WHAT CAN BE LEARNED ABOUT REGIONAL-DEVELOPMENT FROM THE EX-COMMUNIST WORLD - A COMMENT

Due to the remarkable events of the past few years, the Second World has emerged into the forefront of economic study. As the formerly Communist countries try to find their way to liberal democracy and effective market systems, they reveal dimensions of social, economic, and political processes not apparent from observations of the First or Third Worlds. For example, two factors important to regional processess, institutional infrastructure and regional nationalism, have been neglected in much of the regional science literature. While ex-Communist countries may be able to learn from the American experience, Americans and others may also learn a great deal from the struggles and developments in the former Communist countries.