The interpretation of economic development after the end of World War II reflects the reality of the bipolar world and follows the development of economic policy systems of both the superpowers (United States and the Soviet Union) and selected countries included in the blocs (West-East) represented by the superpower. It is divided into two phases.
The first involves the process of closing the formation of a bipolar world led by economic and power instruments. For the second phase, despite fluctuations and inequality, symptomatic economic growth, more dynamic in the Western bloc (market economy, free economy, mixed system of government and private initiatives), was gradual in the Eastern bloc (planned economy).
This phase was ended in the Western bloc by a crisis (oil crisis) bringing a neoconservative turn negating state interventionism. In the Eastern bloc, this crisis escalated the growth of crisis factors for which directive planning had no solution.
In both phases, increased attention is paid to the economic development of Czechoslovakia. An overview of the economies of China, Japan and the economies of developing countries is included.