Freedom and Prosperity in Central and Eastern Europe
20 Years after the Collapse of Communism

CONFERENCE
Monday, September 21, 2009
9:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.

Cato Institute
1000 Massachusetts Ave., N.W.
Washington, D.C.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. A major advance in humanity's struggle for freedom, the collapse of communism has generally led to an increase in human well-being, with several ex-communist countries becoming free and prosperous. Yet the spread of liberty has been uneven. Many ex-communist countries lag behind and some have even reverted to political repression and economic dirigism.

Join us for a half-day conference where prominent experts and reformers will address the following questions:

Why have some countries more successfully moved toward democratic capitalism than others? What can current and future reformers learn from early reform efforts? How much have institutions and ideologies evolved, and to what extent do they explain the diversity of transition experiences? What challenges do Central and Eastern European countries face as they integrate with the European Union? What is the Russian model, and what influence does it exert in post-Soviet nations? How will the current financial crisis impact policy change in formerly communist countries?

Conference Schedule:

8:30 – 9:00 a.m. Registration
9:00 – 9:15 a.m. Welcoming Remarks: Edward H. Crane, President of the Cato Institute.
9:15 – 10:00 a.m. Keynote Address: Vaclav Klaus, President of the Czech Republic.



Download Podcast of the Welcoming Remarks and Keynote Address
10:00 – 11:30 a.m. The Evolution of Institutions and Ideology in the Post-Communist Era



Download Podcast of The Evolution of Institutions and Ideology in the Post-Communist Era

  • Moderator: Gerard Alexander, Associate Professor, Woodrow Wilson Department of Politics, University of Virginia.
  • Andrei Illarionov, Former Economic Adviser to the President of Russia; Senior Fellow, Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity, Cato Institute.
  • Paul Hollander, Professor Emeritus, Department of Sociology, University of Massachusetts at Amherst; Center Associate, Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies, Harvard University.
  • Sarah E. Mendelson, Director, Human Rights and Security Initiative, Center for Strategic and International Studies.

11:30 – 11:45 a.m. Break
11:45 a.m. – 1:15 p.m. Uneven Paths to Prosperity: Explaining Differences in Economic Performance



Download Podcast of Uneven Paths to Prosperity: Explaining Differences in Economic Performance

  • Moderator: Marian L. Tupy, Policy Analyst, Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity, Cato Institute.
  • Anders Aslund, Senior Fellow, Peterson Institute for International Economics.
  • Oleh Havrylyshyn, Former Deputy Minister of Finance, Ukraine; Research Scholar, Centre for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies, University of Toronto.
  • Kakha Bendukidze, Former Minister of the Economy and Reform Coordination, Georgia.
1:15 – 2:00 p.m. Lunch

Conference Registration

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