The most important positive consequences of the economic transformation of Central and Eastern Europe were the modernization of the economy, the progress in technological adjustment, and the improvement of long-neglected infrastructure and services. State socialist economic policy had focused on industrialization and the development of strategic heavy industrial branches. The structural policy applied by the Soviet Union from the late 1920s onward became a mandatory “socialist economic policy” for Central and Eastern Europe after World War II, in a period of technological revolution and of a new orientation in the world economy. Obsolete economic structures dominated by old-fashioned, outdated industries and the neglect of services comprised the legacy of state socialism. Deregulation, marketization, privatization, and the inflow of foreign direct investment marked a turning point, and a crucial restructuring took place in the region.

Restructuring the economy: infrastructure and services, the most dynamic sectors

Building up a modern infrastructure and service sector was one of the most urgent tasks in the transformation, and certainly resulted in one of its most positive economic outcomes. After World War II, a transportation revolution created a new transportation infrastructure in modern economies. Road transportation for both freight and passengers became dominant, requiring extensive construction of roads and fuel and service networks for cars and trucks. The transportation system changed with the development of air transportation as well as with the modernization of the nineteenth-century railroads through electrification, dieselization, and development of new, fast-running trains.