National trajectories of post-socialist tranformation: is there a convergence towards western capitalisms?

Abstract

The hypothesis of convergence, interpreted as a univocal transition towards a market economy without adjective, i. e. as a determinist trend facing possible obstacles or delays, appears clearly wrong in the light of the experience of post-socialist economic change. The latter is rather a complex systemic transformation process marked by the emergence of path-dependent national capitalism, displaying general similarities and persisting national peculiarities. Indeed national paths of change in Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic, mix elements of convergence, elements of divergence and reproduced differences to the target model. Common tendencies in Central European economies can be summarized under three causal headings: the post-socialist heritage, the European Union attraction and the influence of international organisations. But common trends do not erase national variations. The combination of inherited institutions with new ones leads to the emergence of post-socialist hybrid institutional and organizational forms which are specific in each country. These trends and trajectories are presented for four significant economic sub-systems: the productive system, the banking and financial system, the socioeconomic compromise and the State.