Andreea STAN
THEORIZING AND UNDERSTANDING TRANSITION (PART I)

Abstract

This article is a first one from a series dedicated to the presentation of the thesis "Theorizing and Understanding Transition", defended at Stanford University. Starting from a general overview of the transition process in Eastern Europe, this thesis addresses the current problems facing the Romanian economy. The main question that this thesis answers to is how the immediate adoption of a currency board arrangement would affect the economic situation in Romania and whether Romania should adopt such an arrangement. I argue that a currency board arrangement is the optimal stabilization solution for Romania given the constraints it faces at the current time. The first part of this series of articles deals with the introduction, the statement of the thesis and the presentation of the significance of this thesis.

Key words: transition economies, stabilization, monetary policy, currency board.
JEL Classification: E5, P2