Eastern European and Soviet Department: The Economies of Eastern Europe

A file of correspondence and reports concerning the economic situation of Eastern European countries and the Soviet Union. The documents include a number of studies on the financial problems facing Eastern European economies, covering convertible-currency debt, industrial production, living standards, exports, trade deficits, and the increasing domestic and external constraints affecting economic growth in the 1980s. Other documents in the file examine the exposure of Western banks to Eastern European debt; the countries most vulnerable to a liquidity crisis; and the consequences of British government policy for the lending decisions of commercial banks in 1982. The file also covers discussions on banking claims against East Germany; the current state of East Germany's agricultural sector; and the economic prospects of the Soviet Union.