How Ukraine Became a Market Economy and Democracy: Will Economic and Political Reforms Last through the Crisis?
In the past decade, Ukraine has transformed its economy from a state-run to a market-based economy. Reforms have been comprehensive and fostered high economic growth. Distributional concerns persist, but the newly acquired economic wealth has improved welfare conditions for many and not only people at the top. The economy is still dependent on commodities, but it has diversified considerably.
Will these reforms last during the difficult period Ukraine currently is going through? The economy has contracted and some estimates points to drop in GDP of almost 25 percent. The asset boom, especially in real estate, has collapsed and unemployment is rising fast. Fiscal stability is deteriorating. The financial sector is in deep trouble, and that also applies to European banks which had expanded credit in Ukraine. The International Monetary Fund has given Ukraine a rescue package. The political climate is also tense as Ukraine is approaching an election.
ECIPE and the German Marshall Fund of the United States is very pleased to invite you – on a short notice – to a presentation by Anders Åslund about Ukraine’s economic reforms. Dr. Åslund, a Senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute of International Economics in Washington DC, is one of the leading experts in the world on Ukraine and has recently released his new book How Ukraine Became a Market Economy and Democracy.
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