European Post-communist Countries Research Articles

Health status in selected post-communist European countries: a comparative study between Poland and Albania.

The aim of this analysis was to compare selected health status indicators of the Albanian and Polish populations, pertinent to two former communist countries in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). This analysis was based on the estimates related to the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2019 study, reported by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME). For Poland, IHME uses data mainly from the Central Statistical Office of Poland, whereas for Albania the information is based on the reports from the National Institute of Statistics. In 2019, life expectancy at birth was slightly higher in Albania compared to Poland (78.5 years vs. 78.1 years, respectively). Mortality rate from noncommunicable diseases was similar in both countries (about 520 deaths per 100,000 population). In 2019, the main risk factor for the overall mortality in both countries was the high systolic blood pressure. In Albania, high systolic blood pressure accounted for almost 32% of deaths from all causes, whereas in Poland it accounted for only 21% of all deaths. The second main risk factor in Albania concerned the dietary factors which were responsible for almost one in four deaths. In Poland, the second main risk factor for all-cause mortality concerned tobacco which was responsible for one in five deaths. The third leading risk factor in Albania was tobacco (responsible for one in five deaths), whereas in Poland it concerned the dietary risks (responsible for about 19% of the all-cause mortality). This analysis provides useful information about the current health status of two populations pertinent to the former Communist Bloc in CEE. While health indicators can provide important information about the differences in health status between populations, it is important to interpret these indicators in the context of the specific challenges and limitations facing each country.

The impact of institutional factor on the dynamics of electoral Volatility in Post-Communist Countries of europe

The article examines the influence of the institutional factor on the dynamics of electoral volatility in post- communist European countries. The party and electoral systems were chosen as institutional variables. It is noted that a noticeable influence on the level of electoral mobility in the group of countries under consideration is not segmentation, but polarization of party systems. The author emphasizes that the small ideological distance between the parties competing in the electoral field hinders the formation of stable party identification of voters, which contributes to the growth of electoral volatility. The author comes to the conclusion that the institutional factor as a whole has a limited effect on the dynamics of changing party preferences of voters. Therefore it should be recognized that the factor of political culture continues to have a predominant impact on the electoral behavior of citizens of post-communist European countries.

RUSSIAN DOLL OF SUSTAINABILITY: FACTOR ENDOWMENTS, DEMOCRATIC POLITICAL EQUALITY AND INCOME INEQUALITY IN THE POST-COMMUNIST CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPEAN COUNTRIES

The Russian doll of sustainability framework is applied to find income inequality determinants in transition countries. Land endowment effects on institutions and economic outcomes are analyzed using the autoregressive distributed lag approach on ten Central and Eastern European countries (CEE) from 1995 to 2021. Findings suggest land endowment has an income inequality-widening effect, and trade openness reduces inequalities. However, various democratic measures affect inequality differently, depending on the time horizon. For example, while participatory democracy (PARTID) increases inequality, egalitarian democracy (EGALD) decreases it, but a more rural-biased public service provision is associated with higher inequality in the short run and decreased inequality in the long run. Lastly, we do not confirm a robust Kuznets curve over the development path, and we do not find financial development statistically significant in explaining income inequality.

Beliefs in the attributes of success in life and bribery in post-communist European countries

ABSTRACT This article examines the influence of internal and external beliefs about the attribution of success in life on perceptions of corruption and corrupt behaviour. Using individual-level data from the Life in Transition Survey III for 21 former communist European countries, the results show that, on the one hand, beliefs that success in life is achieved eminently through effort and hard work and through intelligence, skills and competences reduce both the likelihood of perceiving corruption and acting corruptly. On the other hand, external attributes of life success achieved through political connections and breaking the law are associated with higher perceptions of corruption and bribery-related behaviour. These findings highlight the significant positive role of personal effort (rather than any help from unfair sources) and meritocracy in achieving success in life on the assessment of perceptions of corruption and corrupt behaviour in former communist European societies.

Democracy building and the link between public trust and corruption perception: Comparative analysis before and after the Armenian Velvet Revolution in 2018

ABSTRACT Eastern European post-communist countries inherited pervasive corruption after the breakup of the USSR. Public trust was the crucial factor in tackling corruption and democracy building in these countries. This article takes Armenia as a case to study the antecedents and evolution of trust in Eastern European post-communist countries that went through a government coup in the 21st century. By comparing the corruption situation in Armenia before and after the Velvet Revolution 2018, we scrutinise how trust was and is critical to combating corruption and democracy building. We argue that in transition governments, one can distinguish two sources of creating public trust. The first wave generates when the government is newly established, and people trust the leader and his persona. Arguably, in this stage, the level of trust generated is based on expectations. The second wave of trust comes with the government’s actual performance, measured partly based on corruption perception.

I want a quiet life! On productivity and competition in the Central European energy sector

AbstractAn important proposition in Economics claims that competition spurs technical efficiency, as it forces firms to raise competitiveness to survive market pressure. This study examines the effects of firm‐level Lerner indexes on productivity, using a dataset on energy firms from Central European postcommunist countries during 2009–2017. The energy sector is of particular interest, as markets are still concentrated, although governments have liberalized them considerably. To contribute to the literature, I derive Lerner indexes from the production function next to involving the return on sales. Supporting the literature, the overall results highlight that market power significantly decreases productivity.

FDI, productivity growth and structural change in European post-communist countries : an industry-level analysis

O desenvolvimento econômico é um processo complexo, por meio do qual o crescimento do produto agregado é acompanhado de mudanças nas estruturas setoriais de produção e de emprego. Embora autores importantes como Simon Kuznets e Hollis Chenery tenham demonstrado, desde o fim dos anos 1950, a importância, em termos quantitativos, da mudança estrutural, o tema permaneceu amplamente ignorado pelos economistas mainstream, que tendiam a enxergá-lo como um subproduto de menor importância do crescimento econômico. Contudo, nas últimas duas décadas, o interesse a respeito do tema tem sido retomado, alimentado, entre outras coisas, por discussões sobre desindustrialização prematura e sobre a viabilidade de rotas alternativas para a prosperidade. Este estudo foca o papel exercido pelo investimento direto estrangeiro (IDE) no processo de mudança estrutural dos países receptores do investimento. Usando dados setoriais de doze economias pós-comunistas da Europa, o artigo investiga se o efeito do IDE sobre o crescimento da produtividade e sobre a mudança estrutural depende da qualidade institucional, da dotação de capital humano, do grau de envolvimento em cadeias globais de valor (CGVs) e do alinhamento a vantagens comparativas.

Impact of FDI in Economic Value Added: Empirical Study in Terms of Renewable Natural Resources Mining within Wood-processing Industry

The traditional methods used in the past to assess the benefits of foreign direct investments (FDI) are no longer applicable. The presented study deals with the issue of increasing the potential of the renewable natural resources mining industries and increasing its efficiency and competitiveness through the specific methodology of industries performance measurement and diagnostic of the effects of FDI. The objective of the research was to analyse FDI in Slovakia and other countries of the Visegrad Four, identify significant measurable effects of the FDI impact on the development of the wood, paper and furniture sector in Slovakia as well as quantify the economic performance of given industries based on the EVA model. Appropriate mathematical and statistical methods were used in the research of interdependencies between quantitative variables. In two-dimensional inductive statistics, we applied correlation and linear regression analysis and analysis of variance (ANOVA). The results of the research should support investment decision-making in business and industry investment strategy to aim for the economic development of the renewable natural resources mining industries. Simultaneously, we offer a new methodology for evaluating the potential and economic performance of other Slovak mining industries, other post-communist European countries, and potential investors worldwide.

Legitimising Surveillance in Low-Trust Postcommunist Societies

Why do citizens in democratic states allow governments to monitor them? Studies note that consent to surveillance to a large extent depends on trust in public institutions. But how is surveillance legitimised in states where this kind of trust is low, as in most of the European postcommunist countries? Using data from three former communist states, this study investigates the role of trust in close social networks. The results show that so-called ‘particular social trust’ may work as a substitute for trust in institutions. Particular social trust may produce legitimacy for policy measures, in this case, surveillance.

Spaces of internal displacement: Understanding the hidden urban geographies of armed conflict in Ukraine

Abstract Ukraine, like some other Eastern European post-communist countries, faced a military-political crisis during its subsequent development that led to a ‘new’ category of migrants: internally displaced persons (IDPs). This paper aims to deepen the understanding of the hidden urban geographies of internal displacement and the consequences of armed conflicts in large cities, in the context of the Russo-Ukrainian armed conflicts with a focus on major Ukrainian cities as primary recipients of Ukrainian IDPs. The difficulties faced by Ukrainian urban IDPs in adapting to new geopolitical and life realities and integrating into host communities are examined, as well as an elaboration of the spatial intra-urban patterns of IDP distributions. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used to achieve the goals of the research. The data set consisted of official data, generalised survey results, and materials from in-depth interviews with urban IDPs from Donbas/Crimea. The empirical results of the study of urban IDPs in Ukraine shed light on patterns of the adaptation and integration of IDPs in large Ukrainian cities and help to understand more deeply the hidden urban geographies of internal displacement in large cities, in particular an understanding of the nature of intra-urban patterns of Ukrainian IDP distributions.

Ukraine’s Population Compared to European Post-Communist Countries in 1990 and 2020

The aim of the study is to present the changes in the population and its demographic structure in Ukraine compared to other European post-communist countries. Classic demographic indicators were applied. In comparison to other analyzed countries, Ukraine has an average pace of population decline, a low aging rate and a persistently clear advantage of the number of women over men. This is the result of all three factors: loss of part of the territory with the population inhabiting it, natural decrease and negative migration balance.

Arrived in Power, and Yet Still Disgruntled? How Government Inclusion Moderates ‘Protest Voting’ for Far-Right Populist Parties in Europe

AbstractWhile debates about far-right populism often concentrate on Central and Eastern Europe, research on these parties predominantly focuses on Western countries. Addressing this remarkable gap, this article revisits the ‘protest voting’ explanation for electoral support for the far right. Using European Social Survey data (2002–16) from 22 countries, we show that political dissatisfaction is a stronger explanatory factor when far-right parties are in opposition, but is a less important determinant of electoral support when they are in government. Previous findings based on Western Europe – which similarly showed that the anti-elite hypothesis is less relevant when far-right parties join government coalitions – travel well to post-communist European countries. In Hungary and Poland, we even find that far-right voters have become less distrustful of national political institutions than the rest of the electorate. Our conclusion implies that anti-elite populism is context-dependent and has limited use for understanding successes of leaders such as Wilders, Salvini and Orbán.

GDP Effect on B2C E-commerce Turnover and Number of Express Shipments in Selected European Post-Communist Countries

The impact of the e-economy has been observable in almost all the sectors of the national economies of the states in the last few years. The growing influence of this phenomenon is due to development of the Internet, which has already become a viable part of almost all the business activities including buying and selling. Therefore, it can be assumed that the area of e-commerce will have an increasing impact, not only on national economic development, but on the express mail market, as well. The content of the article is designed to provide a comprehensive view of the interdependence between the level of economic maturity (the GDP gross Domestic Product) per capita in the PPS (Purchase Power Standard) indicator), development of the e-commerce (indicator B2C (Business to Customer) e-commerce turnover) and the number of express deliveries. Identifying the influence between the aforementioned indicators, it will be possible to take certain measures to support the development of the e-commerce market.

Multicultural attitudes in Europe: A multilevel analysis of perceived compatibility between individual and collective justice

Contemporary political philosophers debate the degree to which multiculturalism, with its emphasis on collective justice principles, is compatible with Western liberal societies’ core ideologies based on individual justice principles. Taking on a social psychological perspective, the present study offers a cross-national, multilevel examination of the asymmetric compatibility hypothesis, according to which majority and ethnic minority groups differ in the association between support for individualized immigration policies (based on individual justice principles) and support for multiculturalism (based on collective justice principles). Using data from Round 7 of the European Social Survey (N = 36,732), we compared minority and majority attitudes across 1) countries with stronger versus weaker equality policies at the national level (a Migrant Integration Policy Index [MIPEX] sub-dimension indicator), and 2) Western and post-communist European countries. In line with the asymmetric compatibility hypothesis, ethnic minorities perceived significantly less incompatibility between individual and collective justice than majorities. This majority-minority asymmetric compatibility was stronger in Western countries compared to post-communist European countries. Moreover, in Western countries and in countries with stronger equality policies, ethnic minorities generally supported multiculturalism to a greater extent than majorities. Overall, these findings suggest that deep-seated ideological orientations of national contexts shape minority and majority justice conceptions and hence, also, multicultural attitudes. Implications and future research directions are discussed.

Note from the Editor

Note from the Editor

The Influence of Environmental Strategy, Environmental Reporting and Environmental Management Control System on Environmental and Economic Performance

The importance of corporate social responsibility, especially in the environmental domain, continues to grow in an era of mounting climate urgency. This study is based on original, empirical, survey-based research in two post-communist European countries and seeks to add a geographical viewpoint and to investigate the influence of innovative constructs (environmental reporting, environmental strategy, environmental management control system) on environmental and economic performance. Data are analysed through partial least squares structural equation modelling, which enables the use of a complex model with several links between constructs. Findings reveal that environmental strategy has a positive impact on the use of an environmental management control system and an indirect positive impact on environmental performance. The environmental management control system has been shown to have a positive influence on environmental performance and, ultimately, on economic performance.

Ageing in European post-communist countries – is it a threat to the welfare system?

Abstract The aim of the study was to diagnose the current and projected pace of ageing in the societies of European post-communist countries from the point of view of its being an increasing economic burden on the economically active population. The analysis covered the years 1990–2050. Ageing is already visible and, according to the forecast, the process will accelerate even more. The old-age dependency ratio (OADR) is expected to exceed 50 in half of the countries in the study by 2050. This will result in major threats to the further development of these countries and will lead to poverty and social exclusion of the elderly. In order to slow down the ageing process, the authorities of these countries should take a number of actions, the most important of which are the implementation of an effective and efficient pro-natal policy (so that the total fertility rate would increase above 2.1), and a well-thought-out migration policy.

Economic transition and insurance market development: evidence from post-communist European countries

We evaluate the development of insurance markets in 18 post-communist European countries over a 10-year period. In doing so, we estimate static and dynamic models to test the relationship between economic transition indices and insurance density and penetration. Results suggest that licensing and trade practices, monetary stability, consumer protections, and government transfers are relevant to property–casualty and life–health insurance consumption. The findings have implications for policymakers aiming to increase insurance coverage in post-communist countries. Additionally, the research underscores the importance of accounting for economic policies and institutions in studies of insurance market development.

The asymmetric effects of fiscal policy on inflation and economic activity in post-communist European countries

ABSTRACT Fiscal policy plays an important role in stimulating economic activity, but it also has a significant influence in securing monetary stability in an economy. Our study aims to analyse the asymmetric effects of fiscal policy on inflation and economic activity on twelve post-communist European countries that are associated with the European Union (EU) by either membership or by being members of the Eastern European Partnership (EaP). We explore the asymmetric effects on inflation and economic activity by using a Pooled Mean Group (PMG) estimator. The results show that in the long run, the fiscal policy instrument negatively influences both inflation and economic activity; in the short run, the effects are not significant. A Nonlinear Autoregressive Distributed Lag (NARDL) model was estimated individually for each country. Our main findings are that the cumulative impact of fiscal policy generates an inflationary growth effect for the EU countries in our sample.

Polityczna imitacja jako źródło współczesnej kontrrewolucji w postkomunistycznej Europie – próba ujęcia teoriopolitycznego

The main goal of this article is analysis of the influence of the policy of imitation on the phenomenon of counterrevolution. The aim of the article was to answer the research question whether the politics of imitation and counterrevolution at the level of theoretical considerations can constitute elements of one theory concerning the crisis of liberal democracy in post-communist European countries? The detailed question was whether political imitation is a category by which it is possible to explain the causes of the process of counterrevolution in post-communist Europe? The considerations are based on the concepts of Jan Zielonka, as well as the ideas of Ivan Krasett and Stephen Holmes. In accordance with the principles postulated by Ivan Krastew and Stephan Holmes, the politics of imitation is an important reason for the success of populist, which Jan Zielonka equates with counterrevolution. Negative opinions about the course of the systemic transformation mainly focus on its lack of alternatives, on the problem of imposing liberal values, and on the problem of economic stratification. These premises also constitute the basis for the contemporary problems of the crisis of liberal democracy.