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Transition to a Market-Oriented Economy: China versus Eastern Europe and Russia

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The Institutional Foundations of East Asian Economic Development

Part of the book series: International Economic Association Series ((IEA))

Abstract

For the transition from a centrally planned economy to a decentralized market economy, there are two different approaches. The first is a ‘big bang’ or ‘shock therapy’ approach; the reforms undertaken in Eastern Europe and the former USSR in recent years are typical examples. This approach considers stabilization, marketization, and privatization to be the necessary components of a successful transition and attempts to complete all these components simultaneously or in a short sequence. The contrasting alternative is the ‘gradual’, ‘organic’, or ‘evolutional’ approach, and this latter has characterized China’s recent reforms. It is piecemeal, partial, incremental, sequential, often experimental, and without large-scale privatization.

This paper draws heavily on our book The China Miracle: Development Strategy and Economic Reform (Hong Kong: Chinese University Press, 1996) and our paper ‘The Lessons of China’s Transition to a Market Economy’, Cato Journal, vol. 16, no. 2 (Fall 1996).

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Central Economic-Mathematical Institute, Moscow, Russia

    Valery Makarov

  2. Peking University, China

    Justin Yifu Lin

  3. Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Australian National University, USA

    Justin Yifu Lin

Authors
  1. Justin Yifu Lin
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  2. Valery Makarov
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Aoyama-Gakuin University, Tokyo, Japan

    Yujiro Hayami

  2. Stanford University, USA

    Masahiko Aoki

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© 1998 International Economic Association

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Lin, J.Y., Makarov, V. (1998). Transition to a Market-Oriented Economy: China versus Eastern Europe and Russia. In: Hayami, Y., Aoki, M. (eds) The Institutional Foundations of East Asian Economic Development. International Economic Association Series. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-26928-0_8

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