Economic Performance in South- East European Transition Countries After the Fall of Communism

In-spite of uninterrupted prosperity from 2003 until 2008 the main characteristic of the transition period in South-East European countries has been a plight and suffering of majority of population. The transition produced some winners and many losers. This is why at least 80% of people in the South-East European countries think that life was better in the ancient regime. The book analysis in detail economic performance in the region after the fall of communism and gives some explanation and possible reasons for a widespread disappointment with transition.

Tahir Mahmutefendic was born in Tuzla, Yugoslavia, now Bosnia and Herzegovina. In 1959 his family moved to Sarajevo, where he finished his education in 1978, gaining a first class honours from the Faculty of Economics at the University of Sarajevo, where he subsequently worked as a lecturer in Political Economics and Finance. In 1987 he earned a Master of Philosophy degree in International Economics from Belgrade University and in 1995 a PhD degree from the same university. He published numerous articles in various Yugoslav journals, mainly in the field of international finance. Tahir Mahmutefendic has been Economics editor of the South Slav Journal from 1996. He wrote more than 50 articles and book reviews for the journal. Tahir Mahmutefendic was a youth chess champion of Bosnia and Herzegovina and is a Bosnian chess master. He speaks eight languages.