1980s austerity policy in Romania

In the 1980s, severe austerity measures were imposed in the Socialist Republic of Romania by President Nicolae Ceaușescu in order to pay off the external debt incurred by the state in the 1970s. Beginning in 1981, the austerity led to economic stagnation that continued all throughout the 1980s, a "sui generis shock therapy" which lowered the competitiveness of the Romanian economy and decreased the amount of exports.

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