Social Policies and Structures: Institutional Frictions and Traps in the Czech Republic After 1989

This paper compares the standard economic and a complementary socio-economic approach to the transition. While the economic approach looks at social problems from the outside and views them as costs of transition, the socio-economic approach looks at these problems from the inside and views them as a part of the changing social structure. Both approaches are used to analyze four frictions which appear in contemporary Czech society. The first friction concerns the pension system which produces direct intergenerational dependence and turns pensioners into a socially needy population. It produces a socio-political redistributional trap, strengthening political support for further redistribution. The second friction concerns the relation between low market wages and a higher guaranteed subsistence minimum. It opens a socio-cultural trap and leads to a benefit dependency. The third friction concerns the impeding development of the middle class. Here, a socio-economic trap appears: a socially polarized society cannot take full advantage of its human capital and entrepreneurial spirit. The fourth friction involves tensions between various sections of the middle class. The socio-structural trap of unbalanced dynamics inside the middle class may cause an autonomous corporatization of individual groups to the detriment of citizenship principles and social integration.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/39788/3/wp404.pd

From Needs to the Market: Changing Inequality of Household Income in the Czech Transition

Statistical income surveys are used to document systemic changes in distribution and redistribution of household income and its determinants over the period 1988-1996. First, the growing difficulties facing income surveys under the democratic regime are considered. Secondly, the substantive meaning of various income indicators and their relation to the social and economic situation is discussed. Next, growing disparities in income after 1989 and the shift away from demographic factors (numbers of active earners and children, age) to socio-economic factors (education, branch, occupation) are displayed. The fourth part documents the increased redistribution of income achieved through taxes and social benefits. The fifth part compares the Czech case with Western countries in order to evaluate the extent to which income distribution has adjusted to the market economy. The conclusion offers a summary of main findings and discusses some additional resources of family welfare during the transition period.Household income, income inequality, Czech Republic, redistribution, market adjustment

Czech Social Reform/Non-reform: Routes, Actors and Problems

In this contribution, the author first considers the characteristics of the Czechoslovak communist welfare state and its theoretical alternatives. Throughout the reform process, dependency on both corporatist and socialist regimes won out, while residualist efforts were promoted in the beginning, but were later held back. The author then considers the possible actors involved in social reforms. In this respect, when proceeding from a general to a more concrete level, thought should first be devoted to the social classes and their ideologies, and second to political parties and their leaders. The author goes on to summarise the particular problems and traps in individual sections of the Czech social system. While no objection to decent standards of social protection and health care could be raised, the poor efficiency of their achievement should evoke concern. The author concludes by reflecting on the possible specificities of Czech social reform in comparison with the other countries undergoing reform and the EU. The current lethargy of the Czech welfare system corresponds to a “frozen edifice”, just as in most Western countries. However, such stagnation is apparently acceptable to both the politicians (who mask it in reformist rhetoric) and the population (which learned to master taking advantage of the generous welfare state) and thus is basically sustainable in the long run.social policy, social reforms, Czech Republic

Earnings disparities in the Czech Republic: the history of equalisation

Data from previous statistical & post-1989 sociological surveys are used to show the long-term development in earnings disparities in the Czech Republic. Results show that equalization in wages occurred in three phases: (1) during Nazi occupation; (2) 1945-1948; & (3) the postcommunist period. During the communist period, the rewarding system was characterized by the predominance of demographic factors, the decline of secondary & tertiary education, & the priority given to productive branches. Since 1989, the market principle has begun to replace the general needs principle. Other observed shifts include increasing return to tertiary education, an attenuation of the gender gap, & a flattening of the age profile of earnings. However, market adjustment is uneven between sectors of ownership & branches of industry & there is a backlash in the professional public services

Earnings Disparities in the Czech Republic: Evidence of the Past Decade and Cross-National Comparison

Wage and income surveys covering the period 1989-1999 are used to display changes in inequality of earnings and main factors of disparities. In the first part, increasing differences in the Czech Republic and the decreasing weight of demographic characteristics in wage structure are observed. In the second part, available evidence on cross-national comparison is gathered in order to demonstrate the increasing similarity of the Czech wage structure with that in Western countries. We document that the introduction of a market economy has led to an increase in earnings disparities more similar to those in the West; the "communist" demographic determination of earnings is being replaced to a great extent by "capitalist" market characteristics; and ownership disparities, instead of political privileges, have come to the fore. Thus, the overall earnings structure underwent systemic changes and approaches the Western pattern.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/39757/3/wp373.pd

Economic and Political Man: Hardship and Attitudes in the Czech Republic and Central Europe

The relationship between economic hardship & political attitudes is explored for Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, & the Czech Republic. Data from several surveys are analyzed cross-nationally & over time, & interpreted according to two explanatory models, the relative deprivation & entitlement theses. It is found that no strong causal relationship exists between increased household deprivation & increased political participation. Moreover, neither the relative deprivation nor the entitlement thesis accurately explains this evidence

Earnings Disparities in the Czech Republic: Evidence of the Past Decade and Cross-National Comparison

Wage and income surveys covering the period 1989-1999 are used to display changes in inequality of earnings and main factors of disparities. In the first part, increasing differences in the Czech Republic and the decreasing weight of demographic characteristics in wage structure are observed. In the second part, available evidence on cross-national comparison is gathered in order to demonstrate the increasing similarity of the Czech wage structure with that in Western countries. We document that the introduction of a market economy has led to an increase in earnings disparities more similar to those in the West; the "communist" demographic determination of earnings is being replaced to a great extent by "capitalist" market characteristics; and ownership disparities, instead of political privileges, have come to the fore. Thus, the overall earnings structure underwent systemic changes and approaches the Western pattern.earnings disparities, returns to education, gender gap, transition in the Czech Republic