THE SECOND DUBROVNIK CONFERENCE ON TRANSITION ECONOMIES

"Financial Sector Transformation:
Lessons from the Economies in Transition"

Organized by the National Bank of Croatia
Dubrovnik, June  26-28, 1996

Scientific Committee

Organizing Committee

List of Participants

About the Book

The Book: "Financial Sector Transformation:
                  Lessons from the Economies in Transition"
                  by Mario I. Blejer and Marko Skreb
                  Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 1999

About the Editors

The Book Reviews

SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE

Mr. Pero Jurkovic - Chairman
National Bank of Croatia

Mr. Robert A. Mundell
Columbia University

Mr. Mario I. Blejer
International Monetary Fund

Mr. Marko Skreb
National Bank of Croatia

ORGANIZING COMMITTEE

Mr. Marko Skreb - Chairman
Governor
National Bank of Croatia

Mr. Zdravko Rogic
Deputy Governor
National Bank of Croatia

Mr. Relja Martic
Vicegovernor 
National Bank of Croatia

Mr. Velimir Sonje
Executive Director
National Bank of Croatia

Ms. Lidija Pleadin
Assistant to the Chief of Staff
National Bank of Croatia

Ms. Ruzica Vuger
Press Officer
National Bank of Croatia

LIST OF PARTICIPANTS


  1. Mr. Zoran Anusic, Ministry of Finance, Zagreb, Croatia
  2. Mr. Mate Babic, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
  3. Mr. Mario I. Blejer, International Monetary Fund, Washington, USA
  4. Mr. Velimir Bole, Economic Institut of Law Faculty, Ljubljana, Slovenia
  5. Mr. Thomas Dorsey, International Monetary Fund, Washington, USA
  6. Mr. Robert A. Feldman, International Monetary Fund, Washington, USA
  7. Mr. Jacob A. Frenkel, Bank of Israel, Jerusalem, Israel
  8. Mr. Manuel Guitian, International Monetary Fund, Washington, USA
  9. Mr. Ardo H. Hansson, The World Bank, Washington, USA
10. Mr. Arye L. Hillman, Bar llan University, Tel Aviv, Israel
11. Mr. Andrei Illarionov, Independent Research on the Russian Economy, Moscow, Russia
12. Mr. Pero Jurkovic, National Bank of Croatia, Zagreb, Croatia
13. Mr. Daniel Kaufmann, Harvard University, Cambridge, USA
14. Mr. Stefan Kawalec, Bank Handlowy W Warszawie, Warszawie, Poland
15. Mr. Vladimir Kopf, SADIBR, Zagreb, Croatia
16. Mr. Almos Kovacs, National Bank of Hungary, Budapest, Hungary
17. Mr. Anton Kovacev, Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Zagreb, Croatia
18. Mr. Evan Kraft, National Bank of Croatia, Zagreb, Croatia
19. Mr. Edmunds Krastins, Government of Republic of Latvia, Riga, Latvia
20. Mr. Ricardo Lago, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, London, UK
21. Mr. John Lampe, Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars, Washington, USA
22. Mr. Relja Martic, National Bank of Croatia, Zagreb, Croatia
23. Mr. Zlatko Matesa, Government of Croatia, Zagreb, Croatia
24. Ms. Martha de Melo, The World Bank, Washington, USA
25. Mr. Zarko Miljenovic, Zagrebacka banka, Zagreb, Croatia
26. Mr. Robert A. Mundell, Columbia University, New York, USA
27. Ms. Piroska M. Nagy, International Monetary Fund, Washington, USA
28. Mr. Djuro Navro, Parliament of the Republic of Croatia, Zagreb, Croatia
29. Mr. Mario Nuti, London Business School, London, UK
30. Mr. Gur Ofer, The Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel
31. Mr. Scott V. Parris, Cambridge University Press, New York, USA
32. Ms. Lidija Pleadin, National Bank of Croatia, Zagreb, Croatia
33. Mr. Bozo Prka, Ministry of Finance, Zagreb, Croatia
34. Mr. Zdravko Rogic, National Bank of Croatia, Zagreb, Croatia
35. Mr. Zeljko Rohatinski, Economic Institute, Zagreb, Croatia
36. Mr. Christian Schiller, National Bank of Croatia, Zagreb, Croatia
37. Mr. Borislav Skegro, Government of Croatia, Zagreb, Croatia
38. Mr. Marko Skreb, National Bank of Croatia, Zagreb, Croatia
39. Mr. Velimir Sonje, National Bank of Croatia, Zagreb, Croatia
40. Mr. Mladen Stancic, Institute for Development and International Relations, Zagreb, Croatia
41. Mr. Davor Stern, Ministry of Economy, Zagreb, Croatia
42. Mr. Franjo Stiblar, Economic Institut of Law Faculty, Ljubljana, Slovenia
43. Mr. Vito Tanzi, International Monetary Fund, Washington, USA
44. Mr. Imre Tarafas, National Bank of Croatia, Zagreb, Croatia
45. Ms. Ruzica Vuger, National Bank of Croatia, Zagreb, Croatia
46. Mr. Paul Wachtel, Management Education Center, New York, USA
47. Mr. Stanislaw Wellisz, Columbia University, New York, USA
48. Mr. J. de Beaufort Wijnholds, International Monetary Fund, Washington, USA

About the book

While policy makers need to be focused on achieving and sustaining basic macroeconomic stability in the transition of economies from a socialist to a market orientation, financial institutions and reforms play a particularly crucial role in this transformation. The essays in this collection offer overviews of issues in banking sector reform and capital markets as well as specific perspectives on the financial sectors in changing economies of Central and Eastern Europe, China, and Israel. The editors and contributors explore the questions of how much focus needs to be given to macroeconomic stabilization vis-a-vis the dynamics of the financial sector, what may be appropriate time frames for dealing with immediate and longer-term financial problems, and how trends toward economic globalization interact with financial development in transition countries.

Original versions of these essays were presented at the Second Dubrovnik Conference on Transition Economies organized by the Croatian National Bank, June 1996.






THE BOOK: "Financial Sector Transformation:
                   Lessons from the Economies in Transition"
                   by Mario I. Blejer and Marko Skreb

Contents:

I  INTRODUCTION

        1. Financial Reforms and Economic Transition: An Overview of the Major Issues
            Mario I. Blejer and Marko Skreb

II  GENERAL STUDIES

        2. Monetary Policy During Transition: an Overview
            Martha de Melo and Cevdet Denizer
        3. Towards Market-Oriented Banking in the Economies in Transition
            John P. Bonin and Paul Wachtel
        4. The Political Economy of Banking Sector Reform in the Transition
            Arye L. Hillman and Heinrich W. Ursprung
        5. Macroeconomic Influences on Transition and Financial Reforms
            Willem H. Buiter, Ricardo Lago and Helene Rey

III  COUNTRY  STUDIES

        6. Banking Crises in the Baltic States: Causes, Solutions and Lessons
            Ardo H. Hansson and Triinu Tombak
        7. Monetary and Exchange Rate Policy, Capital Inflows and
            the Structure of the Banking System in Croatia
            Velimir Sonje, Evan Kraft and Thomas Dorsey
        8. Monetary and Financial Market Reform in Transition Economies:
            The Special Case of China
            Robert A. Mundell
        9. The Financial Sector and High Interest Rates: Lessons from Slovenia
            Velimir Bole
       10. Bank Rehabilitation in Slovenia: with Emphasis on Nova Ljubljanska Banka
            Franjo Stiblar
       11. Liberalization and Financial Reforms: Lessons from the Israeli Experience
            Jacob A. Frenkel

III  AFTERWORD

       12. The Financial Sector in Transition: An Afterword
             Mario I. Blejer

Contributors

Mario I. Blejer, International Monetary Fund
Marko Skreb, National Bank of Croatia
Martha de Melo, The World Bank
John P. Bonin, Wesleyan University
Cevdet Denizer, The World Bank 
Paul Wachtel, Stern School of Business, New York University
Arye L. Hillman, Bar Illan University
Henrich W. Ursprung, University of Konstanz
Willem H. Buiter, University of Cambridge and Bank of England
Ricardo Lago, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
Hélène Rey, Centre for Economic Preformance, London School of Economics and CREST
Ardo H. Hansson, Stockholm School of Economics
Triinu Tombak, Estonian Investment Bank
Velimir Sonje, National Bank of Croatia
Evan Kraft, National Bank of Croatia
Thomas Dorsey, International Monetary Fund
Robert A. Mundell, Columbia University
Velimir Bole, University of Ljubljana
Franjo Stiblar, University of Ljubljana
Jacob A. Frenkel, Bank of Israel

The book reviews

"This book has been written by leading intellectuals who have witnessed the financial transformation in Central and Eastern Europe and elsewhere from the front lines of policymaking and advice-giving institutions. Its coverage of the macroeconomic context and of the institutional crisis and evolution in the banking sector is excellent in breadth and detail. After ten years, since the transition began, this work offers perspective and insight into whole process."
             - Enrico Perotti, University of Amsterdam

"Banking and financial markets posed the most formidable challenges for post-communist economies: hardening and stabilizing the currency; cleaning up the balance sheets of enterprises and banks, before their re-capitalization and privatization; and above all developing entirely new institutions - from new banks to bank supervision, to the emergence and growth of financial intermediaries and markets, formerly missing completely. It was a question not so much of transformation but of creation. Unexpected problems have arisen, from apparent de-monetisation to banking crises, from external fragility to bursting bubbles. The Dubrovnik papers edited by Mario Blejer and Marko Skreb break new ground and make original, important contributions to our understanding of these neglected and fundamental aspects of the transition, in general and in more interesting countries. The book is essential reading for both scholars and practitioners, but will also be enjoyed by the general reader."
            - Mario Nuti Ph. D.,  University of Rome and London Business School

"At last a book which uses a fully up-to-date approach in analyzing the creation of financial systems after communism. Excellent! Teachers of courses in money and banking and transition economics cannot do without it."
            - Jack Rostowski,  Central European University, Budapest