Politická ekonomie 2006, 54(4):435-466 | DOI: 10.18267/j.polek.568

Velká transformace střední a východní Evropy: úspěch a zklamání

János Kornai
Harvard University, Collegium Budapest, Central European University.

The great transformation of central and eastern Europe: success and disappointment

The study examines the changes of the Central Eastern European region first in the context of world history. It confirms by comparative historical analyses that the transformation was indeed unique. This has been the only total transformation that took place peacefully, without violence, and at the same time astonishingly fast, in the main direction of the economic and the political changes of Western civilization. From that perspective it is an exceptional success story. However, from the perspective of everyday life, the result is different. Deep economic troubles are experienced by a considerable portion of the population. The perception of losses is intensified by various cognitive problems. Based on the experience of today's generation, evaluating the change as an unequivocal success would be unwarranted. Both approaches are justified: it would be wrong to blend the two and to weigh them by the same scale.

Keywords: convergence, Central Eastern Europe,, transition economies,, main direction of political and economic transformation,, cognitive problems,
JEL classification: P2, P3, P5

Published: August 1, 2006  Show citation

ACS AIP APA ASA Harvard Chicago IEEE ISO690 MLA NLM Turabian Vancouver
Kornai, J. (2006). The great transformation of central and eastern Europe: success and disappointment. Politická ekonomie, 54(4), 435-466. doi: 10.18267/j.polek.568
Download citation
  • BibTeX (.bib)
  • Bookends (.ris)
  • EasyBib (.ris)
  • EndNote (.enw)
  • EndNote 8 (.xml)
  • ISI WoS (.isi)
  • Medlars (.medlars)
  • Mendeley (.ris)
  • MODS (.xml)
  • Papers (.ris)
  • RefWorks (.txt)
  • RefManager (.ris)
  • RIS (.ris)
  • MS Word (.xml)
  • Zotero (.ris)
    • Open full article

    References

    1. Bloch, M.: Feudal Society. London, Routledge 1989 [1939].
    2. Braudel, F.: The Mediterranean and the Mediterranea World in the Age of Philip II. New York, Harper and Row 1972-1973 [1949].
    3. Braudel, F.: Civilization and Capitalism, 15th-18th century. I-III.; I. The Structures of Everyday Life; II. The Wheels of Commerce; III. The Perspective of the World. Berkeley, University of California Press 1992 [1969-1979].
    4. Brenner, R.: Agrarian Class Structure and Economic Development in Pre-Industrial Europe. Past and Present, 1976, č. 70, s. 30-75. Go to original source...
    5. Burke, P.: Interview Conducted by Karl Vocelka and Markus Reisenleitner. http://www.univie.ac.at/Neuzeit/gburke.htm, 1990.
    6. Campos, N.F., Coricelli, F.: Growth in Transition: What We Know, What We Don't, and What We Should. Journal of Economic Literature, 2002, roč. 40, č. 3, s. 793-836. Go to original source...
    7. Csaba, L.: The New Political Economy of Emerging Europe. Budapest, Akadémiai 2005.
    8. Dahl, R.A.: Polyarchy: Participation and Opposition. New Haven,Yale University Press 1971.
    9. European Bank for Reconstruction and Development: Transition Report. London, EBRD 2002.
    10. European Commission: Comprehensive Monitoring Report of the European Commission of 5 November 2003 on the State of Preparedness for EU Membership of the Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia. 675 final. Brusel, European Union 2003.
    11. Haggard, S., Kaufman, R.R.: The Political Economy of Democratic Transitions. Princeton, Princeton University Press 2005.
    12. Hayek, F. von: Road to Serfdom. Chicago, University of Chicago Press 1944.
    13. Halman, L.: The European Values Study: A Third Wave. Tilburg, EVS, WORC 2001, s. 170.
    14. Hirschman, A.O.: Shifting Involvements. Princeton, Princeton University Press 1982.
    15. Huntington, S.P.: The Third Wave: Democratization in the Late Twentieth Century. Norman, University of Oklahoma Press 1991.
    16. Karamzin, N.M.: Letters of a Russian Traveller. Oxford, Voltaire Foundation, 2003 [1789-1790].
    17. Klaniczay, G.: The Middle Ages. In: Smelser, N.J., Baltes, P.B. (ed.): International Encyclopaedia of the Social & Behavioral Science, Amsterdam, Elsvier 2001. Go to original source...
    18. Kolodko, G.: From Shock to Therapy: The Political Economy of Post socialist Transformation. Oxford, Oxford University Press 2000. Go to original source...
    19. Kornai, J.: Economics of Shortage. Amsterdam, New York, North Holland Pub. 1980.
    20. Kornai, J.: The Socialist System. Princeton - Oxford, Princeton University Press - Oxford University Press 1992. Go to original source...
    21. Kornai, J.: From Socialism to Capitalism: What is Meant by the 'Change of System. London, Social Market Foundation 1998.
    22. Kornai, J.: Ten Years After 'The Road to a Free Economy', The Author Self-Evaluation. In: Pleskovic, B., Stern, N. (ed.): Annual World Bank Conference on Development Economics 2000. Washington, DC, The World Bank 2000.
    23. Le Goff, J.: Time, Work, & Culture in the Middle Ages. Chicago, University of Chicago Press 1982 [1977].
    24. Maddison, A.: The World Economy: Historical Statistics. Paris, OECD, Development Centre Studies 2003. Go to original source...
    25. McFaul, M.: The Fourth Wave of Democracy and Dictatorship. World Politics, 2002, roč. 54, s. 212-244. Go to original source...
    26. O'Donnell, G.A., Schmitter, P.C., Whitehead, L.: Transitions from Authoritarian Rule: Comparative Perspectives. Baltimore, Johns Hopkins University Press 1988.
    27. Offe, C.: Varieties of Transition: the East European and East German Experience. Cambridge, MA, Polity Press 1996.
    28. Pirenne, H.: Economic and Social History of Medieval Europe. New York, Harcourt, Brace and World 1937 [1933].
    29. Polányi, K.: The Great Transformation: The Political and Economic Origins of Our Time. Boston, Beacon Paperback 1962 [1944].
    30. Przeworski, A.: Democracy and the Market. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press 1991. Go to original source...
    31. Raeds, P.: When Were the Middle Ages? In: Sogner, S. (ed.): Making Sense of Global History, The 19th International Congress of the Historical Sciences Oslo 2000 Commemorative Volume. Oslo 2001.
    32. Roland, G.: Transition and Economics: Politics, Markets, and Firms. Cambridge, MA, MIT Press 2000.
    33. Rose, R.: A Bottom Up Evaluation of Enlargement Countries: New Europe Barometer 1. Glasgow, Centre for the Study of Public Policy 2002.
    34. Rose, R.: Insiders and Outsiders: New Europe Barometer 2004. Glasgow, Centre for the Study of Public Policy 2005.
    35. Rose-Ackerman, S.: From Elections to Democracy. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press 2005. Go to original source...
    36. Ruesschemeyer, D., Stephens, E.H., Stephens, J.D.: Capitalist Development and Democracy Cambridge, Polity Press 1992.
    37. Sanfey, P., Teksoz, U.: Does Transition Make You Happy? EBRD Working Paper No. 91. London, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development 2005.
    38. Schmitter, P.C., Karl, T.L.: What Democracy Is … And Is Not. Journal of Democracy, 1991, roč. 2, č. 3, s. 76-88. Go to original source...
    39. Schumpeter, J.: Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy. New York, Harper and Brothers 1942.
    40. Stiglitz, J.: Whither Reform? Annual Bank Conference on Development Economics. Washington, DC, World Bank 1999.
    41. ©vejnar, J.: Transition Economies: Performance and Challenges. The Journal of Economic Perspectives, 2002, roč. 16, č. 1, s. 3-28. Go to original source...
    42. Tilly, C.: Big Structures, Large Processes, Huge Comparisons. New York, Russel Sage Foundation 1984.
    43. Tóth, I. Gy.: Income composition and inequalities 1987-2003. In: Kolosi, T., Tóth, I. Gy., Vukovich, Gy. (ed.): Social Report 2004, Budapest, TÁRKI 2004.
    44. Usher, D.: The Economic Preriquisite to Democracy. Oxford, Basil Blackwell 1981.
    45. Wagner, M., Hlouskova, J.: CEEC Growth Projections: Certainly Necessary and Necessarily Uncertain. Economics of Transition, 2005, roč. 13, č. 2, s. 341-372. Go to original source...
    46. Wallerstein, I.: The Modern World-System: Capitalist Agriculture and the Origins of the European World-Economy in the Sixteenth Century. New York, Academic Press 1974.
    47. Wallerstein, I.: The Capitalist World-Economy. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press 1979.

    This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY NC ND 4.0), which permits non-comercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original publication is properly cited. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.


    Return to the content