From the Soviet Bloc to the European Union

Ivan Berend not only studied the collapse and transformation of Central and Eastern Europe, but also participated in it. He chaired the committee that prepared the first marketisation and privatisation plan for Hungary, and has been a member of governmental advisory bodies since the early 1990s. He is currently Distinguished Professor of History at the University of California, Los Angeles.

• Introduction; 1. The economic factors of the collapse of state socialism and the new international environment, 1973–1991; 2. Transformation and policy mistakes: dramatic economic decline; 3. Towards better times: the European Union and its policy of eastwards enlargement; 4. Recuperation and growth: the role of foreign direct investment; 5. Economic restructuring: transforming main sectors, economic recovery, weaknesses and growth; 6. Transformation and social shock; 7. Lasting social changes in income, employment, welfare institutions, educational and settlement structure; Epilogue: the future of catching-up in the European 'melting pot'.

'… great book, especially in terms of the useful empirical data it provides on all manner of things, from comparative economic growth rates to demographic trends and statistics on homelessness.' Matthew Stibbe, H-Net Reviews