The global economic and financial crisis hit Eastern Europe harder than anywhere in the world. The region was shut off from global financial flows essentially overnight and some Eastern European countries lost a staggering 20% of GDP in one year. What does such a large loss in economic output do to the average household? The latest Transition Report of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) provides some worrying answers.

As Erik Berglöf explains in this INET interview, the crisis in combination with loose social safety nets forced people in Eastern Europe to cut down on food expenses and limit visits to doctors. The report, entitled “Crisis in Transition: The People's Perspective,” contains more than numbers on economic and social conditions; the report is also informed by over 38,000 interviews that tell us how people in Eastern Europe think about the world. And what is striking, Berglöf says, is that while support for markets and democracy survived the crisis, people are dissatisfied with the state of healthcare and education systems. This and more in the INET interview with Erik Berglöf.

Berglöf is the EBRD’s Chief Economist and a member of the INET Governing Board.

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