Abstract
The collapse of the centrally planned systems of the Eastern bloc was undoubtedly one of the most important global events of the twentieth century. The transformation of highly centralized economic systems into market economies over such a massive geographical area was historically unprecedented. For western corporations this created a major opportunity to enter markets whose accessibility had been very limited, and for scholars it provided a powerful impetus for in-depth studies of post-Communist development. These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.