This edited volume examines the development path of eight Central and Eastern European countries with an overlapping historical background that joined the European Union between 2004 and 2013, and identifies the main similarities and differences between the countries concerned.

Based on wide comparative data analysis of Bulgaria, Croatia, The Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia, each chapter in the volume provides detailed information about the state of the economy in a specific area preceding the pandemic shock. The book offers a detailed snapshot of the state of the different areas of the economy, starting from the time when the countries concerned came out of the 2008 financial crisis, up to the date when COVID-19 hit. Further, each chapter analyzes the effects of this unprecedented shock on a particular field, which is followed by highlighting the main problems the countries are facing at present and in the near future, together with identifying the available policy options. Finally, before concluding and making general and country-specific policy recommendations, some thoughts will be given to longer-term prospects. More specifically, the question of how the subject area could contribute to avoiding the "middle-income-trap" that this region may be facing will be addressed.

The comprehensive approach makes this volume a must-read for scholars and students of economics, as well as policy decision-makers in Europe, interested in a better understanding of the region's economic development.

Convergence to the Centre.- Financial Markets: Banks Capital Markets.- Firm Size, Productivity, EU-Funds and Corruption.- Labour Markets: Structural Characteristics and the Impact of Two Crises.- Transport and Mobility.- Monetary, Macroprudential, and Fiscal Policy.- Green Economy: Energy, Environment, and Sustainability.- Health and Social Security.- Aging and Pension Systems.- Public Education.- Research & Development and Higher Education.- Inequality and Welfare.

László Mátyás is a University Professor at the Department of Economics and Business at the Central European University (CEU - Budapest, Hungary and Vienna, Austria). He (co)authored and (co)edited several high impact publications in econometrics, mostly in the field of panel data. Earlier, among others, he worked as Senior Lecturer at Monash University (Melbourne, Australia), was the founding Director of the Institute for Economic Analysis (Budapest, Hungary), and also served as Provost of CEU. Mátyás serves as a co-editor of the Springer book series "Advanced Studies in Theoretical and Applied Econometrics".