Albertson College of Idaho

^*I thank Jerzy Hausner, Chief of Advisors to the Polish Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, William Glade, University of Texas at Austin, and Mark Klinedinst, Southern Mississippi, for providing data and useful comments.

Abstract

This paper analyzes Poland's economic performance following the introduction of shock therapy as compared to China's performance under its transformation policies. Both nation's economic policies are evaluated within the context of the goals, perceptions and performance criteria selected by Polish policymakers. Evidence indicates that shock therapy had mixed results and that ideology has influenced previous analyses of such policies. Since China's performance based upon the same criteria has been no less favorable, lessons from its transformation experience deserve attention from Central and East European policymakers comparable to that given Poland.