When Poland and Ukraine introduced their political, social and economic system reforms at the beginning of the 1990s, both economies were at a similar level of economic development (GDP $9,500 per capita). However, in 2018, Ukrainian GDP per capita had remained at the same levels since 1991, while in Poland, it had increased significantly, to more than $27,000 per capita. This book assesses the reasons for the growing gap between the level of economic development in Ukraine and Poland. It examines the course of events and evaluates the effectiveness of the system transformations, both in the context of the economy, as a whole, and in individual regions (Polish ‘voivodeships’ (provinces) and Ukrainian ‘oblasts’). It also analyzes the consequences of the 2008–2009 Ukrainian-Russian gas conflict and 2013–2014 Euromaidan events for the Ukrainian economy. Additionally, the authors offer an insight into the migration movements, which have recently been observed in Poland and Ukraine. This is the first comprehensive, comparative analysis concerning the spatial diversification of economic development in these two countries, and the authors highlight the ways in which these reforms have proved effective in Poland and hardly effective in Ukraine. This analysis helps to identify the basic interrelations between the core macroeconomic variables at the regional level and the impact of political events from both a national and regional perspective. The book will appeal to academics, researchers and policy makers interested in the economic and political changes in these two countries, in a comparative setting and on national and regional levels, as well as those working on issues of EU integration.

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 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.

One of Europe's old nations steeped in history, Ukraine is today an undisputed independent state. It is a democracy and has transformed into a market economy with predominant private ownership. Ukraine's postcommunist transition has been one of the most protracted and socially costly, but it has taken the country to a desirable destination. Åslund's vivid account of Ukraine's journey begins with a brief background, where he discusses the implications of Ukraine's history, the awakening of society because of Mikhail Gorbachev's reforms, the early democratization, and the impact of the ill-fated Soviet economic reforms. He then turns to the reign of President Leonid Kravchuk from 1991 to 1994, the only salient achievement of which was nation-building, while the economy collapsed in the midst of hyperinflation. The first two years of Leonid Kuchma's presidency, from 1994 to 1996, were characterized by substantial achievements, notably financial stabilization and mass privatization. The period 1996–99 was a miserable period of policy stagnation, rent seeking, and continued economic decline. In 2000 hope returned to Ukraine. Viktor Yushchenko became prime minister and launched vigorous reforms to cleanse the economy from corruption, and economic growth returned. The ensuing period, 2001–04, amounted to a competitive oligarchy. It was quite pluralist, although repression increased. Economic growth was high. The year 2004 witnessed the most joyful period in Ukraine, the Orange Revolution, which represented Ukraine's democratic breakthrough, with Yushchenko as its hero. The postrevolution period, however, has been characterized by great domestic political instability; a renewed, explicit Russian threat to Ukraine's sovereignty; and a severe financial crisis. The answers to these challenges lie in how soon the European Union fully recognizes Ukraine's long-expressed identity as a European state, how swiftly Ukraine improves its malfunctioning constitutional order, and how promptly it addresses corruption.

What makes countries rich? What makes countries poor? Europe's Growth Champion: Insights from the Economic Rise of Poland seeks to answer these questions, and many more, through a study of one of the biggest, and least heard about, economic success stories. Over the last twenty-five years Poland has transitioned from a perennially backward, poor, and peripheral country to unexpectedly join the ranks of the world's high income countries. Europe's Growth Champion is about the lessons learned from Poland's remarkable experience, the conditions that keep countries poor, and the challenges that countries need to face in order to grow. It defines a new growth model that Poland and its Eastern European peers need to adopt to grow and catch up with their Western counterparts. Poland's economic rise emphasizes the importance of the fundamental sources of growth- institutions, culture, ideas, and leaders- in economic development. It demonstrates that a shift from an extractive society, where the few rule for the benefit of the few, to an inclusive society, where many rule for the benefit of many, can be the key to economic success. *IEurope's Growth Champion asserts that a newly emerged inclusive society will support further convergence of Poland and the rest of Central and Eastern Europe with the West, and help to sustain the region's Golden Age. It also acknowledges the future challenges that Poland faces, and that moving to the core of the European economy will require further reforms and changes in Poland's developmental character.

Axel Siedenberg, Lutz Hoffmann 1 The specificity of transformation in Ukraine When the Soviet empire collapsed in the very early 1990s, the new era that dawned was commonly given the name 'transformation', implying the systemic change from socialism towards some form of market economy. Almost ten years later, 'the' transformation process does not exist any more; instead, a whole variety of transformations are taking place in Eastern Europe and the CIS: Whereas some countries are heading towards EU membership (e. g. Poland), others are still pondering on what economic system to adopt (e. g. Russia) and yet others have rejected a market-oriented transformation outright (e. g. Belarus). Within this variety of transformations, Ukraine clearly stands out as a specific case: Whilst initially considered to be one of the stronger post-Soviet Republics, it descended into economic depression in 1992 and has hardly recovered since; on the other hand, once considered to be a potential centre of ethnic unrest and political instability, it has turned into a democratic, peaceful civil society that is firmly establishing itself within the new European and world order. This book takes a critical look at economic reform in Ukraine as compared to other East European and CIS countries. Our hypothesis is that Ukraine is going through a transformation process peculiar to itself, which can be traced at both macroeconomic and microeconomic level.

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 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.

This volume explores the recent impressive economic growth in Ukraine from a regional and international perspective. In doing so, it looks at the extent to which economic reform, a positive international economic climate and the devaluation of the Hryvnia in 1998/99, have contributed to economic growth in Ukraine. The text also examines the steps that need to be taken to ensure that this growth continues. The book features contributions by over twenty Ukrainian and international experts, who provide insights from neighbouring countries with detailed analysis of the current situation in Ukraine.