This article uses dynamic panel analysis to investigate the relationship between institutional improvement and economic performance in 29 transition countries. The contribution of this paper is two-fold. First, we fi nd that per capita GDP is determined by the entire history of institutional reform under transition and that, conditional on this history, per capita GDP adjusts to recent institutional changes. Moreover, we fi nd that the time-horizon over which we measure institutional change matters, with fi ve-year changes showing the clearest effects on current levels of per capita GDP. Secondly, we address the pronounced methodological heterogeneity of this literature. To compensate for incomplete theoretical guidance from the institutional literature, we draw upon an institutional meta-regression analysis to inform our model specifi cation. Our analysis covers the period 1992-2007.