The sudden contact between two separate worlds

Steindl, Josef

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Document type:: Works

Collection:: Josef Steindl Collection

Title:: The sudden contact between two separate worlds: Draft with minor corrections

Author:: Steindl, Josef

Scope:: Kopie eines Typoskripts mit handschriftlichen Anmerkungen und Anstreichungen, 4 Blätter

Year of publication:: 1990

Subject:: Osteuropa Wirtschaftsreform Wirtschaftssystem Transformation Ost-West Beziehungen

Note:: Untertitel fingiert. - Das Paper wurde verfasst anlässlich der sog. Ost-West-Konferenz: New Economic Relations beween East and West - Conference of the Kreisky Commission and the Swedish Embassy in Vienna, May 17-18, 1990.

Topic:: Economic policy

JEL Classification:: P26 [Socialist Systems and Transitional Economies: Political Economy, Property Rights] P27 [Socialist Systems and Transitional Economies: Performance and Prospects]

Shelfmark:: S/M.35.24

Access:: Free access

3 abolition of subsidies on food etc should be delayed as long as possible except in the case of energy. There is one factor,however, which is absolutely crucial when it comes to choose between the two scenarios: The infrastructure.The socialist countries have a dilapidated and run down infrastucture as well as a heavily damaged environment. To rebuild and modernise this infrastructure and to restore the environment to health must, for more than one reason, have the highest priority in the economic policies of these countries. The first reason is that it is very difficult to attract investment from the outside under the existing conditions. Indeed,the most essential things are amiss: Telecommmunications, railways and other transport, power supply.The computer networks which have become commonplace in the West are absent and money is carried by hand from one town to the other or by courrier abroad. The shortcomings of the distribution system and of repair services and the dilapidation of houses also are questions of infrastructure in the wider sense. Experience of regional policy in our parts of the world has shown that management shuns locations which are unsatisfactory with respect to infrastructure and environment. It is an open question whether enthusiasm and optimism of the concerns outweighs these handicaps. There is no doubt that it will take many years to restore infrastructure and environment.Politicians who pretend to disregard this are evidently in possession of Alladins wonderful lamp. A second reason for the urgency of building up the infrastructure is that this offers the best hope for counteracting the unemployment which threatens to arise from the upheaval in industry. Some time will be needed,though,before actual work can begin, because it would be crazy to approach this task without

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