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Articles 1 - 18 of 18
Full-Text Articles in Eastern European Studies
Overcoming Postcommunist Labour Weakness: Attritional And Enabling Effects Of Mncs In Central And Eastern Europe, Aleksandra Sznajder Lee, Vera Trappmann
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 …
Between Apprehension And Support: Social Dialogue, Democracy, And Industrial Restructuring In Central And Eastern Europe, Aleksandra Sznajder Lee
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 …
Mass Privatisation And The Post-Communist Mortality Crisis: Is There Really A Relationship?, John S. Earle, Scott G. Gehlbach
Mass Privatisation And The Post-Communist Mortality Crisis: Is There Really A Relationship?, John S. Earle, Scott G. Gehlbach
Upjohn Institute Working Papers
We reexamine the recent, well-publicized claim that "rapid mass privatisation [of state-owned enterprises]...was a crucial determinant of differences in adult mortality trends in postcommunist countries" (Stuckler, King and McKee, 2009). Our analysis shows that the estimated correlation of privatization and mortality in country-level data is not robust to recomputing the mass-privatization measure, to assuming a short lag for economic policies to affect mortality, and to controlling for country-specific mortality trends. Further, in an analysis of the determinants of mortality in Russian regions, we find no evidence that privatization increased mortality during the early 1990s. Finally, we reanalyze the relationship between …
Mass Privatization And Mortality: Is Job Loss The Link?, John S. Earle
Mass Privatization And Mortality: Is Job Loss The Link?, John S. Earle
Employment Research Newsletter
No abstract provided.
Understanding The Contributions Of Reallocation To Productivity Growth: Lessons From A Comparative Firm-Level Analysis, J. David Brown, John S. Earle
Understanding The Contributions Of Reallocation To Productivity Growth: Lessons From A Comparative Firm-Level Analysis, J. David Brown, John S. Earle
Upjohn Institute Working Papers
We analyze comprehensive manufacturing firm data to measure the contribution of interfirm employment reallocation to aggregate productivity growth during the socialist and reform periods in six transition economies. Modifying a standard decomposition technique to better reflect the role of firm entry, we find that reallocation rates and productivity contributions are very low under socialism, but they rise dramatically after reforms, and productivity contributions greatly exceed those observed in market economies. Early in transition, more reform is associated with larger contributions from reallocation, but later, and on average over the whole transition, this relationship is reversed. Though reallocation rates are larger …
Postcommunist Privatization And Productivity: What Have We Learned?, John S. Earle
Postcommunist Privatization And Productivity: What Have We Learned?, John S. Earle
Employment Research Newsletter
No abstract provided.
The Productivity Effects Of Privatization In Ukraine: Estimates From Comprehensive Manufacturing Firm Panel Data, 1989-2005, J. David Brown, John S. Earle
The Productivity Effects Of Privatization In Ukraine: Estimates From Comprehensive Manufacturing Firm Panel Data, 1989-2005, J. David Brown, John S. Earle
Upjohn Institute Working Papers
This paper estimates the effect of domestic and foreign privatization on multifactor productivity (MFP) using long panel data for nearly the universe of initially state-owned manufacturing firms in Ukraine. The longitudinal dimension of the data is used to measure and control for pre-privatization selection bias and to estimate long-run impacts. The data imply steadily increasing MFP as a result of domestic privatization, reaching about 25 percent relative to state-owned firms after six years. Until recently, Ukraine has had relatively few cases of privatization to foreign investors, and estimates of the MFP impact are more sensitive to controls for selection bias, …
Ownership And Wages: Estimating Public-Private And Foreign-Domestic Differentials With Leed From Hungary, 1986-2003, John S. Earle, Álmos Telegdy
Ownership And Wages: Estimating Public-Private And Foreign-Domestic Differentials With Leed From Hungary, 1986-2003, John S. Earle, Álmos Telegdy
Upjohn Institute Working Papers
How do state, domestic, private, and foreign ownership of firms differ in average wages? We address these questions using linked employer-employee panel data containing 1.35mln worker-year observations for 21,238 firms from 1986 to 2003 in Hungary. Our econometric methods exploit the long panel together with the presence of 3,700 switches of ownership type in the postsocialist Hungarian transition to estimate these wage differentials.
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
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.
Does Privatization Hurt Workers? Lessons From Comprehensive Manufacturing Firm Panel Data In Hungary, Romania, Russia, And Ukraine, J. David Brown, John S. Earle, Álmos Telegdy
Does Privatization Hurt Workers? Lessons From Comprehensive Manufacturing Firm Panel Data In Hungary, Romania, Russia, And Ukraine, J. David Brown, John S. Earle, Álmos Telegdy
Upjohn Institute Working Papers
We estimate the effects of privatization on firm-level wages and employment in four transition economies. Applied to longitudinal data on manufacturing firms, our fixed effect and random trend models consistently fail to support workers' fears of job losses from privatization, and they never imply large negative effects on wages; only for domestic privatization in Hungary and Russia are small (3-5%) negative wage effects found. Privatization to foreign investors has positive estimated impacts on both employment and wages in all four countries. The negligible consequences of domestic privatization for workers result from effects on scale, productivity, and costs that are large …
Wages, Layoffs, And Privatization: Evidence From Ukraine, J. David Brown, John S. Earle, Volodymyr Vakhitov
Wages, Layoffs, And Privatization: Evidence From Ukraine, J. David Brown, John S. Earle, Volodymyr Vakhitov
Upjohn Institute Working Papers
This paper estimates the effects of privatization on worker separations and wages using retrospective data from a national probability sample of Ukrainian households. Detailed worker characteristics are used to control for compositional differences and to assess types of observable "winners" and "losers" from privatization. Preprivatization worker-firm matches are used to control for unobservables in worker and firm selection. The results imply that privatization reduces wages by 5 percent and cuts the layoff probability in half. Outside investor ownership reduces separations but leaves wages unaffected. Winners from privatization tend to be higher-skilled employees of larger firms, but there is no discernible …
Effects Of Eu Accession On The Politics Of Privatization - The Steel Sector In Comparative Perspective, Aleksandra Sznajder Lee
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 …
Employment And Wage Effects Of Privatization: Evidence From Transition Economies, John S. Earle
Employment And Wage Effects Of Privatization: Evidence From Transition Economies, John S. Earle
Employment Research Newsletter
No abstract provided.
The Productivity Effects Of Privatization: Longitudinal Estimates From Hungary, Romania, Russia, And Ukraine, J. David Brown, John S. Earle, Álmos Telegdy
The Productivity Effects Of Privatization: Longitudinal Estimates From Hungary, Romania, Russia, And Ukraine, J. David Brown, John S. Earle, Álmos Telegdy
Upjohn Institute Working Papers
This paper estimates the effect of privatization on multifactor productivity (MFP) using long panel data for nearly the universe of initially state-owned manufacturing firms in four economies. We exploit the key longitudinal feature of our data to measure and control for pre-privatization selection bias and to estimate long-run impacts. We find that the magnitudes of our estimates are robust to alternative functional forms, but sensitive to how we control for selection. Our preferred random growth models imply that majority privatization raises MFP about 15% in Romania, 8% in Hungary, and 2% in Ukraine, while in Russia it lowers it 3%. …
Does Privatization Raise Productivity? Evidence From Comprehensive Panel Data On Manufacturing Firms In Hungary, Romania, Russia, And Ukraine, J. David Brown, John S. Earle, Álmos Telegdy
Does Privatization Raise Productivity? Evidence From Comprehensive Panel Data On Manufacturing Firms In Hungary, Romania, Russia, And Ukraine, J. David Brown, John S. Earle, Álmos Telegdy
Upjohn Institute Working Papers
We analyze the impact of privatization on multifactor productivity (MFP) using long panel data for nearly the universe of initially state-owned manufacturing firms in four economies. Controlling for firm and industry-year fixed effects and employing a wide variety of measurement approaches, we estimate that majority privatization raises MFP about 28 percent in Romania, 22 percent in Hungary, and 3 percent in Ukraine, with some variation across specifications, while in Russia it lowers it about 4 percent. Privatization to foreign rather than domestic investors has a larger impact (about 44 percent) and is much more consistent across countries. The positive effects …
A Spoonful Of Sugar: Privatization And Popular Support For Reform In The Czech Republic, John S. Earle, Scott G. Gehlbach
A Spoonful Of Sugar: Privatization And Popular Support For Reform In The Czech Republic, John S. Earle, Scott G. Gehlbach
Upjohn Institute Working Papers
We analyze the role of privatization in creating a constituency for economic reform, markets, and democratic institutions, focusing on the Czech Republic. Drawing on a 1996 survey, we examine the 1459 respondents' opinions on reforms, economic policies and systems, the legitimacy of transition, and democratic values. Using ordered probit estimation, we find that receiving property through restitution is strongly associated with support for reform and markets. Concerning voucher privatization, we find positive effects for participants retaining shares, but little impact of participation alone. Our simulations suggest that policy designs have substantial consequences for citizens' support of reforms, markets, and democracy.
Privatization Methods And Productivity Effects In Romanian Industrial Enterprises, John S. Earle, Álmos Telegdy
Privatization Methods And Productivity Effects In Romanian Industrial Enterprises, John S. Earle, Álmos Telegdy
Upjohn Institute Working Papers
Comprehensive panel data on privatization transactions and labor productivity in Romanian industrial corporations are used to describe the post-privatization ownership structure, and to estimate the effect of Romania's diverse privatization policies on firm performance. The econometric results show consistently positive, highly significant effects of private ownership on labor productivity growth, the point estimates implying an increased 1.0 to 1.7 percentage growth for a 10 percent rise in private shareholding. The strongest estimated impacts are associated with sales to outside blockholders; insider transfers and mass privatization are estimated to have significantly smaller—although still positive—effects on firm performance.
The Central And East European Automotive Industry Restructuring, Petr Pavlinek
The Central And East European Automotive Industry Restructuring, Petr Pavlinek
Geography and Geology Faculty Publications
have come to the Slavic Research Center of the Hokkaido University to study the profound changes that have been taking place in the automotive industry of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) since 1990. My work is based on several field research visits to the Czech Republic that included in depth interviews conducted with key informants (plant managers, trade union leaders and ministry officials) in car factories, car component plants and governmental institutions. The automotive industry restructuring in the 1990s involved a number of complex issues that my research addresses, such as the effects of price and trade liberalization in the …