Na página 70 começa um artigo dedicado à Europa de Leste com o título "The Tiny Tigers".
Retiro dois trechos:
"They have shed layers of bureaucracy, simplified their tax systems, invested in education, and overhauled their infrastructure."
"In eastern Europe, the transition from planned economy to open market ran much more smoothly than in former East Germany. Thanks to the support of their big brother in the West, the new federal Germans had many things fall into their laps - things that their neighbors had to work hard to achieve. Ultimately, this did them a disservice.
The speedy introduction of the deutschmark in the former GDR enabled its citizens to taste the good life of the West, but brought ruin to East Germany's barely competitive companies. Their products were too expensive in a currency with real buying power. Wages rose with similarly destructive consequences, for they quickly outpaced productivity and made eastern German labor too costly. The bilions that flowed eastward over the old border perversely made matters worse. Too much was consumed and too little invested.
As a result, eastern Germany and eastern Europe have moved in opposite directions. After the giddy intoxication of reunification in the early 1990s, the East Germans woke up with a prolonged hangover. In contrast, the former eastern bloc countries faced the hardships right at the start - but are now reaping the rewards."
Pensando bem, a economia portuguesa está como a da antiga RDA (GDR).
Segundo a CIA o crescimento estimado do PIB em 2005 foi:
- República Checa 4.6 % --- Alemanha 0.8 %
- Letónia 7.8 % -------------- Portugal 0.3 %
- Estónia 7.1 %
- Lituânia 6.4 %
- Eslováquia 5.1 %
- Eslovénia 3.8 %
- Polónia 3.3%
- Hungria 3.7%
