What's inside " We Did Not Neglect Institutional Development " Interview with World Bank's Eca Chief Economist Marcelo Selowsky

There are tremendous differences among the transition economies. Countries in Central Europe close to EU accession are growing rapidly, even faster than Western Europe. On the other hand, the largest transition country, Russia, is in economic crisis. What can explain this highly divergent performance? What should have been done differently in Russia? Transition editor, Richard Hirschler, posed these questions to Marcelo Selowsky, chief economist of the Europe and Central Asia Region at the World Bank. Mr. Selowsky has done extensive writing on macroeconomic and debt issues, and for more than a decade, focused his research on poverty issues and investment in human resources. He did pioneering work on the economic cost of infant malnutrition and drew attention to the need to integrate social programs for very young children into the overall investment in human capital. He served as chief economist for the Latin America and Caribbean Region during that region’s debt crisis.