R. Raymond – författare

This work on the "new Europe" refers to two transitions. Eastern European economies, including CIS republics, are in the process of transition to a market economy. EC countries are on the way to implementing an economic and monetary union and many of them would welcome a political union. EC countries cannot be separated from EFTA member countries, nor Europe from the rest of the world. The two transitions are different in kind, and in some respects are opposed. While Western Europe is searching for more trade and monetary integration, ie for more globalization, Eastern economies are exposed to disintegration. At the same time the East is influenced by the West and both transitions have some common challenges: the search for a model of capitalism, intermediate between laissez-faire and interventionism; and the search for competition as a discipline and for efficiency. The book focuses on privatization, economic reform, relationships between banks and industry, the role of the State, the dynamics of banking and financial sectors, monetary reform, the independence of the central bank, the European monetary union, and East-West economic and financial relations.This collection of papers, authored by members of universities, financial institutions and international organisations, should be of interest for policy makers, executives and academics.

The papers collected in this volume are those presented at the seventeenth Collo­ quium arranged by the Societe Universitaire Europeenne de Recherches Financieres (SUERF), which took place in Berlin in October 1992. The Society is supported by a large number of central banks and commercial banks, by other fmancial and business institutions and by personal subscriptions from academics and others interested in monetary and fmancial problems. Since its establishment in 1963, it has developed as a forum for the exchange of information, research results and ideas among academics and practitioners in these fields, including central bank officials and civil servants responsible for formulating and applying monetary and financial policies, national and international. A major activity of SUERF is to organise and conduct Colloquia on subjects of topical interest to its members. The titles, places and dates of previous Colloqu~ for which volumes of the collected papers were published are noted on the last page of this volume.