Globalization in the 1990s provided both opportunities and challenges for developing and transition economies. Though for some, it offered the chance to achieve economic growth through active involvement in the integrated and liberalized world economy, it also increased their vulnerability to external shocks and volatility.As a consequence, stakeholders at every level of the development and transition process - international organizations, national governments and the private sector - had to review their strategies in order to adjust to the new world economic environment. As t