Article

 

Agriculture in Post-transition CEECs: Reconstruction or Deconstruction? (p.11-35)

by

Evangelos Nikolaidis, University of Crete

Keywords : structural change, Chenery hypothesis, transition economies, agriculture

JEL classification : O13, P20, Q10

Abstract

In the CEECs, the share of agriculture in GDP declined during the early years of transition to a level that characterizes countries with a higher level of economic development. This was accompanied by a significant and prolonged deterioration of key agricultural indicators. The crisis in the agricultural sector, which has lasted for almost two decades, reveals structural weaknesses that can hardly fall under the label of transformational recession. Accordingly, it has led to restructuring without the expected developmental content, and reflects strong elements of deconstruction, which at the end resembles a quasi-development process.