Since the collapse of communism in 1989, Central European countries reinforced their participation in the world economy. Many transition economies of Central Europe, including the Czech Republic, underwent economic integration into the global economy through European Union integration, usually by trade and foreign direct investment. Since then foreign direct investment has become a significant element of Central Europe. Pilsen, one of the most important industrial cities in the Czech Republic, has two times more foreign direct investment stock than the countrys average for other Czech districts. This study examines the impacts of foreign direct investment on the urban economic growth of Pilsen and its role during the post-communist economic transformation of the city. Analysis focuses on key impacts of foreign direct investment that are important for understanding the economic change and performance within Pilsen. This book should be useful for broad academic public interested especially in economic geograhy and similar fields of research.

Magdalena Bastova is an academic faculty staff at the Department of Geography of the University of West Bohemia, Czech Republic, where she has received her Master of Education degree in geography and mathematics. With submitted text she has got Master of Arts degree in geography at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, USA.