Market Failure

During the 1980s, there was increasing pressure exerted on various Eastern European societies to "structurally adjust" their economies to the international market. The authors of this text argue that this process did not deliver any of the benefits which were promised - rather a structural economic crisis has been transmitted to the region. Why is this reform process failing? Starting from a non-technical viewpoint, the theoretical and practical inadequacies of present policies are analyzed, providing pointers to the kinds of policies which might provide a more rational alternative.