Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Believing in the Miracle Cure: The Economic Transition Process in Germany and East-Central Europe

  • Chapter
Germany since Unification

  • 28 Accesses

Abstract

The policy recommendations of western economists looking at eastern Europe after the velvet revolutions of 1989 predicted a fairytale ending to a story as yet untold: ‘[A former state socialist country] was poor, then it chose capitalism, then as a result it became rich’ (adopted from McCloskey, 1990: 26). Faced with an uncertain future, this prophecy proved compellingly seductive. It intuitively appealed to policy-makers confronted with the aftermath of the collapse of state socialism for a variety of reasons. At first sight, it offered a simplistic historical interpretation. In particular, its rhetorical message reflected an unquestioned belief in the crisis of one system (Schabowski, 1992: 8). However, the imaginary plot alluded to an existing solution without examining the appropriateness of the proposed policy recommendations (Keegan, 1993: 1–2).

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Adams, W. and Brock, J.W. (1993), Adam Smith Goes to Moscow: A Dialogue on Radical Reform (Princeton: Princeton University Press).

    Google Scholar 

  • Altvater, E. (2nd edn, 1992), Die Zukunft des Marktes: Ein Essay über die Regulierung von Geld und Natur nach dem Scheitern des ‘real existierden’ Sozialismus (Münster: Westfälisches Dampfboot).

    Google Scholar 

  • Altvater, E. and Mahnkopf, B. (1993), Gewerkschaften vor der europäischen Herausforderung: Tarifpolitik nach Mauer und Maastricht (Münster: Westfälisches Dampfboot).

    Google Scholar 

  • Ambrose, S.E. (1984), Eisenhower: The President (New York: Simon & Schuster).

    Google Scholar 

  • Bertramsen, R.B., Thomsen, J.P.F. and Torfing, J. (1991), State, Economy and Society (London: Unwin Hyman).

    Google Scholar 

  • Bolton, P. and Roland, G. (1992), ‘Privatization policies in Central and Eastern Europe’, Economic Policy, vol. 7, no. 15, pp. 275–309.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bornstein, M. (1994), ‘Privatization in Central and Eastern Europe: techniques, policy options and economic consequences’, in Csaba, L., ed., pp. 233–58.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boyer, R. (1979), ‘Wage formation in historical perspective: the French experience’, Cambridge Journal of Economics, vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 99–118.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boyer, R. (1986), La théorie de la régulation: une analyse critique (Paris: Editions la Découverte).

    Google Scholar 

  • Boyer, R. (1992), ‘Neue Richtungen von Managementpraktiken und Arbeitsorganisation: Allgemeine Prinzipien und nationale Entwicklungspfade’, in Demirovic, A., Krebs, H.P. and Sablowski, T., eds, Hegemonie und Staat: Kapitalistische Regulation als Projekt und Prozess, (Münster: Westfählisches Dampfboot), pp. 55–103.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boyer, R. (1993), ‘Première Partie: Comment émerge un nouveau système productif?’, in Boyer, R. and Durand, J.P., eds, L’après-fordisme (Paris: Syros), pp. 7–80.

    Google Scholar 

  • Busch, K. (2nd edn, 1992), Umbruch in Europa: Die ökonomischen, ökologischen und sozialen Perspektiven des einheitlichen Binnenmarktes (Köln: Bund Verlag).

    Google Scholar 

  • Busch, K. (1994), Europäische Integration und Tarifpolitik: Lohnpolitische Konsequenzen der Wirtschafts- und Währungsunion (Köln: Bund Verlag).

    Google Scholar 

  • Buzan, B. et al. (1990), The European Security Order recast: Scenarios for the Post-Cold War Era (London: Pinter).

    Google Scholar 

  • Calvo, G.A. and Coricelli, F. (1992), ‘Stabilizing a previously centrally planned economy: Poland 1990’, Economic Policy, vol. 7, no. 14, pp. 176–226.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carew, A. (1987), Labour under the Marshall Plan: The politics of productivity and the marketing of management science (Manchester: Manchester University Press).

    Google Scholar 

  • Carlin, W. (1992), ‘Privatìzation in East Germany, 1990–92’, German History, vol. 10, no. 3, pp. 335–51.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Collins, R. and Waller, D. (1993), ‘Der Zusammenbruch von Staaten und die Revolutionen im sowjetischen Block: Welche Theorien machten zutreffende Voraussagen?’, in Joas, H. and Kohli, M., eds, Der Zusammenbruch der DDR (Frankfurt: Suhrkamp), pp. 302–25.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cox, M. (1993), ‘The Lessons of the Present: Understanding the Marshall Plan historically’, Paper presented at the ECPR workshop The Political Economy of Postwar Reconstruction in Leiden, 3–7 April.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cox, M. (1994), ‘The End of the USSR and the Collapse of Soviet Studies’, in Dunleavy, P. and Stanyer, J., eds, pp. 29–44.

    Google Scholar 

  • Csaba, L., ed. (1994), Privatization, Liberalization and Destruction: Recreating the Market in Central and Eastern Europe (Aldershot: Dartmouth).

    Google Scholar 

  • Dahrendorf, R. (1990), Reflections on the Revolution in Europe: In a letter intended to have been sent to a gentleman in Warsaw, 1990 (London: Chatto and Windus).

    Google Scholar 

  • Dalos, G. (1991), ‘Über die Verwirklichung der Träume,’ in Deppe, R. et al., pp. 182–205.

    Google Scholar 

  • Deppe, R., Dubiel, H. and Rödel, U., eds (1991), Demokratischer Umbruch in Osteuropa (Frankfurt/Main: Suhrkamp).

    Google Scholar 

  • Deutsche Bundesbank (1991), Geschäftsbericht der Deutschen Bundesbank für das Jahr1990, vol. 42 (Frankfurt/Main: Deutsche Bundesbank).

    Google Scholar 

  • Deutsche Bundesbank (1992), Geschäftsbericht der Deutschen Bundesbank für das Jahr1991, vol. 43 (Frankfurt/Main: Deutsche Bundesbank).

    Google Scholar 

  • Djilas, M. (1963), Conversations with Stalin (Harmondsworth: Penguin).

    Google Scholar 

  • Dornbusch, R. and Wolf, H. (1992), ‘Economic Transition in Eastern Germany’, Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, no. 1, pp. 235–72.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dunleavy, P. and Stanyer, J., eds, Contemporary Political Studies 1994, vol. 1 (Belfast: Political Studies Association).

    Google Scholar 

  • Dyson, K. (1994), Elusive Union: The Process of Economic and Monetary Union in Europe (London: Longman).

    Google Scholar 

  • EC — European Communities: Commission (1990), The European Community and German Unification, Bulletin of the European Communities, Supplement 4/90 (Luxembourg: Office of Official Publications of the European Communities).

    Google Scholar 

  • Eichengreen, B. and Wyplosz, C. (1993), ‘The unstable EMS’, Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, no. 1, pp. 109–13.

    Google Scholar 

  • Engler, W. (1991), ‘Stellungen, Stellungnahmen, Legenden: Ein ostdeutscher Erinnerungsversuch’, in Deppe, R. et al., pp. 48–75.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frydman, R. and Rapaczynski, A. (1994), ‘Insiders and the State’, in Frydman, R. and Rapaczynski, A., eds, Privatization in Eastern Europe: Is the State Withering Away? (Budapest: Central European University Press), pp. 141–67.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frydman, R., Rapaczynski, A. and Earle, J.S. (1993), The Privatization Process in Central Europe (Budapest: Central European University Press).

    Google Scholar 

  • Fukuyama, F. (1992), The End of History and the Last Man (Harmondsworth: Penguin).

    Google Scholar 

  • Gaddis, J.L. (1993), ‘International Relations Theory and the End of the Cold War’, International Security, vol. 17, no. 3, pp. 5–58.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Geiger, T. (1995), ‘Economic transition in Eastern Europe and Ota Šik’s Third Way: What future a radical “alternative” to the reform process?,’ unpublished manuscript.

    Google Scholar 

  • Giersch, H., Paque, K.H. and Schmieding, H. (rev. edn, 1994), The Fading Miracle: Four decades of market economy in Germany (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press).

    Google Scholar 

  • Habermas, J. (1990), Die nachgeholte Revolution (Frankfurt/Main: Suhrkamp).

    Google Scholar 

  • Hall, P. (1986), Governing the Economy: The Politics of State Intervention in Britain and France (Cambridge: Polity Press).

    Google Scholar 

  • Heilemann, U. and Jochimsen, R. (1993), Christmas in July? The Political Economy of German Unification Reconsidered, Brookings Occasional Papers (Washington, DC: Brookings).

    Google Scholar 

  • Hirschman, A. (1970), ‘The Search for Paradigms as a Hindrance to Understanding’, World Politics, vol. 22, no. 3, pp. 329–43.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Houbenova-Dellisivkova, T. (1994), ‘Liberalization and Transformation in Bulgaria’, in Csaba, L., ed., pp. 217–32.

    Google Scholar 

  • Inotai, A. (1994), ‘Central and Eastern Europe’, in Randall Henning, C., Hochreiter, E. and Clyde Hufbauer, G., eds, Reviving the European Union (Washington: Institute for International Economics).

    Google Scholar 

  • Kaplan, K. (1981), Der kurze Marsch: Kommunistische Machtübernahme in der Tschechoslowakei, 1945–1948 (Munich: Oldenbourg).

    Google Scholar 

  • Keegan, W. (1993), The Spectre of Capitalism: The Future of the World Economy after the Fall of Communism (London: Vintage Books).

    Google Scholar 

  • Kornai, J. (1990), The Road to a Free Economy: Shifting from a Socialist System: The Example of Hungary (New York: W.W. Norton).

    Google Scholar 

  • Kosta, J. (1991), ‘Ökonomische Aspekte des Systemwandels in der Tschechoslowakei’, in Deppe, R. et al., pp.301–25.

    Google Scholar 

  • Krátky, K. (1994), ‘Czechoslovakia, the Soviet Union and the Marshall Plan’, in Westad, O.A., Holtsmark, S. and Neumann, I.B., eds, The Soviet Union in Eastern Europe, 1945–89 (London: Macmillan), pp. 9–25.

    Google Scholar 

  • Laclau, E. (1990), New Reflections on the Revolution of Our Time (London: Verso).

    Google Scholar 

  • Lipp, E.M. (1989), ‘The GDR undergoes dramatic change: outlook for 1990 and beyond’, unpublished manuscript.

    Google Scholar 

  • Loth, W. (7th edn, 1989), Die Teilung der Welt: Die Geschichte des Kalten Kriegs, 1941–1955 (Munich: Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag).

    Google Scholar 

  • Marer, P. et al. (1992), Historically Planned Economies: A Guide to the Data (Washington: World Bank).

    Google Scholar 

  • Marsh, D. (1993), The Bundesbank: The Bank that rules Europe (London: Mandarin Paperbacks).

    Google Scholar 

  • McCloskey, D.N. (1990), If you are so smart: The narrative of economic expertise (Chicago: University of Chicago Press), 1990.

    Google Scholar 

  • Milward, A.S. (1984), The Reconstruction of Western Europe, 1945–51 (London: Methuen).

    Google Scholar 

  • Milward, A.S. (1994), The European Rescue of the Nation-State (London: Routledge).

    Google Scholar 

  • Milward, A.S. and Sorensen, V. (1993), ‘Interdependence or integration? A national choice,’ in Milward, A.S. et al., eds, The Frontier of National Sovereignty: History and theory, 1945–1992 (London: Routledge), pp. 1–32.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nicolaïdis, K. (1993), ‘Eastern European Trade in the Aftermath of 1989: Did International Institutions Matter?’, in Keohane, R.O., Nye, J.S. and Hoffmann, S., eds, After the Cold War: International Institutions and State Strategies in Europe, 1989–1991 (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press).

    Google Scholar 

  • Nove, A. (1984), An Economic History of the U.S.S.R (Harmondsworth: Penguin).

    Google Scholar 

  • Nuti, D.M. and Portes, R. (1993), ‘Central Europe: the way forward’, in Portes, R., ed., pp. 1 ff.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nye, J.S. (1990), Bound to Lead: The changing nature of American power (New York: Basic Books).

    Google Scholar 

  • Offe, C. (1993), ‘Wohlstand, Nation, Republik’, in Joas, H. and Kohli, M., eds, Der Zusammenbruch der DDR (Frankfurt/Main: Suhrkamp).

    Google Scholar 

  • Portes, R. (1993), Economic Transformation in Central Europe: A Progress Report (London: Centre of Economic Policy Research).

    Google Scholar 

  • Priewe, J. and Hickel, R. (1991), Der Preis der Einheit: Bilanz und Perspektiven der deutschen Vereinigung (Frankfurt/Main: Fischer Taschenbuch).

    Google Scholar 

  • Przeworski, A. (1991), Democracy and the market: Political and economic reforms in Eastern Europe and Latin America (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press).

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Rostow, W.W. (1960), The Stages of Economic Growth: A Non-Communist Manifesto (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press).

    Google Scholar 

  • Rothschild, K.W. (1993), ‘Like a Lehrstück by Brecht: notes on the German reunification drama’, Cambridge Journal of Economics, vol. 17, no. 3, pp. 259–66.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ruggie, J.G. (1993), ‘Multilateralism: The Anatomy of an Institution’, in Ruggie, J.G., ed., Multilateralistn Matters: The Theory and Practise of an Institutional Form (New York: Columbia University Press), pp. 3–47.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sachs, J. (1993), Poland’s Jump to the Market Economy (Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press).

    Google Scholar 

  • Sautter, C. (1982), ‘France’, in Botho, A., ed., European Economy: Growth and Crisis (Oxford: Oxford University Press), pp. 450–71.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schabowski, G. (1992), Der Absturz (Reinbek: Rowohlt Taschenbuch Verlag).

    Google Scholar 

  • Schäuble, W. and Lamers, K. (1994), ‘Reflections on European Policy’, policy document published by the CDU/CSU-Fraktion des Deutschen Bundestages, Bonn, 1 September.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schmieding, H. (1991), ‘Deutschlands Weg zur Marktwirtschaft: Die westdeutsche Währungsreform von 1948 und die gesamtdeutsche Währungsunion von 1990 im Vergleich’, ORDO: Jahrbuch für die Ordnung von Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft, vol. 42, pp. 189–211.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schumacher, D. and Möbius, U. (1993), ‘Eastern Europe and the EC — trade relations and trade policy regards to industrial products’, in Heitger, B. and Waverman, L., eds, German Unification and the International Economy (London: Routledge), 1993, pp. 113–75.

    Google Scholar 

  • Siebert, H. (1991), ‘German unification: the economics of transition’, Economic Policy, vol. 6, pp. 289–340.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sik, O. (1967), Plan and market under socialism (White Plains, NY: International Arts and Sciences Press).

    Google Scholar 

  • Sinn, G. and Sinn, H.W. (3rd edn, 1993), Kaltstart: Volkswirtschaftliche Aspekte der deutschen Wiedervereinigung (Munich: Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag).

    Google Scholar 

  • Ticktin, H. (1994), ‘The State of Soviet Studies in the Post-War Period: A View from the Left’, in Dunleavy and Stanyer, eds, pp. 45–58.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vincentz, V. (1994), ‘Internationaler Handel auf unvollkommenen Märkten: Implikationen für Osteuropa’, Konjunkturpolitik, vol. 40, no. 2, pp. 175–95.

    Google Scholar 

  • Waldrauch, H. (1994), ‘Theoretische Erklärungsansätze der Transitionsprozesse der kommunistischen Länder Osteuropas (1988–1990)’, Österreichische Zeitschrift für Politikwissenschaft, vol. 23, no. 4, pp. 433–45.

    Google Scholar 

  • Welfens, P.J.J. (1993), ‘Privatisierung und externe Liberalisierung: Probleme der Systemtransformation in Polen’, ORDO: Jahrbuch für die Ordnung von Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft, vol. 44, pp. 319–44.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wiles, P.J.D. (1990), ‘The Convergence Hypothesis’, in Eatwell, J., Milgate, M. and Newman, P., eds, Problems of the Planned Economy (London: Macmillan).

    Google Scholar 

  • Winiecki, J. (1986), ‘Soviet-type economies: considerations for the future’, Soviet Studies, vol. 38, no. 4, pp. 543–61.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • World Bank (1991), World Development Report 1991: The Challenge of Development (Oxford: Oxford University Press).

    Book  Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors
  1. Till Geiger
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. The Queen’s University of Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK

    Klaus Larres (Reader in Politics) (Reader in Politics)

Copyright information

© 1998 Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Geiger, T. (1998). Believing in the Miracle Cure: The Economic Transition Process in Germany and East-Central Europe. In: Larres, K. (eds) Germany since Unification. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-26132-1_9

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation