CES organized the conference on “Economic Transition at Midlife”: Lessons from the Development of Markets and Institutions”in Portoroz, Slovenia, May 11-13, 2007. Over 50 attendees from Europe, China, the U.S. and elsewhere gathered to discuss research on transition economies at this conference hosted by the University of Primorska. Dr. Haizheng Li, professor of economics at the Georgia Institute of Technology and 2006-07 CES President, and Dr.Egon Žižmond, Dean of the School of Management at the University of Primorska, presided.

 

The introductory plenary session was addressed by two distinguished economists of development and transition, Janez Šušteršič of the University of Primorska and Gérard Roland of the University of California, Berkeley.  Professor Šušteršič discussed Slovenia’s experience with recent reforms.  Although Slovenia has taken a more conservative, gradual approach to reform than some of the other economies in transition, basic economic indicators such as growth have been good.   The question is whether the conservative approach worked in this case, and if so, why?  Professor Šušteršič argued that Slovenia has been fortunate but that the downsides of gradualism have in fact eroded its competitive position.  He argues that despite political considerations that favor a slow approach, Slovenia needs to push reforms forward faster.  The fact that Slovenia joined the European Union in 2004, and the Eurozone in 2007, has helped keep the economy on track. Professor Roland argued in his keynote address that recent experience with transition, especially in China, has challenged economists’ understanding of how markets work.  Much of what economists expected about transition has not panned out.  In particular, few would have expected the severe downturn in production coinciding with the beginning of reforms, and few predicted the remarkable success of China’s transition to date.