Papers
Zsusza
Ferge
Social Values and the Evaluation of Regime Change
Abstract
The
regime change in Eastern and Central Europe does not seem to
be an unmitigated success. The objective problems -- economic
decline, emergence of mass unemployment, increasing poverty --
are by now well known. This paper tries to map the subjective
aspects of the change, including the self-assessment of losers
and winners and the trade-off between increasing freedom and
decreasing existential security. The subjective winners appear
to be the young, the more educated and especially new
entrepreneurs. The most important groups of losers are the
unemployed, children and semi- and unskilled workers. The
feelings of loss or gain are strongly related to political
attitudes. The negative feelings about the transformation of
the system are strongly associated with the withdrawal of the
state from its basic social responsibilities and with a high
degree of existential insecurity, which is so strong that it
is not compensated by the gain in freedom.
Uwe
Engfer
The Impactof Privatization and Change of Social
Security Systems Upon Living Conditions of East German
Households
Abstract
After
the collapse of the communist regime East Germany became the
prime example of a ‘Big Bang’ strategy of transformation.
Rapid marketization and privatization brought about a
disastrous economic downturn. But immense transfer payments
from West Germany and the import of a well-developed system of
social security institutions accompanied the transformation,
minimizing social costs. The article summarizes the main
developments and analyses their impact on the living
conditions of East German households. The indicators presented
cover the areas: labour force participation, business
activities and economic inactivity in the household context;
relative income position, poverty, income inequality and the
self-assessment of income changes; consumption and livelihood.
The paper reveals both the different experiences of gains and
losses within East German society and the (in some respects)
advantageous position of East German households compared to
households in Hungary, Poland, and the Czech and Slovak
Republics.
Roza
Milic-Czerniak
Coping Strategies and Changes in the Satisfaction of
Consumer Needs in Poland
Abstract
During
the process of transformation members of households face
multiple new challenges, including the necessity of making new
decisions and verifying previous actions undertaken to fulfil
their needs. These new requirements are reflected in active or
passive strategies adopted by households to balance their
budgets. The first behaviour, the ‘fox strategy’, involves
individuals' adaptation of outside conditions to their own
needs and preferences, such as doubling their work efforts in
order largely to preserve the earlier patterns of consumption.
The second reaction, the ‘hedgehog strategy’, involves the
‘cultivation of a balanced budget’, that is, taking care
that expenses do not exceed income by restricting the use of
many goods and services and limiting expenses and any symptoms
of waste. The third response is a crisis or ‘lemmings’
strategy. This strategy may be observed in situations of
drastic fall in a household's real income, where the household
must reduce its consumer property (sale of household goods,
taking on a pawn loan), or resort to outside help, e.g.
institutional assistance (benefits, relief). Looking at each
type of strategies, it may be said that from 1989 to 1994, the
percentage of households implementing active strategies did
not change, the group of households putting an effort into the
‘cultivation of the family budget equilibrium’ increased,
and the group of households adopting the ‘lemmings' strategy’
grew decidedly.
Rastislav
Bednárik, Silvia Valana, Jana Filipova, Silvia Rybarova and
Zdenka Danekova
The Social Consequences of Transformation in Slovakia]
Abstract
This
paper provides basic information about the transformation
process in Slovakia from 1989 to 1994.
It presents some of the major results of the SOCO
survey and analyses selected important social topics.
It contains sociological
information about income, property, consumption and
expenditures of Slovak households, the economic activities of
Slovak households, as well as about peoples' attitudes to the
transformation process.
The paper also addresses who are the winners and losers
of the transition in the context of rising poverty and changes
in social policy.
Petr Matjeju
Winners and Loosers in the Post-Communist
Transformation: the Czech Republic in Comparative Perspective
Abstract
The
gradual dismantling of the re-distributive practices as part
of the transition to market economies together with an
increase in wage, income and wealth inequalities make those
who actually profited (in relative terms) from the socialist
redistribution feel like ‘losers’ of the transformation.
Inversely, those who were relatively disfavoured by the
communist re-distributive policies and feel strong today in
the competition for better life-chances may consider
themselves ‘winners’ of the transition process. The paper
addresses who are the winners and losers in former communist
countries and what impact this factor has in the
crystallisation of political attitudes. The principle
assumption is that the two segments of the population uphold
quite different views on the consequences of the transition to
the market economy and democracy for their life-chances and
maintain different positions on the political spectrum. The
analysis starts from a subjective definition of winners and
losers based on the perception of ones' change in social
status (social status of the family) and economic situation (families'
wealth) during the years of transformation. Then objective
characteristics of the two groups are examined. Finally, the
effects of being a loser or winner on left-right political
orientations are analyzed.
