Postwar Economic Reconstruction and Lessons for the East Today

by Rudiger Dornbusch

The breakup of the Soviet Union and the consequent extraordinary problems faced byEastern European nations raise pressing economic questions. The case studies in this book examinesignificant parallels between the situation in Eastern Europe today and the issues facing Europe andJapan after World War II, offering insights on what kinds of policy actions will be most effectivein this difficult period of reconstruction. The essays address such topics as the relative roles ofgovernment and the market; economic openness; industrial conversion from war to peacetimeproduction; the roles of institutions, enterprises, the business community, and their work staffs;and external control of policy measures, of resources made available by the outside world, and ofthe general external environment. In their introductory chapter, the editors provide an overviewthat addresses the question of whether reconstruction can ever be managed smoothly. RudigerDornbusch is Professor of Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Wilhelm Nolling isPresident of the Landeszentral Bank in Hamburg, Germany. Richard Layard is Professor of Economics atthe London School of Openness, Wage Restraint, and Macroeconomic WestGermany's Road to Prosperity 1948-1959, H. Giersch, K. H. Paqué, M. Schmieding. The Lucky 1945-1951, H. Wolf. Inflation and Stabilization in Italy 1946-1951, M. De Cecco and F.Giavazzi. Economic Reconstruction in France 1945-1958, G. Saint-Paul. Reconstruction and the U.K.Postwar Welfare False Start and New Beginning, P. Minford. A Perspective on PostwarReconstruction in Finland, J. Paunio. The Reconstruction and Stabilization of the Postwar JapaneseEconomy, K. Hamada and M. Kasuya. The Marshall History's Most Successful Structural AdjustmentProgram, J. B. De Long and B. Eichengreen. Lessons for Eastern Europe Today, 0. Blanchard, R.Portes, W. Nolling.

263 pages, Hardcover

First published March 22, 1993