Paul Hare

Vodka and Pickled Cabbage Paul Hare

One of the most amazing 'events' of the last 25 or so years has been the complete transformation of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, their transition from communist rule and central planning to various forms of market-type economy. Ten of the countries have now joined the EU as full members, and for them this accession marks the real end of the Cold War, the end of the postwar divide between East and West. As a professional economist - initially as a PhD student, eventually as an economics professor based in Scotland - I have worked on the region since the late 1960s, travelling to diverse places in many countries, getting to know the people, observing the economic system both under central planning and as it was transformed to a market system. This book is not a technical academic work of the sort I normally write. It is a mix of economic history; short accounts of what I do or have done as a professional economist working in an endlessly fascinating part of the world; and travel tale, since my work has taken me to some quite obscure and not at all well known places. Everything in the book is based on my own observations and experiences, supported in places by extensive background knowledge and reading.