List of Tables
List of Acronyms
A Chronology of the Transition, 1989-1993
Preface
Introduction 3
Ch. I The Polish Crisis and Polish Socialism 9
The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Partitions 9
The Rise and Fall of the Second Republic 14
The Establishment of Socialism 21
Stalinism and the Polish October 27
From October to December: The Gomulka Years 31
Gierek's "New Development Strategy" and the WOG Reform 36
The Collapse of the New Development Strategy 43
The Democratic Opposition and the Birth of Solidarity 46
Ch. II Crisis and Reform in the 1980s 50
Martial Law and the "First Stage" of Economic Reform 50
The "Second Stage" of Economic Reform: 1986-1988 65
Political Reform during the Second Stage 70
The Roundtable Agreements 72
The Private Sector in the 1980s 75
Economic Performance in the 1980s 79
The Legacies of the Reforms of the 1980s 85
Ch. III Crisis and Economic Transformation, 1990-1992 86
The Origins of the Balcerowicz Plan 89
The Balcerowicz Plan in 1990 91
The Balcerowicz Plan in 1991 98
Privatization in Poland 1990-1992 102
Between "Breakthrough" and "Continuity" in 1992 111
The Politics of the Economic Transition, 1989-1993 120
Is the Polish Crisis Over? 132
Ch. IV Transformations in Key Markets and Sectors 138
Industry 138
Agriculture 144
Banking, Capital, and Financial Markets 149
Labor Markets and Social Policy 156
External Economic Relations 166
Ch. V The Lessons of the Polish Transition 176
How Does Poland Compare? 176
Lessons of the Polish Experience 178
Notes 189
Bibliography 207
Index 227

In 1989, Poland became the first Eastern Bloc country to shake off the dominance of its ruling Communist party. Although other post-Communist countries have since followed suit, Poland's experience has been unique in its move to Westernize. In this timely and insightful account, Ben Slay provides the first integrated, comprehensive assessment of Poland's economic transformation from central planning to a market system, and the political and sociological factors that have contributed to it. Drawing on the work of Western and Polish scholars as well as his own research, Slay traces the evolution of the Polish transformation from its historical roots in People's Poland and predicts potential problems and successes facing the Polish economy.
A ground-breaking addition to the emerging study of post- Communist political economies, The Polish Economy demonstrates that other countries now struggling to join the West have much to learn from Poland's example. Of interest to scholars across the social sciences, this work provides general as well as professional readers with a compelling account of the realities behind one of the most important events of our time--the collapse of the Eastern Bloc.
Originally published in 1994.
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