World Development Report 1996

Book excerpt: Almost one-third of the world's population has embarked on a transition from planned to market economies. Like economic reforms elsewhere, the long-term goal of this transition is to build a thriving market economy capable of delivering long-term growth in living standards. Now in its 19th annual edition, the World Development Report 1996 takes an in-depth look at these transition countries, focusing on the key lessons that have taken place thus far. The introduction to the Report poses a number of key questions that are addressed in later chapters, including questions relating to initial challenges and how contries have tackled them from very different starting points and political conditions. The Report also focuses on the additional challenges these transition countries face, with a final chapter that summarizes the main conclusion of the Report, creating a text that will no doubt become the definitive source for students stydying international economics and politics.