Peripheral European Transitions: performance, structure and trade relations in the Balkan region

This paper argues that the process of transition in Europe has a very strong geographical dimension, resulting to new regional divisions at the European level. It presents evidence that the adjustment of the Balkan transition economies to the international environment after 1989 has been associated with poor growth performance, inferior economic and export structures, and diverging productive bases. Our analysis suggests that the liberal trade policies that were uniformly imposed by the EU had an adverse effect on countries with unfavorable initial conditions and unfavorable geographical coordinates. It also suggests that a better understanding of the complex aspects of internationalization of peripheral economies is needed, as is a 'new policy consensus' addressing the real barriers that prevent them from seeking a better place under the globalized sun.