Shock Therapy

Shock Therapy

A sudden and dramatic change in national economic policy that turns a state-controlled economy into a free-market one. Characteristics of shock therapy include the ending of price controls, the privatization of publicly-owned entities and trade liberalization. Shock therapy is intended to cure economic maladies such as hyperinflation, shortages and other effects of market controls in order to jump-start economic production, reduce unemployment and improve living standards.

Shock therapy can entail a rocky transition while prices increase from their controlled levels and people in formerly state-owned companies lose their jobs, creating citizen unrest that may lead to forced changes in a country's political leadership. The opposite of shock therapy, gradualism, indicates a slow and steady transition from a controlled to an open economy.

Economist Jeffrey Sachs is widely associated with shock therapy. He developed a plan of shock therapy for post-communist Poland in 1990, for post-communist Russia in 1992 and for several other countries, including Bolivia and Chile. Sachs did not like the term "shock therapy," which he said was coined by the media and made the reform process sound more painful than it actually was.


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  • Shock therapy — or shock treatment may refer to: A form of aversion therapy in which an electric shock is used as a negative stimulus Electroconvulsive therapy, or electroshock, a psychiatric treatment in which seizures are electrically induced in anaesthetized… …   Wikipedia

  • shock therapy — shock′ ther apy n. pst any of various therapies, as insulin shock therapy or electroconvulsive therapy, that induce convulsions or unconsciousness and are used for symptomatic relief in certain mental disorders. Also called shock′ treat ment •… …   From formal English to slang

  • shock therapy — (also shock treatment) ► NOUN ▪ treatment of chronic mental conditions by electroconvulsive therapy or by inducing physiological shock …   English terms dictionary

  • shock therapy — n the treatment of mental disorder by the artificial induction of coma or convulsions through use of drugs or electric current called also convulsive therapy see ELECTROCONVULSIVE THERAPY …   Medical dictionary

  • shock therapy — shock ,therapy or shock ,treatment noun uncount 1. ) a medical treatment for mental illness in which doctors put electricity into someone s brain 2. ) INFORMAL an extreme method of any type, used for dealing with a difficult situation …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • shock therapy — UK / US or shock treatment UK / US noun [uncountable] 1) a medical treatment for mental illness in which doctors put electricity into someone s brain 2) informal an extreme method of any type, used for dealing with a difficult situation …   English dictionary

  • shock therapy — n. a method of treating certain mental disorders by applying electric current to the brain or, less often, by injecting drugs: it results in convulsion or coma: also shock treatment …   English World dictionary

  • Shock Therapy — Allgemeine Informationen Genre(s) Electropunk Gründung 1982, 2007 Auflösung 2000, 2008 …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • shock therapy — (not in technical use) any of various therapies, as insulin shock therapy or electroconvulsive therapy, that induce convulsions or unconsciousness, used for symptomatic relief in certain mental disorders. Also called shock treatment. [1935 40] *… …   Universalium

  • shock therapy — noun treatment of certain psychotic states by the administration of shocks that are followed by convulsions (Freq. 1) • Syn: ↑shock treatment • Hypernyms: ↑therapy • Hyponyms: ↑electroconvulsive therapy, ↑ …   Useful english dictionary

  • shock therapy — Synonyms and related words: Metrazol shock therapy, Metrazol therapy, X ray therapy, actinotherapy, aerosol therapy, aerotherapeutics, aerotherapy, arsenotherapy, autoserum therapy, bacterial therapy, bacteriotherapy, bibliotherapy, biotherapy,… …   Moby Thesaurus

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