Of all of the former communist states in Eastern Europe, the Czech Republic has perhaps had one of the most interesting and promising transformations to a market-system economy. Until a currency crisis in 1997, the Czech Republic was considered a role model transforming Eastern European nation. During the years that followed the Velvet Revolution, the Czech Republic's economy flourished, reporting very impressive data and employment statistics. However, the good times did not last, and the economy has struggled in recent years. Today, while the economy continues to recover from its downturn in the late 1990s, the Czech Republic remains one of the most interesting Eastern European economies. The Czech people are determined to return the republic to its pre-WWII position as a genuine European power.
             In the mid-1990s, the outlook for the Czech Republic was very bright. The Czech Republic was considered to be a notable political and economic success story among the former East Bloc nations, boasting a stable currency, low unemployment, low national debt, relatively low inflation, and strong foreign currency reserves. For almost every after since 1989, when Czechoslovakia gained its freedom, its GDP had grown. Levels of unemployment were surprisingly very low. Robert J. Gitter writes, "... in 1995, not only was the Czech unemployment rate less than half of every other former Eastern bloc nation, but it was even lower than those of the major European economies and the United States and stood second only to the Japanese employment rate." In 1990, the Czechoslovakian crown was devalued and then pegged to a dollar-dominated international basket of currencies, making Czech products more competitive in international (Western) markets. Though output fell for several years after 1989, the economy remained stable and its outlook remained promising. The Czech government was eager to begin the process of rapid privatization (Dryzek, 32).
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