The Mongolian Economy: A Manual of Applied Economics for a Country in Transition

In 1990 Mongolia - the second oldest communist state in the world - initiated a fundamental transformation of its economy and moved rapidly towards a multi-party democracy. Unlike any other Asian economy it adopted the shock therapy approach to transition. This work attempts to provide a detailed examination of transition in Mongolia since 1990. It includes analyses of macroeconomic performance, the agriculture and industry sectors, the labour market and the emerging financial sector. It also focuses on poverty, gender, privatization and the environment. The contributors to this volume argue that policymakers have exacerbated the painful transition process by underestimating its complexity and by pursuing inappropriate or, at best, overly optimistic policy reforms.

Table of Contents:
Contents: Preface Introduction 1. Transition and Development 2. Administrative Reform 3. Macroeconomic Policy and Performance 4. Money and Finance 5. The External Sector 6. Industry and Transport 7. Privatisation, Enterprise and Private Sector Development 8. Role of Livestock and Crop Economy in the Mongolian Economic Transition 9. Environmental Impacts of the Mongolian Economic Transition 10. Poverty in Mongolia 11. The Mongolian Labour Market in Transition 12. The Gender Dimension of Economic Transition in Mongolia Index

About the Author :
Edited by Frederick Nixson, former Professor of Development Economics, School of Economics, University of Manchester, UK, Bat Suvd, Director, Puntsagdash Luvsandorj, Professor of Economics, Director of Research and Deputy Director, School of Economic Studies, National University of Mongolia, Mongolia and Bernard Walters, former Senior Lecturer in Economics, School of Economic Studies, University of Manchester, UK

Review :
'This book offers an overview of Mongolia's transition during the 1990s from a centrally planned to a market-based economy. It is recommended to anyone interested in learning more about the process of economic transition in Mongolia and the structure and state of the Mongolian economy. It is appropriate for students with a basic understanding of economics from the undergraduate level on up, and provides valuable statistics and descriptive information for academics, government officials or anyone interested in understanding Mongolia's economy up to the late-1990s. It is an important addition to the literature because it is one of the only comprehensive sources for descriptions and data covering the major economic sectors in Mongolia.' 'I am very glad to have this work on my bookshelf.' 'As the first full-length book treatment of the Mongolian economy since the abandonment of central planning, this is a welcome addition to the literature . . . this book is likely to become a standard reference on this crucial period in Mongolia's economic history. It contains a wealth of material, and the individual contributions are marked by common sense and reasonable balance. Anybody wanting an introduction to the Mongolian economy will find it here. . .' 'There are few subjects about which more pernicious nonsense is written than the problems of countries in transition from central planning to the market. The authors of this book have performed a double service to the reader. First, they have provided a sensible, balanced, and informative discussion of the problems of transition, as an antidote to free market fundamentalism. Second, they provide a thorough treatment of a country about which relatively little is written. The book can be read with profit by both the Asian specialist and someone interested in the problems of transition in general.'