“Shock Versus Gradualism” in Central Europe Reconsidered

Abstract

This paper analyzes transition policies in the former Czechoslovakia, in Hungary, and in Poland. The current literature takes for granted that Czechoslovakia and Poland, at least in the initial stages, present clear examples of a shock approach toward the transition, whereas the Hungarian case is mostly perceived as gradual. This paper challenges the dichotomous “shock-versus-gradualism” dispute, which is believed to blur the key elements of the transition from a centrally planned to a market economy, and maintains that the labels attached to the transition policies applied in these countries are inappropriate.