Transformation Crisis in Eastern Europe Continuing

The slump in production of goods and services in the former socialist countries is of similar kind and dimension as the one of the Great Depression of 1928/1933. However, unlike in the previous experience sixty years ago all countries suffer from rampant inflation while employment is falling less fast than output. Among the Eastern European countries Bulgaria, the CSFR and Romania are likely to register the strongest output decline in 1992 whereas in Hungary and Poland the downward trend should flatten out. For the Community of Independent States GDP may shrink by more than 15 percent.