People have enjoyed greater freedoms and opportunities during transition in Eastern Europe and the CIS. But have they seen improvements in their living standards?

Drawing on primary research that will be featured in UNDP’s upcoming report on social inclusion in Europe and Central Asia, this article presents some initial findings concerning levels and processes of social exclusion—as well...

While much work has been undertaken to combat poverty in the European Union, progress has fallen far short of this ambition. The authors draw on the experience of the past decade to suggest how efforts to combat poverty and...

This article looks at how ‘Europeanization’—the growing emphasis on trans-national approaches to Roma inclusion—has both helped and hindered efforts to integrate Europe’s largest transnational minority.

The author uses tax-benefit models to assess the socio-economic implications of some of the flat tax reforms introduced in the region. She concludes that a flat income tax combined with a basic social allowance and some other...

This article looks at young people in Europe and Central Asia who recently made the transition from state care, in order to draw some policy-relevant conclusions about the concept of social inclusion. The experience of young care...

This article analyses the differing social development paths pursued by the Visegrád and Baltic countries after the fall of the Berlin Wall, with a focus on Latvia and Hungary. The authors argue that Hungary’s elites pursued a...