Ben Slay is director of UNDP's Regional Support Centre in Bratislava. Before coming to UNDP in mid-2001, Dr. Slay worked as a senior economist for PlanEcon Inc., a Washington D.C.-based international economics consultancy. While at PlanEcon Dr. Slay did macroeconomic, balance-of-payments, and political risk forecasting for Russia, Hungary, and a number of other East European and CIS countries, including Croatia, Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan.

Dr. Slay has extensive experience in commercial consulting and policy advising in the region. Prior to coming to UNDP he served as an advisor the competition offices in Russia, Georgia, and Uzbekistan, and did commercial consulting projects on banking and telecommunications in Poland and Ukraine.

Dr. Slay has held academic positions at a number of universities in the United States, including most recently Georgetown University. His publications include: <<The Polish Economy: Crisis, Reform, and Transformation>> (Princeton University Press, 1994) and <<Demonopolization and Competition Policy in Post-Communist Economies>> (Westview Press, 1996). Most recently his article "The Russian Economy: How Far From Sustainable Growth?"was published in December 2001 by the U.S. Congress's Joint Economic Committee. Dr. Slay is also editor of M.E. Sharpe's <<Problems of Economic Transition>> (http://www.mesharpe.com/mall/results1.asp?ACR=pet).

Abstract of the speech:

The countries now acceeding to the European Union (or seeking to) face second- or third-generation reform challenges. In contrast to the initial (early- mid-1990s) challenges of stabilisation, liberalisation, and privatisation, the task is now negotiating the political economy of institutional and social policy reform. Whereas robust initiatives can mean social upheaval (as in Eastern Slovakia during early 2004), the failure to act decisively can mean unsustanaible future fiscal burdens and immense labour market imbalances. Euroreformers must steer a middle course between these two threats.