06 Oct 2016
New book by Christopher Hartwell is released in Europe and the UK
The dramatic events of Maidan in February 2014 shone a spotlight on the immense problems facing Ukraine. At the same time that Ukraine was undergoing turmoil, its western neighbor Poland was celebrating twenty-five years of post-communism with a rosy economic outlook and projections of continued growth. How could two countries who shared similar linguistic, cultural, economic and political heritages diverge so wildly in economic performance in such a short span of time?
The answers can be found in the new book by Christopher Hartwell, President of CASE: "Two Roads Diverge: The Transition Experience of Poland and Ukraine".
The main argument of this book is that institutions, and more specifically the evolution or neglect of the particular institutions needed for a market economy, explain the economic divergence between Ukraine and Poland. This book discusses the evolution of key institutions such as property rights, trade, and the role of the executive branch of government to explain the recent relative performance of the two countries.
More about the book here.
