 Discussant: Bharat Trehan 48 Measuring Economic Progress Ian Castles 53 Discussant: John Quiggin 89 Labour-Productivity Growth and Relative Wages: 1978-1994 Philip Lowe 93 Discussant: David Mayes 135 Problems in the Measurement and Performance of Service-Sector Productivity in the United States Robert Gordon 139 Discussant: Stephen Poloz 167 Case Studies of the Productivity Effects of Microeconomic Reform Productivity Change in the Australian Steel Industry: BHP Steel 1982-1995 Peter Demura 172 The Performance of the NSW Electricity Supply Industry John Pierce, Danny Price and Deirdre
    [Show full text]