Development Paths on Europe's Periphery: Hungary's and Poland's Return to Europe Compared

TitleDevelopment Paths on Europe's Periphery: Hungary's and Poland's Return to Europe Compared
Publication TypeJournal Article
AuthorsGreskovits, B., and D. Bohle
Journal titlePolish Sociological Review
Year2001
Pages3 - 27
Volume33
Issue1
Abstract

The authors argue that the successful economic & political development of Hungary & Poland in the 1990s, in part, is due to their relatively favorable "communist legacy" including the continuous existence of their nations & states, their legacies of economic & political freedom; & the relatively modest distortions of their economies. In contrast to these similarities, it is mainly the differences of these countries' strategic choices & commitments after the collapse of communism that explain the divergence of their development paths. In the authors' view, Hungarian capitalism can be called "foreign-led" in the sense that most leading industries & services are oriented toward, & dependent on, foreign markets & finance, & are operated by foreign owners, typically multinational firms & banks. Poland, in turn, seems to have attempted a "national capitalist" trajectory. Unlike the Hungarian, the Polish economy is significantly less export-oriented, & relies much less on foreign direct investment & foreign ownership. Furthermore, at least during the period 1994-1997, the Polish state took responsibilities for a number of strategic sectors. Although this state-capitalist project crumbles down, it still significantly shapes the development path Poland is traveling on today. 58 References. Adapted from the source document.

LanguageEnglish
Notes

Published in Serbian in Habitus, 2000 December: 121-146.
Published in Russian in Julius Horvath, ed. Tsentralno-Evropeiski Almanakh. 2009 Moscow: MION-Logos

Publisher linkhttp://www.jstor.org/stable/41274780
Unit: 
Department of International Relations
Center for European Union Research (CEUR)