A major new EBRD publication called 'Life in Transition: After the Crisis' will be launched this Wednesday 29 June. The survey tackles key questions in the societies where the EBRD invests, such as ‘How satisfied are you with your life?’.
One of the most comprehensive studies of its kind, it reveals how people in emerging Europe relate to one another, what they think about the future, about democracy, the market economy and about the performance of their governments.
The survey, available for download or ordering from www.ebrd.com from Wednesday 29 June 2011, was conducted jointly by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the World Bank.
Almost 39,000 households in 34 countries were surveyed, focusing primarily on countries in eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. To put the answers in context, the same questions were asked in five western European countries – Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Sweden.
The report provides vivid evidence of how lives have been affected by the global economic crisis and its aftermath, all against the backdrop of the two decades of social, political and economic transition that followed on from the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.
This is the second survey of its kind, after an initial Life in Transition Survey was carried out in 2006. This latest report was conducted in a dramatically changed economic environment, with most countries still facing the aftershocks of the crisis.
The picture that emerges from Life in Transition: After the Crisis, highlights the extent to which individuals have been hit by the crisis, the coping strategies they have had to adopt and their resilience in the face of the crisis.
EBRD Chief Economist Erik Berglof will open the launch event with an exploration of the main findings of the Life in Transition Survey II.
The presentation will be followed by a panel discussion with commentators from the region, and a questions and answers session.