DIFFERENCES OF TRANSITION PATTERNS IN CEN TRAL AND EAST EUROPEAN COUNTRIES

The dissolution of the USSR and the general demise of the centrally pl anned economic systems in the Central- and Eastern European countries triggered a dramatic triple branched development pattern: prices explo ded, output collapsed, but the (official) employment figures remained relatively constant. The severity of this pattern varies significantly between countries. A one-time price vault was to be expected. Part of the explanation that the ensuing continued inflation differs markedly between transition countries is that the scatter of their proven abil ity to fight the vicious price wage spiral is very wide.