The Transition from Communism 25 Years after the Fall of the Berlin Wall: Lessons for Non‐Free Societies
Featuring Oleh Havrylyshyn, Department of Economics, George Washington University and University of Toronto; Peter Murrell, Mancur Olson Professor, Department of Economics, University of Maryland; Krassen Stanchev, Executive Director, Institute for Market Economics, Bulgaria; Dalibor Rohac, Policy Analyst, Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity, Cato Institute; Andrei Illarionov, Senior Fellow, Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity, Cato Institute; Mikheil Saakashvili, Former President, Republic of Georgia; moderated by Marian L. Tupy, Senior Policy Analyst, Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity, Cato Institute; and Ian Vasquez, Director, Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity, Cato Institute.
Following the fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989, communist governments crumbled throughout the Soviet bloc. By late December 1991, the Soviet Union itself ceased to exist. The pace of transition from communist dictatorship to democracy and market economics was uneven. Some countries experienced high rates of economic growth and rapid return to political freedom, while others remained stuck in poverty and authoritarianism. Which reforms worked and which did not? What were the pre-conditions for a successful transformation and what lessons can non-free societies learn from the experiences of former communist countries?
9:00 a.m.
Introduction
Marian L. Tupy Senior Policy Analyst, Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity, Cato Institute
9:15–10:45 a.m.
Panel 1: Economic Transition In Ex-Communist Countries: What Have We Learned from Different Approaches To Reforms?
