Péter Szigeti, József Mocsáry, Károly Lóránt and László Andor explain what is a market economy in their opinion and what is not, and whether it is meaningful to add adjectives to the phrase, e.g. "socialist market economy".

An assessment of the economic policy and social environment of the privatisation process, with reference to the available data. In the authors opinion, the strengthening of the private sector in the transitional economies has begun, but it is not exclusively privatisation that provides the main driving force behind that. Due to the hard financial situation of the entrepreneurial sphere, the circle of the privatised firms is far from stable. Through bad debts, the nationalised banking sector appeares as a prime owner of many, and formally privatised companies .

The paper aims to promote a shift in focus towards the role of foreign capital in the economic transformation of ex-communist countries. It looks briefly at the context of the transnationalisation of economic activity, and looks at the objectives of foreign capital in the region, by examining the patterns of direct investment since 1990. Then the author reviews the impact of foreign capital on host countries, as well as policy responses of the region's governments.

An introduction of the journal of socialist economists in the UK. The journal, beyond more than 50 issues, is a recognised forum for progressive thinking in the tradition of Marxist political economy.