Post-socialist segmented capitalism: The case of Hungary. Developing business systems theory

Abstract

The article uses business systems theory to analyse post-socialist Central and Eastern Europe, focusing on Hungary. The article briefly reviews five models of post-socialist capitalism — liberal market, coordinated market, heterarchy, neo-colonial and comparative business systems. The article identifies four critical features of postsocialist transformation: asset ownership, capital accumulation, access to local, national and international production systems and the degree of differentiation between state and economy. Four groups — state, privatized, de novo and international — are identified in Hungary, whose business system is segmented, exhibiting a low level of integration. This segmentation is linked to the legacies of socialism, the political history of the transition, including the international context, and uneven post-socialist economic development. The article closes with a plea for `more history and less systems' in the comparative analysis of capitalisms.