Abstract
The topic of my presentation is the role of trade policy in Poland’s transition to a market economy. I will begin with a brief description of the economic situation existing in Poland just prior to the comprehensive stabilization and reform program of 1990 (the much debated “shock” or “big-bang” approach) and then delve briefly into the broad economic strategy that the Polish government introduced to address these initial conditions. Most of my presentation will describe the trade reform that formed an integral part of the initial “shock” program as well as the subsequent trade liberalization introduced through trade agreements with Poland’s largest and geographically nearest trading partners. The last segment of my presentation will assess some aspects of the successes and failures of the reform program. I will conclude with some lessons that may be drawn from Poland’s experience and hopefully have some time for questions.
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