Why are socially beneficial reforms not implemented? One simple answer to this question (which has received little attention in the literature) is that this may be caused by generalised uncertainty about the effectiveness of reforms. If agents are unsure about whether a proposed reform will...

This Paper reviews the pros and cons of an early EU enlargement towards Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs hereafter). First, the Maastricht criteria, which cannot be literally assessed during the catching up process, but that nevertheless mirror the huge efforts undertaken in order...

The transition to market-based economic systems in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union involve fundamental shifts in the allocation of resources, and deep changes in the structure of production and employment. This Paper uses a simple model of economic...