Includes bibliographical references (p. 315-342) and index.

Communism and its demise. Real socialism. Decline and fall of socialism. The demise of communism in Central Europe. The collapse of the Soviet Union -- Shock therapy vs. gradualism. The radical reform program : a big bang. Gradual reform programs. Rent seeking : the scourge of transition. Criticism of radical reform after the Russian financial crash -- Output : slump and recovery. Sharp decline in recorded output and varied recovery. Exaggeration of the slump. Radical reform : least decline and early recovery. Late reformers : surged after 1998 -- Liberalization : the creation of a market economy. Different strategies of deregulation. Liberalization of foreign trade. Labor market policy. Combat of monopoly : gas and coal. A big bang : vital in deregulation -- From hyperinflation to financial stability. Establishing national currencies. Radical fiscal adjustment was key. Tax policy : from social democratic to liberal. Monetary policy : from loose to strict. Exchange rates : currency board or free float. Dramas of financial stabilization -- Privatization : the establishment of private property rights. Differing aims of privatization. Small-scale privatization : if started, swiftly done. Large-scale privatization : the biggest headache. Privatization of land, real estate, and housing. New enterprise development : the ultimate success. Great achievements of privatization. Vital : speed and legitimacy of property rights -- An inefficient social system. Incomes : differentiation and poverty. Life and health. Education adjusting to demand. Social transfers and pension reform. Alternative social models -- Democracy vs authoritarianism. Democratic breakthrough : critical for successful transformation. An under-reform trap. Renewed democratization : colored revolutions. Parties, electoral rules, and constitutions. How to tame the leviathan : reform of the communist state. Public opinion and ideology. Democracy and democracy aid -- From crime toward law. An explosion of crime. Attempts at building a legal system. Corruption : the bane of transition -- The role of oligarchs. Who are the oligarchs? The economics of oligarchy. The politics of oligarchy. Complaints : a matter of ideology. A question of property rights. Putin's alternative : centralized dictatorship -- The role of international assistance. The dream of Europe. Western failure to act in the East. Trade policy : a gulf between the EU and the CIS. International assistance : insufficient but crucial -- Conclusions : a world transformed. Different models. Achievements and revelations. Why certain polices worked while others did not.

Electronic reproduction. Palo Alto, Calif. : ebrary, 2013. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ebrary affiliated libraries.