The Basic Features of Postcommunist Capitalism in Eastern Europe: Firms in Hungary, The Czech Republic, and Slovakia

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This work seeks to understand how the transition from state-socialism to capitalism was accomplished in Eastern Europe. The purpose of studying the process of transition is to understand the end-point of the transition and the structure of the postcommunist economy results from the different ways that private property was "made" by enterprise level actors. Lawrence King identifies "strategies of transition" employed by postcommunist economic elites to transform property and acquire various property rights. He discusses the conditions under which different strategies are likely to be selected and the resources used by actors to implement these strategies. As the author illustrates through his case studies, when aggregated, these strategies are primarily responsible for the structuring of the postcommunist capitalist systems; this is done through the creation of different types of property (such as multinationals or management buy-outs) and integrating mechanisms (such as markets of state redistribution). The resulting property forms and integrative mechanisms that emerge from this process are assessed for their possible effect on economic performance and long-term development. Differences that exist among the various postcommunist economies are explained by the institutional legacies for the reform period of communism.

Reviews

.,."this book delivers very well on its promised agenda: it provides a taxonomy of the postcommunist firm in Eastern Europe, and in doing so, it also provides a framework for understanding the type of capitalism that is emerging there....the book provides a starting point for future research on these rapidly evolving economics."-Administrative Science Quarterly
...this book delivers very well on its promised agenda: it provides a taxonomy of the postcommunist firm in Eastern Europe, and in doing so, it also provides a framework for understanding the type of capitalism that is emerging there....the book provides a starting point for future research on these rapidly evolving economics.-Administrative Science Quarterly
..."this book delivers very well on its promised agenda: it provides a taxonomy of the postcommunist firm in Eastern Europe, and in doing so, it also provides a framework for understanding the type of capitalism that is emerging there....the book provides a starting point for future research on these rapidly evolving economics."-Administrative Science Quarterly

Author Bio

LAWRENCE PETER KING is Assistant Professor of Sociology at Yale University. His research and teaching focus on the areas of comparative historical sociology, political and economic sociology, development, complex organizations and sociological theory. Among his publications is The Rise and Fall of the New Class (with Ivan Szelenyi).