Paths to Policy Coherence to Create Market Economies in Central and Eastern Europe

Policy coherence, understood as synergy between policies, has been found to facilitate development and economic growth. However, there is little research on the conditions in which it emerges. This article identifies different paths conducive to policy coherence in the process of transforming centralized economies of Central and Eastern Europe into market-driven ones. It shows that government characteristics with likely impact on the quality of policy-making, such as accountability and institutional constraints, are associated with coherent policies only in a limited number of cases. It also shows that governments that are not constrained and accountable, formulate coherent policies if they find themselves in contexts that do not pose constraints, or that offer strong incentives.