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Do Economic Linkages Through Fdi Lead To Institutional Change? Assessing Outcomes In Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan And Kyrgyzstan, Rachel Vanderhill, Sandra F. Joireman, Roza Tulepbayeva

Political Science Faculty Publications

Foreign direct investment (FDI) can deliver benefits beyond the provision of capital, such as efficiency gains. We argue that the theorised positive effects of economic linkage are reduced when linkages are based on natural resources. Domestic elite coalitions supporting reform are also weaker in countries with extensive natural resources. Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan have high-value natural resources and significant FDI, making them most likely cases for reform. Kyrgyzstan is a contrasting case as it has few natural resources. We find that the institutional reforms we would anticipate because of linkages have not occurred and those that exist are often cosmetic.

Overcoming Postcommunist Labour Weakness: Attritional And Enabling Effects Of Mncs In Central And Eastern Europe, Aleksandra Sznajder Lee, Vera Trappmann

Political Science Faculty Publications

Based on micro-level analysis of the developments in the steel sector in Poland, Romania and Slovakia, this paper examines the effects of multinational corporations (MNCs) on labour unions in Central and Eastern Europe. It makes a three-fold argument. First, it shows that union weakness can be attributed to unions’ strategies during the restructuring and privatization processes of postcommunist transition. Consequently, tactics used for union regeneration in the West are less applicable to CEE. Rather, the overcoming of postcommunist legacy is linked to the power of transnational capital. Through attritional and enabling effects, ownership by MNCs forces the unions to focus …

Rethinking The Political Economy Of Decentralization: How Elections And Parties Shape The Provision Of Local Public Goods, Raúl A. Ponce Rodriguez, Charles R. Hankla, Jorge Martinez-Vazquez, Eunice Heridia-Ortiz

Political Science Faculty Publications

We investigate which political institutions will improve the delivery of public goods in decentralized systems. We begin with a formal extension of Oates’ influential “decentralization theorem” to include the presence of inter-jurisdictional spillovers. Our new model, which we term the “strong decentralization theorem,” indicates that, when spillovers are present, the impact of decentralization will depend on the structure of a country’s political system. More specifically, our model suggests that the interaction of democratic decentralization (the presence of popularly elected sub-national governments) and party centralization (the power of national party leaders over sub-national office-seekers) will produce the best outcomes. To test …

Between Apprehension And Support: Social Dialogue, Democracy, And Industrial Restructuring In Central And Eastern Europe, Aleksandra Sznajder Lee

Political Science Faculty Publications

This article explores the attitudes of trade union organizations to restructuring and privatization of their enterprises to strategic foreign investors in Central and Eastern Europe's biggest steel producers: Poland, Czech Republic, Romania, and Slovakia. Contrary to advocates of insulating technocratic decision-makers from social partners, this article argues that higher quality of democracy and concomitant social dialogue carried out at the level of the sector with union organizations that are autonomous of the government in power (as was the case in the Czech Republic and Poland), are associated with greater restructuring and with support for privatization to strategic foreign investors. In …

Von Der Avantgarde Zu Den Verlierern Des Postkommunismus: Gewerkschaften Im Prozess Der Restrukturierung Der Stahlindustrie In Mittel- Und Osteuropa, Aleksandra Sznajder Lee, Vera Trappmann

Political Science Faculty Publications

Der Beitrag analysiert die Gründe für die Schwächung der Gewerkschaften in Mittel- und Osteuropa auf betrieblicher Ebene. Am Beispiel der Stahlindustrie in Polen, Rumänien und der Slowakei zeigt er, dass die Gewerkschaften Legitimität und Unterstützung bei den Belegschaften aufgrund ihrer Verwicklung in die Restrukturierung der Unternehmen verloren haben, und zwar aus je unterschiedlichen Gründen. In der Slowakei und Rumänien haben sich die betrieblichen Gewerkschaftsvertreter zusammen mit Regierungsangehörigen an den Betrieben privatwirtschaftlich bereichert und die Unternehmen so in den Bankrott geführt, während in Polen die Gewerkschaften versucht haben, die Profitabilität der Unternehmen zu erhalten, auf Kosten der Arbeitsplätze. Der neoliberale Kurs …

From Economic Crisis To Reform: Imf Programs In Latin America And Eastern Europe By Grigore Pop-Eleches (Book Review), Aleksandra Sznajder Lee

Political Science Faculty Publications

Grigore Pop-Eleches’s book on the interaction of international and domestic determinants of IMF-style reforms in developing countries makes a significant contribution to international and comparative political economy literature. His effort to capture the dynamics of the contentious and complex relationship between the IMF and developing countries/emerging markets inLatin AmericaandEastern Europerepresents mid-range theorizing at its best. The author combines insights from international and comparative political economy literatures to pursue complementary questions. From the international effect perspective: what role do economic crises play in the initiation and implementation of IMF-backed economic reform? Is the IMF impartial in its policy and financial support …

The State‐Led Transition To Liberal Capitalism: Neoliberal, Organizational, World‐Systems, And Social Structural Explanations Of Poland’S Economic Success, Lawrence P. King, Aleksandra Sznajder Lee

Political Science Faculty Publications

Neoliberals argue that rapid liberalization and privatization can transform postcommunist economies into Western-style capitalist systems. Organizational sociologists argue that these policies produce a unique variety of capitalism, while world-systems theorists argue that they lead to underdevelopment. This article advances a social structural alternative in a crucial case. Poland’s relative economic success resulted from prolonged state ownership and an interventionist state employing various industrial policy tools that facilitated efficiency-enhancing market-oriented restructuring before ushering in beneficial foreign direct investment. The resulting capitalist system closely resembles the typical pattern found in most late industrializers.

Effects Of Eu Accession On The Politics Of Privatization - The Steel Sector In Comparative Perspective, Aleksandra Sznajder Lee

Political Science Faculty Publications

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of the European Union (EU) accession process on the restructuring and privatization of the steel sector of the four largest steel producers in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), namely Poland, the Czech Republic, Romania, and Slovakia. The outcome to date for these countries' steel mills has been relatively uniform in that they have been integrated into the global production networks of some of the largest multinational steel enterprises. The pressures which brought this outcome about, however, were far from uniform. The variability in the modes of convergence is highlighted by …

Capitalism And Human Rights, Rhoda E. Howard-Hassmann

Political Science Faculty Publications

Books Discussed in this Article:

Amnesty Intemational (Dutch Section) and Pax Christi International, Multinational Enterprises and Human Rights: a Report. Utrecht, November 1998.

G.B. Madison, The Political Economy of Civil Society and Human Rights. New York: Routledge, 1998.

William H. Meyer, Human Rights and International Political Economy in Third World Nations. Westport, Conn: Praeger, 1998.

Jean Ensminger. Making A Market: The Institutional Transformation Of An African Society (Book Review), Sandra F. Joireman

Political Science Faculty Publications

The publication of Making a Market marks yet another excellent contribution to the field from the Cambridge Series on Political Economy. Similar to the other volumes in the series, it emphasizes the interaction of political structures and institutions with economic change. Yet whereas most of the previous volumes in the series have been written by political scientists or economists, this book stands out as unique in that it is written from an anthropological perspective. Unusual as this is, the book gives an extremely sophisticated and readable application of the new institutional economics to the developing world.

Robert H. Bates And Anne O. Kruger (Eds.). Political And Economic Interactions In Economic Policy Reform (Book Review), Sandra F. Joireman, Winston Wells

Political Science Faculty Publications

This volume is a welcome attempt to combine extremely disparate regional literature on structural adjustment programs. The empirical research for the book was conducted in such a way as to generate truly economic hypotheses and conclusions. Bates and Krueger commissioned eight teams of researchers; each composed of at least one political scientist and an economist. The teams' initial agenda was to unravel the puzzle of why good economics means bad politics in relation to these structural adjustment programs. To meet that end, the teams were asked to investigate three phases surrounding the adjustment programs: Informed by current theories of interest …

Expatriate Business And The African Response In Ghana: 1886-1939, Rhoda E. Howard-Hassmann

Political Science Faculty Publications

This thesis discusses the integration of' colonial Ghana into the world trading network between 1886 and 1939. It attempts to explain the underdevelopment of Ghana's economy as a result of her subjection to a system of economic and political imperialism. Ghana's contact with Britain resulted in a situation in which, although her trade economy "developed," her economic potential, as well as the potential for development of her trading and entrepreneurial classes, was thwarted. While three groups, namely the expatriate businessmen, the expatriate Government, and the African elite, interacted in the setting of economic policies, generally speaking the policies were set …

Economic Imperialism And Oligopolization Of Trade In The Gold Coast: 1886-1939, Rhoda E. Howard-Hassmann

Political Science Faculty Publications

This article will deal with the mechanisms of the economic takeover of the Gold Coast, between approximately 1885 and 1939. Two aspects of the takeover are dealt with: the progressive oligopolization of trading, shipping, and banking in the colony, and the influence which oligopolistic British firms exerted on government policy. The oligopolization resulted in the underdevelopment of the African trading class and its inability to develop into a genuine capitalist class; while the pursuance of a government policy dedicated to maintaining Ghana's role as a peripheral import-export economy resulted in the internal economic underdevelopment of the colony.

Economic Imperialism And Oligopolization Of Trade In The Gold Coast: 1886-1939, Rhoda E. Howard-Hassmann

Political Science Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Entrepreneurship And Economic Development: A Critique Of The Theory, Rhoda E. Howard-Hassmann

Political Science Faculty Publications

This thesis is a criticism of the "entrepreneurial school" of economic development, which contends that a major cause of underdevelopment in the Third World is the poor "entrepreneurial spirit" in these areas. The entrepreneurial spirit consists of certain values and behaviour which it is presumed existed in the West at the time of its development. To test the validity of this theory empirical evidence on entrepreneurs is examined; this evidence includes historical data on the West, especially the United States and France, and twenty-one area studies of entrepreneurs in the Third World. The evidence suggests that there is little difference …