East Bloc Economies Finally Show Growth: Five...

East Bloc Economies Finally Show Growth: Five years after the collapse of the Berlin Wall, nearly all are showing expansion, the London-based European Bank for Reconstruction and Development said. But it added that the problems of transformation into market economies are far from over and that investment will have to play a vital role as countries grapple to get their institutions into shape. The EBRD--set up in 1991 to help the region of 400 million people switch from communism to market economies--warned that some countries, especially in the former Soviet Union, are still struggling. And while in most cases the initial shocks may be over, no country has regained its output level of 1989.