From the ailing planned economy to thriving capitalism? The economic transformation of Eastern Europe and its consequences
Podium in the German Historical Museum, Schlüterhof | 30th May 2009, 11:00-12:30h
When Europe was still divided by the Iron Curtain, the GDR ranked temporarily as the tenth largest industrial nation. On the quiet, the State and Party leaders of East Berlin observed the 'polish economy', or 'goulash communism' with disdain. Two decades after the peaceful revolutions, the young democracies of Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary are glowing with continuous economic growth and moderate rates of unemployment - especially in comparison to East Germany, into which immense sums have been transferred by West Germany since 1990. The lower rate of productivity, and continuous immigration are further symptoms of East Germany's difficult transformation process. Some still lament the loss of the East German divided state and yearn to have back the supposed social achievements, without however considering the corresponding economic burdens which ultimately contributed to the downfall of state socialism. To what extent does the present economic situation reflect different starting conditions from times of the 'planned economy'? How did the change from a planned economy to a market economy pan out in East Germany, Poland, Hungary, as also in the Czech Republic and Slovakia? To what extent do East Germany's economic problems result from the 'special path' exemplified by the reunification of the GDR with the federal republic? Were there realistic alternatives to the economic agenda settings of the reunified Germany? To what extent did the economic collapse and the resultant breakdown of the Soviet empire create an opening for the rapid evolution of unbridled capitalism, largely unhampered by restrictions?
The topic will be discussed by:
Prof. Dr. Leszek Balcerowicz, economist and politician, chairman of the advisory board of the ?Think Tank Bruegel?, Brussels
Dr. Edgar Most, former vice president of the state bank of the GDR and until 2004 member of the management of the German Bank, Berlin
Prof. Dr. Gerhard A. Ritter, historian, professor emeritus of Newer and Newest History at the LMU Munich
Richard Swartz, journalist and writer, Stockholm
Moderation: Andreas Theyssen, Financial Times Germany, Berlin
The podium will be translated from German to English simultaneously.
