Developing Capital Markets in Eastern Europe: A Business Reference »

Margerie Lindsay is editor of the newsletter PlanEcon Business Report. Formerly a reporter on Eastern and Central Europe for the Financial Times, she is the author of Doing Business in Gorbachev's Soviet Union, and co-editor of The Global Debt Crisis.

As the countries of Eastern Europe undergo the dramatic transformation to a market economy, waves of reforms, food shortages, massive unemployment and political upheavals continue to complicate an already bewildering situation. It has been a slow, difficult struggle, but the newly independent countries have made progress toward establishing capital markets and the democratic institutions to protect them.

Cutting through the confusion that has surrounded privatization and capitalist enterprises in the East, Margie Lindsay here presents, in a succinct and straight-forward one- country-per-chapter approach, the essential facts, policies and problems surrounding this historic transition. Each chapter summarizes developments to date, examining banking, finance, money and capital markets, insurance, market supervision, emerging stock markets, secondary markets and other relevant topics specific to each country. Countries covered are: Albania; Bulgaria; Czechoslovakia; Hungary; Poland; Romania; and Slovenia. Summaries or complete texts of major legislation dictating privatization policy are also included.

The book is rounded out with rich appendixes that give useful contact names and addresses of financial institutions in the East. Developing Capital Markets In Eastern Europe serves as a valuable reference tool and guide for economists, businessmen, potential investors and academics alike through the maze of theories, legislation, and contradictions in the political and economic policy debates of the Eastern countries.

Booknews

Chapters on seven countries--Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Slovenia--look at legislation, banking, finance, money and capital markets, insurance, market supervision, emerging stock markets, secondary markets, and other topics of interest to the business community wanting to know how to participate in the markets emerging from the ashes of failed centrally planned economies. Appendices provide contact names and addresses. Oddly, no index. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)