The Economic Transition and Integration (ETI) project led by János Gács was phased-out by the end of 2002 as an autonomous research unit in the theme of "Population and Society". Its follow-up activity on Economic Transition and Integration undertaken by Vladimír Benácek under the "General Research" framework was terminated on 31st October, 2003.

Project Description

Since the late 1980s, more than two dozen formerly centrally-planned economies in Eastern Europe have begun their transition to the market system. This process has become one of the most comprehensive social experiments in human history. To support the reforms - and at the same time test propositions derived from economic theory - an analysis of the diverse experience of transition was needed.

The ETI project was IIASA’s quick and adequate response to the opening possibilities for economic and social transformation in Central and Eastern Europe. An institute that had been born as a child of détente could not keep away itself from the historic process of convergence of former communist centrally-planned countries towards becoming open market economies and anchored in the democratic institutional framework of the European Union. Starting in 1990, ETI assisted the process of economic transition process with organizing and conducting cooperative research and providing policy advice.

The main research themes of the project were:
• Major elements of a comprehensive economic reform in the Soviet    Union/Russia;
• International trade and restructuring in Eastern Europe;
• Stabilization in first and second tier countries of transition;
• Reorganization of the Russian R&D sector in the framework of    transition;
• Output decline in Eastern Europe;
• Impediments to export in small transition economies;
• Financial inflows to transition economies;
• Topical issues of the EU accession process;
• Macroeconomic scenarios for accession and non-accession to the    EU;
• Catching up and EU accession.

Due to its network-like approach of the project contributors and participants of ETI activities were hundreds of scholars, experts, as well as officials of governments and international organizations.

The output of the project can be found in seven books, numerous reports and collaborative papers, dozens of articles in professional journals and working papers. Many of them can be downloaded from the list of publications. Given the evolving nature of the transition process, the memorable workshops and conferences of ETI can also be considered as output since many crucial issues of transition were raised and hotly debated here in a professional atmosphere, and through these discussions the project had a major impact on both ideas and policies in many transition countries. In its methodology the project relied mainly on the comparative approach: behavioral characteristics of micro- and macro-economies were analyzed in time, across regions, and across alternative institutional setups.

From among the scholars in the project one has to mention those who shaped fundamentally its strategy: Petr Aven and Merton Joe Peck, who helped establish ETI, the latter also serving as project leader in the first years; János Gács, who worked through almost the whole period and was also project leader; Richard N. Cooper, scientific adviser to the project for several years; and Leonid Gokhberg, the main organizer of activities on R&D for a long period.

For more information about the project please select one of the bars in the top of left column. 

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Responsible for this page: Vladimir Benacek
Last updated: 20 Oct 2003