The Economic Transition of Czechoslovakia from Plan to Market

The Communist government of Czechoslovakia was ousted in the so-called Velvet Revolution of November 1989, and the new regime adopted as its goal the transformation of the economy to one based on markets and private property, and also one more dynamic and productive than its predecessor. This unprecedented transformation poses a variety of intellectual, political and economic questions. At the same time that the economic system is being transformed, the government must also ensure that the hybrid economy that exists during the transition functions sufficiently well to maintain adequate living standards and to sustain political support for the reform process. In this paper, I examine the economic and intellectual legacies that have shaped the transition process in Czechoslovakia, describe the system changes implemented or contemplated for the near future, and briefly comment on macroeconomic performance.