Lessons from Polish transition

This article provides a general account of the Polish transition from socia list central planning to a market economy and tries to explicate the main c auses of the relative success of this transition. The second section offers an overview of the main steps in the reform process. It begins with a desc ription of initial reform and analyzes public-policy measures and the subse quent reaction of enterprises and banks. The "four reforms" (health service , education, social security, and administrative reform) that have begun at the end of the 1990's are discussed vis-a-vis state spending. The third se ction identifies the relative merits of the Polish economic transition. Fiv e facets of success are cited: the "shock therapy" of 1990, measured instit ution building, pragmatism, a social contract, and a pro-Europe orientation .