Capital Liberalization in Transition Countries

Providing a succinct overview of the essential policy issues surrounding capital liberalization, this book compares the experiences of transition economies in Europe with those of advanced nations, allowing the reader to examine the changing international economic and financial environment within which transition countries have to liberalize. The book first deals with the critical issues concerning liberalization, including sequencing and financial market development. It then moves on to present an overview of the early liberalization experiences of advanced economies and East-Asian countries. This provides the context for a series of chapters reviewing liberalization progress in transition economies, in which international experts and senior officials analyze their own countries' experiences. The authors also emphasize the importance of financial market reform and the construction of a sound institutional framework if countries are to attract and productively use capital inflows. A stable financial system, whilst not infallible, is also crucial for minimizing the risk of financial crises of the type experienced by a number of countries during the 1980s and 1990s.