This book describes and quantifies the major socioeconomic changes that have occurred in four new member states of the EU (Slovenia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria) since the early 1990s. The period covered was a particularly turbulent one, not only because of the transition process which was well underway but becase of the stablization packages and other economic, monetary and social policy measures, which have had a strong impact at individual and household levels. While previous comparable studies have been carried out, they cover the period only to the mid 1990s, thus this book contains...