Abstract More than 40 years ago, János Kornai introduced his famous supermarket metaphor. Socioeconomic systems cannot be constructed from purposely selected features, similar to customers in a supermarket, who can freely put into their shopping trolley whatever they like. Systems constitute an organic whole. They contain good and bad features in fixed proportions. After 1990, Kornai and most Western commentators expected that as market integration and private property expand, China would eventually turn into a liberal democracy. Prior to the worldwide fall of communism, Kornai had three primary criteria to determine whether a country was socialist or capitalist; later he amended this with six secondary ones. The present paper introduces into this list an additional 11 criteria—i.e. 20 quantifiable metrics altogether. Kornai was among the very first to recognize that with President Xi Jinping taking charge, China made a U-turn. While capitalist elements remain strong, in the final analysis, the country is on its way back to where it was before 1978.
The aim of this paper is to provide a detailed overview of the domestic policy changes affecting privately owned businesses in Hungary during the reign of the 2nd and 3rd Orbán governments. After careful selection and omission of the less important measures, 36 examples are discussed. Their common characteristics are their discriminatory nature, meaning that they supported some firms and/or state-owned entities, while other businesses - chiefly the ones owned by foreign investors - were negatively affected. These new laws, regulations, by-laws or daily practices were openly in conflict with the letters and the spirit of the acquis communautaire - the guiding principles of the European Union. The Hungarian authorities played on time. Their assumption was - and this assumption did prove to be correct in practice - that it would take years until the EU machinery would reach a verdict and instruct Hungary, as a member-state to repel the given legislation. An important finding of the paper is that in 16 cases out of the 36 cases presented, the previous Hungarian governments also relied on such discriminatory solutions, but these cases were not so costly for the targeted private businesses and were not implemented with such a brutal force. As it is well-known, parallel to the policy measures discussed in the paper, the 2nd and 3rd Orbán-governments proceeded with a broad renationalization policy as well. These events were discussed at great length in Mihályi (2015a).
This study is a natural continuation of the author's earlier book on privatization in Hungary, covering the developments between 1989 and 2009 on 1700 pages. As it is well-known, the right wing FIDESZ government, which came to power with a 2/3 supermajority in Parliament, has embarked upon a totally new economic policy as from mid-2010. Within this setting, illiberal constitutional changes and unortodox economic policies were implemented. Renationalization was a significant (but not the most important) building block of this. As we analysed the individual transactions, it turned out that actually many of them were initiated by the previous, Socialist led government. In other words, there are interesting elements of continuity here, especially in the energy sector. Another interesting finding is, that almost without exceptions, the renationalization deals were not implemented by force, the Hungarian state paid quite generously to the sellers. In the case of the largest deals, there is even reason to speak of sweetheart deals through which the Hungarian government tried to make favour to German and US businesses. So far, the renationalization affected more than 200 firms (including banks) for which some HUF 1600 bn (≈ 5bn €) state money was used. This figure, just as the sums involved in the individual transactions are somewhat misleading, if compared to the privatization revenues generated by previous governments prior to 2010. However, if all transactions – i.e. asset sales and asset purchases – are expressed as a percentage of Hungary's annual GDP, it becomes clear that the post 2010 nationalization deals were much smaller than the 1990-2000 privatization deals.
"This book intends to be a contribution to the 'varieties of capitalism' paradigm. The theoretical background is Weber's theory of legitimacy. Was communism ever 'legitimate'? What kind of legitimacy claims were made in the transition from communism to capitalism? Central Europe was closer to the Western 'liberal' model. Russia built capitalism in a patrimonial way. China followed its own unique way; some called it 'socialism with Chinese characteristics'. Putin experiments with an innovation for post-communist capitalism. He confronts the 'oligarchs', reallocates property from those who challenge his political authority to old and new loyal ones. In the conclusion the central question is to what extent 'Putinism' is a generic model for post-communist capitalism?"
AbstractMore than 40 years ago, János Kornai introduced his famous supermarket metaphor. Socioeconomic systems cannot be constructed from purposely selected features, similar to customers in a supermarket, who can freely put into their shopping trolley whatever they like. Systems constitute an organic whole. They contain good and bad features in fixed proportions. After 1990, Kornai and most Western commentators expected that as market integration and private property expand, China would eventually turn into a liberal democracy. Prior to the worldwide fall of communism, Kornai had three primary criteria to determine whether a country was socialist or capitalist; later he amended this with six secondary ones. The present paper introduces into this list an additional 11 criteria—i.e. 20 quantifiable metrics altogether. Kornai was among the very first to recognize that with President Xi Jinping taking charge, China made a U-turn. While capitalist elements remain strong, in the final analysis, the country is on its way back to where it was before 1978.
More than 40 years ago, János Kornai introduced his famous supermarket metaphor. Socioeconomic systems cannot be constructed from purposely selected features, similar to customers in a supermarket, who can freely put into their shopping trolley whatever they like. Systems constitute an organic whole. They contain good and bad features in fixed proportions. After 1990, Kornai and most Western commentators expected that as market integration and private property expand, China would eventually turn into a liberal democracy. Prior to the worldwide fall of communism, Kornai had three primary criteria to determine whether a country was socialist or capitalist; later he amended this with six secondary ones. The present paper introduces into this list an additional 11 criteria—i.e. 20 quantifiable metrics altogether. Kornai was among the very first to recognize that with President Xi Jinping taking charge, China made a U-turn. While capitalist elements remain strong, in the final analysis, the country is on its way back to where it was before 1978.
Hauptgegenstand dieses Projektes war es, eine internationale Datenbank (insb. für Europa) von Faktoren herzustellen, die für die gesundheitlichen Auswirkungen von wirtschaftlicher Umstrukturierung und Personalabbau relevant sind. Daten von der WHO, EUROSTAT, OECD, FAO, ILO, Weltbank und der UNO wurden so zusammengeführt, dass sie die Analyse ökonomischer Faktoren, die Umstrukturierungen hervorbringen und die Gesundheit der Bevölkerungen industrialisierter Länder beeinflussen, ermöglichen. Es wurde darauf geachtet, die wichtigsten Hypothesen zu einer möglichen Relation von ökonomischer Umstrukturierung und Gesundheit in Betracht zu ziehen. Globalisierung und Umstrukturierung Brenner bestimmt die zentralen externen Faktoren, die großen Einfluss auf den Umstrukturierungsprozess haben: Globalisierung (durch internationalen Handel), technischer Wandel (als Hauptursache für Produktivitätsanstieg), politische Entscheidungen (bzgl. internationaler Konkurrenzfähigkeit, High-Tech-Investitionen, Investitionen in Bildung und Wissenschaft, Einwanderungspolitik) und Unternehmensführung (u.a. Trends in akademischen Management-Theorien bezüglich Kostenkontrolle, Profitmaximierung, sozialer Verantwortung und Investitionsentscheidungen in Kapitalgüter vs. Humankapital). Mögliche Quellen einer Gesundheitsbeeinträchtigung der Bevölkerung sind Deindustrialisierung, Personalabbau, Outsourcing, Offshoring und Standortwechsel. Geschwindigkeit des Wandels Globalisierung und die damit verbundenen Umstrukturierungen üben einen extremen Anpassungsdruck auf die betroffenen Beschäftigten, Familien und Gemeinwesen aus. Aber die Geschichte hat gezeigt, dass eine ausbleibende oder besonders langsame Umstrukturierung zu langsamen Wachstum, Inflation und instabilen Währungskursen führt. Schnelle Umstrukturierung ist in modernen, industrialisierten, vernetzten und technologisch innovativen Gesellschaften ein Teil des Lebens. Die Hypothese muss überprüft werden, dass der negative Einfluss von Umstrukturierung auf die Gesundheit der Beschäftigten proportional zur Länge des wirtschaftlichen Abschwungs verläuft. Personalabbau ist ein weiterer Aspekt des heutigen Arbeitsmarktes, der negative Auswirkungen wie höhere Arbeitsbelastung, unsicherere Arbeitsbedingungen, Gesundheitsgefahren und die Gefahr der Arbeitslosigkeit für die Weiterbeschäftigten haben kann. Andreeva et al. untersuchen diesen Hauptaspekt des Personalabbaus. Regionale Dimensionen Edenharter führt Scatterplots als ein Werkzeug zur Überwachung regionaler Entwicklung ein. Lineare Regression erzeugt die Scatterplots, die die Beziehung zwischen Lebenserwartung und zwei ökonomischen Indikatoren, Arbeitslosigkeitsrate und Einkommen, in jeder der Regionen in der Fallstudie in Deutschland anzeigen. Sozioökonomische Gesundheitsungleichheiten in der Rezession Die Untersuchung von Theodossiou geht der Frage nach, durch welche Einflusswege Rezession und ökonomische Erholung sozioökonomische Ungleichheiten und Arbeitslosigkeit verstärken, welche sich wiederum auf die physische und psychische Gesundheit auswirken. In der empirischen Literatur wird Arbeitslosigkeit als eine zentrale sozioökonomische Determinante von Gesundheit identifiziert, insbesondere bei Männern. Allerdings beeinflusst Arbeitslosigkeit nicht nur die Arbeitslosen, sondern auch ihre Partner und Kinder. Ein wichtiger politischer Rückschluss der Untersuchung ist der Langzeit- und sogar generationsübergreifende Effekt von Armut und Arbeitslosigkeit. Entsprechende Entbehrungen in der Kindheit haben langwierige Folgen für die Gesundheit der Betroffenen, die sich erst später im Erwerbsalter zeigen. Wirtschaftspolitik und gesundheitliche Ungleichheit Drakopoulos berichtet, dass infolge der Stagflation der 70er Jahre, als die Regierungen konservativer wurden, der Schwerpunkt ihrer Wirtschaftspolitik sich auf Kosten der Bekämpfung von Arbeitslosigkeit hin zur Bekämpfung der Inflation verschob. Ein positiver Einfluss wird folgenden Maßnahmen zugeschrieben: Reduzierung der Arbeitslosigkeit, höheren Ausgaben, niedrigeren Steuern und Zinsraten sowie Subventionen an Firmen, die ihre Beschäftigungsraten erhöhen. Bildungsausgaben die die Arbeitskräfte für die Bedürfnisse neuer Industrien und Bereiche mit Arbeitskräftemangel qualifizieren erhöhen das Humankapital und die Produktivität. Politische Maßnahmen zur Abschwächung der Umstrukturierungsfolgen Triomphe stellt fest, dass Umstrukturierung für Manager, Gewerkschafter und Beschäftigte eine breite Palette von Änderungen bedeutet, die mindestens einen Unternehmensbereich oder ein gesamtes Unternehmen in Form von Schließung, Personalabbau, Outsourcing, Offshoring, Leiharbeit, Zusammenlegung, Versetzungen oder anderen komplexen Reorganisationen betreffen. Doch für die betroffenen Regionen und Arbeitsämter bedeutet es vor allem Personalabbau und Fabrikschließungen. ; The main purpose of this project has been to construct an international database, especially for Europe, involving factors that relate to economic restructuring and job downsizing that have implications for health. Relevant data from the WHO, EUROSTAT, OECD, FAO, ILO, World Bank, and United Nations have been merged in a manner that will permit analysis of economic factors bearing on restructuring as they influence the health of industrialized country populations. In order to be certain that the relevant factors were included in the database, the investigators wanted to be confident that the major hypotheses regarding the potential relation between economic restructuring and health were taken into account. Thus, the more specific aims of the project were to identify the literatures and hypotheses that bear on these issues. These literatures are reviewed below. Globalisation and Restructuring: Indicators Brenner identifies the principal external factors that are thought to have a major influence on the restructuring process. These include globalization (via international trade), technological change (i.e. the principal source of productivity growth), government policies (involving international competitiveness, high technology investments, investments in science and education, immigration policies) and management style (including the trends in academic managerial theories as to cost control, profit maximization, social responsibility, investment in capital goods versus human capital etc). Potential sources of harm to the health of the population include: deindustrialization, downsizing, outsourcing, offshoring and delocalization. Rate of Change We know that globalization, and associated restructuring, places extreme pressure on adaptation of affected workers, families and communities. But, history has shown that lack of restructuring or restructuring at very slow speed leads to slow growth, inflation and exchange rate instability. Rapid restructuring is a fact of life for modern, industrialised, highly interconnected, technologically innovative societies. A hypothesis that needs testing is the belief that negative impacts of restructuring on workers' health are proportional to the length of the economic downturn. Downsizing is another aspect of today's labour market which can introduce negative changes for those who remain employed, such as heavier workload, unsafe working conditions, physical hazards, and job insecurity. Andreeva and colleagues review these main effects of downsizing. Regional Dimension Edenharter introduces scatter-plots as a tool to monitor regional development over time. Linear regression generated the scatter-plots indicating the relationship between life expectancy and two economic indicators, unemployment rate and income, in each of the regions in the case study of Germany. Socioeconomic Inequalities of Health in Recessions The review by Theodossiou suggests mechanisms, or pathways, for how recession and economic upheaval foster socioeconomic inequalities and unemployment, which, in turn, impact on physical and mental health. The review of the empirical literature identifies unemployment as a key socioeconomic determinant of health, particularly for men. However, unemployment does not only affect unemployed individuals but also their spouses and children. A main policy implication of this review of evidence is the long term and even intergenerational effect of poverty and unemployment. Childhood deprivation due to poverty and unemployment of their parents have long lasting detrimental effects on the health of individuals that are visible at later ages of working life. Economic Policy and Health Inequalities Drakopoulos recounts that, following the stagflation of the 1970's, as governments became more conservative, the emphasis of their economic policies shifted towards eliminating inflation at the expense of unemployment. What particular economic policies have a beneficial impact on health? These include policies targeted to reducing unemployment, including increased government spending, lowered taxation and low interest rates as well as employment subsidies to firms in order to maintain/increase employment levels. Education and training funds directed toward capacity building of the workforce to fill new industries and address critical shortages improves human capital and also increases productivity. Policies Mitigating Consequences of Restructuring Triomphe indicates that for managers, trade unions and employees, restructuring refers to a wide panel of changes, affecting at least a whole organizational sector or an entire company in the forms of closure, downsizing, job losses, outsourcing, off-shoring, sub-contracting, merging, delocalization, internal job mobility or other complex internal reorganizations. But, it means mostly downsizing, closing factories and dismissals for employment services and territories.
