Democratic and Capitalist Transitions in Eastern Europe

Democratic and Capitalist Transitions in Eastern Europe

Author: M. Dobry

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2000-06-30

Total Pages: 294

ISBN-13: 9780792363316

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here ofexchange, and borrowing in debates between these disciplines, all the more so, as we shall see a little further on, as the analysis of the Central and East European transformations has also contributed to introduce into political science and sociology theoretical systematizations first formulated in economics. In addition to this opening up to the objects and theories of economics, the pseudo-"dilemma" ofsimultaneity produced, by a kind of feedback, another series of effects on transitology and the related research domains. Contrary to most expectations and predictions in the wake ofthe 1989 upheavals - affirmations that the "dilemmas", "problems" or "challenges" of the transitions in Central and Eastern Europe ought to have been dealt with and resolved one after the other in sequence, in the manner of the more or less idealized trajectories of Great Britain or Spain (trajectories significantly enough promoted, far beyond the circles of scholars, as a "model" of transition), and above all, contrary to the assumption that superposing a radical economic transformation upon a transition to democracy would make the whole edifice thoroughly unworkable, unstable or dangerous - it must be stated clearly out that the two processes, in their "simultaneity", are not necessarily incompatible. This is one of the main findings stressed upon in several chapters of this book.


The Political Economy of Middle Class Politics and the Global Crisis in Eastern Europe

The Political Economy of Middle Class Politics and the Global Crisis in Eastern Europe

Author: Agnes Gagyi

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2021-08-09

Total Pages: 305

ISBN-13: 3030769437

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Contrary to dominant narratives which portray East European politics as a pendulum swing between democracy and authoritarianism, conventionally defined in terms of an ahistorical cultural geography of East vs. West, this book analyzes post-socialist transformation as part of the long downturn of the post-WWII global capitalist cycle. Based on an empirical comparison of two countries with significantly different political regimes throughout the period, Hungary and Romania, this study shows how different constellations of successive late socialist and post-socialist regimes have managed internal and external class relations throughout the same global crisis process, from very similar positions of semi-peripheral, post-socialist systemic integration. Within this context, the book follows the role of social movements since the 1970s, paying attention both to the level of differences between local integration regimes and to the level of structural similarities of global integration. The analysis maintains a special focus on movements’ class composition and inter-class relationships and the specific position of middle-class politics in movements.


The Czech Republic and Economic Transition in Eastern Europe

The Czech Republic and Economic Transition in Eastern Europe

Author: Jan Svejnar

Publisher: Academic Press

Published: 2013-10-22

Total Pages: 463

ISBN-13: 1483289230

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The Czech Republic and Economic Transition in Eastern Europe is the first in-depth, comparative analysis of the Czech Republic's economic transition after the fall of the Communist bloc. Edited by Jan Svejnar,a principal architect of the Czech economic transformation and Economic Advisor to President Vaclav Havel, the book poses important questions about the Republic and its partners in Central and Eastern Europe. The thirty-five essayists describe the country's macroeconomic performance; its development of capital markets; the structure and performance of its industries; its unemployment, household behavior, and income distribution; and the environmental and health issues it faces.In this in-depth, comparative analysis of the Czech Republic's economic transition, an international team of thirty-five economists examine the Republic and its partners in Central and Eastern Europe. Important questions and issues permeate the essays. For example, prior to 1939 the Czech Republic possessed the most advanced economy in the region; is it capable of reestablishing its dominance? Relative to its neighbors, the Republic ranks especially high on some transition-related performance indicators but low on others. What economic effects are related to the 1993 dissolution of the Czech and Slovak governments? And what can be learned by comparing the economic outcomes of two countries that shared legal and institutional frameworks? Data describe the country's macroeconomic performance; its development of capital markets; the structure and performance of its industries; its unemployment, household behavior, and income distribution; and the environmental and health issues facing it. Its most important contributions are its clarifications of the transition process.The authors included in Transforming Czechoslovakia combine the best available data and techniques of economic analysis to assess the replacement of the inefficient but internally consistent central planning system with a more efficient market system. These authors, among whom are central European economic analysts, senior U.S. economists, and Czechoslovakian professors and economic researchers, discuss the country's macroeconomic performance; its development of capital markets; the structure and performance of its industries; its unemployment, household behavior, and income distribution; and the environmental and health issues facing it. The essays vary between presentations of history and policy and technical examinations of data. Together they offer the most comprehensive and detailed assessment of the country's economic transformation in print.This book is important because its essayists compile results and reach conclusions that are broad and credible. The empirical data were gathered on the ground and have been subjected to advanced methodologies, including game theory, industrial organization, and Granger-Sims causality.


Transition Economies

Transition Economies

Author: Martin Myant

Publisher: Wiley Global Education

Published: 2012-04-13

Total Pages: 418

ISBN-13: 1118138090

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Transition Economies provides students with an up-to-date and highly comprehensive analysis of the economic transformation in former communist countries of Eastern and Central Europe and countries of the former Soviet Union. With coverage extending from the end of central planning to the capitalist varieties of the present, this text provides a comparative analysis of economic transformation and political-economic diversity that has emerged as a direct result. It covers differences between countries in terms of economic performance and integration into the world economy. Transition Economies seeks to explain and deepen understanding of these differences, chart the emerging forms of capitalism there, and provide country responses to the world financial crisis of 2008-2009.


Globalization and the State in Central and Eastern Europe

Globalization and the State in Central and Eastern Europe

Author: Jan Drahokoupil

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2009

Total Pages: 257

ISBN-13: 0415466032

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This book examines the transformation of the state in Central and Eastern Europe since the end of communism and adoption of market oriented reform in the early 1990s, exploring the impact of globalization and economic liberalization on the region’s states, societies and political economy. It compares the different policies and national strategies adopted by key Central and Eastern European states, including the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia, showing how initial internally oriented strategies of market reform, privileging domestic sources of investment, had by the late 1990s given way to externally oriented strategies emphasising the promotion of competitiveness by attracting foreign investment. It explores the reasons behind this convergence, considering the influence of internal and external forces, and the roles of interests, institutions and ideas. It argues that internationalization of the state is forged in the processes through which domestic groups linked to transnational capital attain domestic influence necessary to shape state policy and strategy. These groups — the comprador service sector in particular — constitute and organize political, social and institutional support of the competition state in the region. Overall, this book not only provides a detailed account of the political economy of post-communist transformation in Central and Eastern Europe, but also the processes by which states adapt to the forces of globalization.


The Political Economy of the Transition Process in Eastern Europe

The Political Economy of the Transition Process in Eastern Europe

Author: Laszlo Somogyi

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

Published: 1993-01-01

Total Pages: 400

ISBN-13: 9781782543947

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'This well-produced book is a worthy contribution to the burgeoning literature on the transition. The editor provides a useful introduction.' - Ian Jeffries, The Economic Journal '. . . provides a useful and readable introduction to many of the most important issues in the "transition process".' - Hugo Radice, Economics of Transition Why has industrial output fallen in Eastern Europe and is further decline inevitable? What lessons can be learned from the stablilization programmes of the first two years of the post-communist era? Should the transitional economies privatize quickly and where do they find the missing institutions essential to the proper working of capitalism? In seeking answers to these and other questions, The Political Economy of the Transition Process in Eastern Europe analyses the difficulties faced by nations attempting to move from a planned to a market economy with special emphasis on issues of macroeconomic stabilization and institutional change.


Making the Transition

Making the Transition

Author: Irena Kogan

Publisher: Stanford University Press

Published: 2011-10-11

Total Pages: 674

ISBN-13: 0804778957

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After the breakdown of socialism in Central and Eastern Europe, the role of education systems in preparing students for the "real world" changed. Though young people were freed from coercive state institutions, the shift to capitalism made the transition from school to work much more precarious and increased inequality in early career outcomes. This volume provides the first large-scale analysis of the impact social transformation has had on young people in their transition from school to work in Central and Eastern European countries. Written by local experts, the book examines the process for those entering the workforce under socialism, during the turbulent transformation years, in the early 2000s, and today. It considers both the risks and opportunities that have emerged, and reveals how they are distributed across social groups. Only by studying these changes can we better understand the long-term impact of socialism and post-socialist transformation on the problems young people in this part of the world are facing today.


Privatization in the Transition to a Market Economy

Privatization in the Transition to a Market Economy

Author: John S. Earle

Publisher: Burns & Oates

Published: 1993

Total Pages: 240

ISBN-13:

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Privatization policies are the centrepiece of the historically unique transformation of the centrally planned, into market economies. Yet the peculiarities of the privatization process in Eastern Europe are little understood in the West because of differences in historical, socio-political and economic contexts relative to Western experience. Most research on privatization in the West is rather theoretical and thus pays insufficient attention to these contexts, perhaps because their importance is not widely appreciated and because there has been little information about them available. Moreover, the significant differences among East European countries in contexts and in policies are not well-understood even within the region, again because of a lack of information.


Theorizing Transition

Theorizing Transition

Author: John Pickles

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2005-08-31

Total Pages: 552

ISBN-13: 1134715641

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Theorizing Transition provides a comprehensive examination of the economic, political, social and cultural transformations in post-Communist countries and an important critique of transition theory and policy. The authors create the basis of a theoretical understanding of transition in terms of a political economy of capitalist development. The diversity of forms and complexities of transition are examined through a wide range of examples from post-Soviet countries and comparative studies from countries such as Vietnam and China. Theorizing Transition challenges many of the comfortable assumptions unleashed by the euphoria of democratisation and the triumphalism of market capitalism in the early 1990s and shows transition to be much more complex than mainstream theory suggests.


Alternative Political Economy Models of Transition

Alternative Political Economy Models of Transition

Author: John Marangos

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2017-07-05

Total Pages: 500

ISBN-13: 1351533045

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The collapse of centrally administered socialism in Russia and Eastern Europe resulted in what is commonly referred to as the transition problem: the transformation from a centrally administered socialist economic system to one that is market-based. Economic science has been faced with the challenge of developing an appropriate body of analysis, advice, and direction to help other nations that may be undergoing this process. In this volume, John Marangos adopts a political economy approach that yields alternative models of transition. The volume develops transition models from what Marangos defines as the primary elements of six variables: (1) economic analysis; (2) definitions of the Good Society; (3) speed of transition; (4) political structure; (5) ideological structure; and (6) initial conditions. The models developed include: the shock therapy model, the neoclassical gradualist model of transition, the post Keynesian model, the pluralistic market, the socialist model, and the non-pluralistic market socialist model. After identifying the primary elements of each transition model, Marangos considers the elements of each model with respect to the desirable reforms. An essential element of the transition process is not only to identify the necessary reforms but also a sequence in which the reforms should be introduced. For each transition model developed in this book, a set of primary and secondary elements were provided in conjunction with a sequence of reforms. Analyzing the transition problem from a political economy perspective, Marangos shows that it is possible to have inconsistencies within each transition model and between transition models yet be able to identify the potential for implementation and maintenance of necessary reforms each model recommends. This volume contributes to the understanding of the process of transition, with the objective of identifying an optimal model of transition.