Restructuring Infrastructure in Transition Economies

The provision of telecommunications, electricity and transport, in centrally planned economies, was distinguished from that in market economies in at least three ways. Firstly, some services, such as electric power and rail freight transport, were abundantly supplied to enterprises as part of a strategy of directed growth. With the focus on expanding material inputs, certain infrastructure services were supplied to industry with little regard for their production costs, including their environmental impact. Secondly, with an ideological bias in favour of material production and a neglect of services, there was relatively little investment in telecommunications, despite its potential for raising productivity and output. Thirdly, vital infrastructure services, such as electricity and urban transportation, were provided to households for free, or for a nominal charge, as part of an approach to income allocation in which basic consumer goods and services were supplied at prices well below cost.