Slow convergence? Eastern European economies after 1989 - with Tamás Réti
Despite stagnation and recession why did the collapse of socialist economies take even savy contemporaries in the Eastern Bloc by surprise? Why are Austrian wages still more than double as compared to those in neighboring Slovakia and Hungary, 28 years after 1989? Why qualitative catching up with the West is lagging behind quantitative progress? Will East-Central European capitalism remain different from that of Western?With Budapest-based economist Tamás Réti, we talk about the culture of work in East-Central Europe before and after 1989, János Kornai, the IMF, and the (lack of) alternatives for economic development after the collapse of state socialism.