The areas of interest in volume three are the constitution of a monetary economy, privatisation, and structural change. All three areas pay special attention to the international dimension. Whereas most studies focus on one country only, all respond to a common set of questions, which is given in the annex. Thus, comparability was to be assured. The field studies are open to economic theory. Facing the problem of typical contemporary economics to treat "reality" once again the concept of "stylized facts" is used to draw a picture of transition in Central and Eastern Europe. There is no econometrics.

The field studies give a broad and systematic view of the complex phenomenon of transition in Central and Eastern Europe. Thus, they also point to the major tasks to be performed by future economic policy. Some authors are members of staff of the central banks or, as Polanski, consultant to it.