"For years, economists have been wrestling with the issues raised by the contrast between the transition path of China and those of Eastern Europe and the FSU. Now the papers collected in this volume edited by Wing Woo, Stephen Parker, and Jeff Sachs, tell us in what ways East Asia is different -- and what lessons we should draw from both sets of historical transitions."
-- Stanley Fischer, First Deputy Managing Director, International Monetary Fund

"The book represents comprehensive and impressive study into east European and Asian developments. It is free from any ideological grounds and shows the authors' deep professional approach. This work should be recommended to both students and professionals dealing with the analysis of the economies in transition."
-- Yegor Gaidar, Director, Institute for Economy in Transition

"The volume is rich in information and factual insights, and presents many inspiring and original, thought-provoking ideas, supported by sharp analysis. The authors, among them world-famous leading reformers offer broad generalizations of the experiences of several European and Asian countries. This is mandatory reading for everyone who wants to understand postsocialist transformation."
-- Janos Kornai, Allie S. Freed Professor of Economics, Harvard University and Permanent Fellow, Collegium Budapest In 1994, the Asia Foundation's Center for Asian Pacific Affairs began a two-year project to compare the transitions of selected East European and Asian economies from centrally-planned communist systems to market economies. The goal was to shed light on the transition process through an understanding of the underlyingeconomic and institutional dynamics. This volume is the culmination of that project.

The volume is divided into three parts. In the first part, an overview, the editors review the authors' findings and highlight major themes. The second part looks closely at the transition process in seven Asian and East European economies: China, Vietnam, Mongolia, Russia, Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic. The third part contains six comparative studies that explore key elements of the transition process. The papers incorporate feedback obtained from meetings with cabinet members and high government officials, conferences, and seminars in Prague, Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Beijing, Ulan Bator, and Washington, D.C.

Contributors: Leszek Balcerowicz, Barbara Blaszczyk, Peter Boone, Yuan Zheng Cao, Bruce Comer, Marek Dabrowski, Georges de Menil, Daniel C. Esty, Gang Fan, Boris Federov, Roman Frydman, Carol Graham, Stephen Parker, Andrzej Rapaczynski, James Riedel, Jeffrey D. Sachs, Baavaa Tarvaa, Vinod Thomas, Gavin Tritt, Adiya Tsend, Enkhbold Tsendjav, Joel Turkewitz, Narantsetseg Unenburen, Yan Wang, Wing Thye Woo