April 2013 New Book Follows 30 Countries from Socialism to Capitalism

A new book examining how countries have transitioned from socialism to capitalism has been co-edited by Dr Gerard Turley, a lecturer in economics at NUI Galway. Dr Turley has just completed The Handbook of the Economics and Political Economy of Transition with co-editor Professor Paul Hare of Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh.

The volume looks at the economics of transition, analysing countries such as China and Czech Republic, as they moved from socialism and the command economy to capitalism and the market economy.

The Handbook of the Economics and Political Economy of Transition takes in over 30 transition countries, from the former socialist countries of the USSR and the satellite states of Central and Eastern Europe, to the Asian countries of China, Vietnam and others.

Dr Gerard Turley, a member of the Whitaker Institute and the J.E. Cairnes School of Business and Economics at NUI Galway said: “Given the current interest in countries like China, Russia, the Eastern European EU accession countries and those former socialist countries that have either joined the eurozone or have turned to the IMF for financial support, this is a timely publication for all those interested in how these countries have fared since the collapse of the Berlin Wall almost twenty five years ago.” 

The editors commissioned a team of leading experts from around the world, not just from the former socialist countries of China, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Russia, Serbia and Slovenia but also academics in Australia, Canada, France, Israel, Italy, UK, US and Ireland. Contributors included former Deputy Prime Ministers and Finance Ministers, special advisors to Prime Ministers, policy advisors to governments and international organisations (such as the United Nations, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) and chief international negotiators (with, for example, the European Commission and the World Trade Organisation).  

Topics include the socialist system and central planning, the collapse of the Soviet Union, the re-emergence of China, economic reforms and institutions, enterprise restructuring and privatisation, performance and growth, trade and integration, the 2008/09 financial crisis, and people and transition.

The Handbook of the Economics and Political Economy of Transition will be published next month in the UK and the US by Routledge.

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