Alternative Theoretical Approaches to Post-Communist Transformations in Central and Eastern Europe

Since the start of post-communist transformations in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), there have been disagreements about the best strategies to follow and policies to implement the reforms.1 Similar disagreements have existed in practical and theoretical interpretations of these transformations. These differences have reflected various and often conflicting understandings of the previous state socialist system, the existing political-economic situation and the nature of post-communist reforms by economists, political scientists, sociologists, historians and members of other disciplines and suggest the complexity, diversity and unpredictability of post-communist developments. Views have also differed significantly within the individual disciplines. Two basic groups of approaches to the study of post-communist developments in CEE can be recognized. First are the teleological “transition” approaches, also known as “transitology,”2 typically associated with neoliberal and neoclassical economic interpretations. Second are the non-teleological alternative “transformation” interpretations stemming from evolutionary and institutional economics, the analysis of networks of economic embeddedness, and Marxist political economy and regulation theory. The view of recent changes in CEE as transformations rather than transitions emphasizes actual processes rather than destinations3 and it differs from the neoliberal and neoclassical notion of transitions dominated by the theoretical agenda of modernization theory.4Proponents of “transitology” argue that economies of CEE countries are undergo ing a relatively unproblematic shift from a command to a capitalist economy and from communism to democracy. The analyses and critique of “transitology” have been carried out elsewhere.5 The goal of this paper is to review and evaluate select alternative theoretical interpretations and approaches to the CEE post-communist transformations in light of my research in the region. Before turning to alternative explanations of post-communist transformations in CEE, I begin with a brief evaluation of the early “transitology” based on the results of my own research in the Czech Republic in the first half of the 1990s in order to complement existing critical analyses. Next is a discussion of recombinant property in the context of privatization and property ownership transformation in CEE. Third, I briefly review the concept of path dependency and its importance for understanding the developments since the collapse of state socialism in CEE. Fourth is a discussion of network analysis in the context of post-communist economic transformation and regional development. Fifth, I briefly analyze Marxist political economy approaches, including the neo-Marxist “transition from state to private capitalism thesis” and the Marxist analysis of production processes. Sixth, I review regulation theory and its approaches to state socialism and post-communist transformations. Finally, I summarize the main findings in the conclusion

Whose success? The state–foreign capital nexus and the development of the automotive industry in Slovakia

Using the case study of Slovakia, this article considers the role of the state in the rapid growth of the automotive industry in integrated peripheral markets of the global automotive industry. Although this growth has been mainly driven by the investment strategies of automotive lead firms, the state has played an important role by accommodating the strategic needs of foreign capital through neoliberal economic policies. In addition to secondary sources, the empirical research is based on a 2010 survey of 299 Slovak-based automotive firms with a response rate of 44% and on 38 on-site firm-level interviews conducted between 2011 and 2013 and one in 2005. The analysis draws upon approaches in economic geography, international political economy and upon global value chains and global production networks perspectives to argue that the successful development of the automotive industry in Slovakia has been achieved at the expense of its overwhelming dependence on foreign capital and corporate capture. The article considers the potential consequences of dependent industrial development for the domestic automotive industry and its position in the international division of labor

The Central and East European Automotive Industry Restructuring

have come to the Slavic Research Center of the Hokkaido University to study the profound changes that have been taking place in the automotive industry of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) since 1990. My work is based on several field research visits to the Czech Republic that included in depth interviews conducted with key informants (plant managers, trade union leaders and ministry officials) in car factories, car component plants and governmental institutions. The automotive industry restructuring in the 1990s involved a number of complex issues that my research addresses, such as the effects of price and trade liberalization in the early 1990s, privatization of the industry, including various privatization methods used to privatize different plants with their various outcomes, the role of foreign capital in the process of privatization and restructuring, and the transformation of car assemblers and component suppliers relationships. Geography of the industry is being rewritten as some plants have closed down while others have been built. The life of communities and entire regions has been affected and more changes are underway. How do these changes fit into the overall picture of economic transformation in CCE? What can the analysis of car industry restructuring tell us about the post-1989 economic change as a whole in CEE

Value creation and value capture in the automotive industry: Empirical evidence from Czechia

This article investigates how distinct tiers of firms contribute to value creation and value capture in the automotive industry. We employ firm-level indicators to evaluate the value creation and capture of distinct supplier tiers in the Czech automotive industry, while considering differences between foreign-owned and domestic firms. Our analysis suggests that the economic effects of the automotive industry largely depend on its capital intensity and that mostly foreign-owned higher tier firms generate and capture greater value than lower tier firms, which include the vast majority of domestic suppliers

Linkages and spillovers in global production networks: firm-level analysis of the Czech automotive industry

The aim of this article is to analyze the linkages between and spillovers from foreign-owned (foreign) to domestic-owned (domestic) firms in the Czech automotive industry. Theoretically and conceptually, our research draws on two strands of literature: spillovers, linkages and effects of foreign direct investment on domestic firms and regional economic development; and literature on global production networks, global value chains and industrial upgrading. Empirical analysis is based upon unique data collected by the authors through a questionnaire completed by 317 foreign and domestic firms in 2009 and on-site interviews with 100 firms conducted between 2009 and 2011. Data analysis has identified a low share of domestic suppliers in the total supplies of Czech-based foreign firms and diverse spillover effects from foreign to domestic firms. Domestic firms vary in their capabilities and absorptive capacity which, along with the particular nature of the contemporary automotive value chain, significantly influence their ability and potential to benefit from linkages and spillovers

Functional upgrading through research and development in the Czech automotive industry

Based on firm-level research and development (R&D) data, we evaluate the extent of functional upgrading in the Czech automotive industry between 1998 and 2008. The analysis draws on a unique database of 476 Czech-based automotive firms with 20 and more employees in the broadly defined automotive industry, a survey of 274 automotive firms and twenty-five in-depth company interviews. In addition to assessing changes in the extent of automotive R&D, we analyze the most important locational factors of automotive R&D in Czechia and its regional distribution in the country. We examine changes in the spatial concentration of automotive R&D between 1998 and 2008.The analysis is conducted for foreign-owned and domestic companies separately to evaluate the differences between these two groups of firms. Based on this analysis, we consider changes in the relative position of the Czech automotive industry in European automotive production networks between 1998 and 2008

Tehno-ekonomska analiza integracije obnovljivih izvora energije i sektora transporta u energetsku mrežu otoka

Otoci s visokim udjelom obnovljivih izvora energije u svojim energetskim sustavima su tema znanstvenih istraživanja već neko vrijeme. Stvarni primjeri takvih otoka se mogu naći diljem cijelog Svijeta (Samsø, Danska; El Hierro, Španjolska; Hawaii, USA; Kodiak Island, USA; Island). Zahvaljujući njihovoj geografskoj izoliranosti od elektroenergetskog sustava na kopnu, otoci predstavljaju izazov za razvijanje obnovljivih, održivih i neovisnih energetskih sustava. U ovom radu su modelirani energetski sustavi otoka Visa, Lastova, Korčule, Mljeta i poluotoka Pelješca. RenewIslands metodologija se koristi za mapiranje energetskih potreba lokalnog stanovništva i industrije, mapiranje dostupnih resursa i osmišljanje scenarija sa tehnologijama koje mogu koristiti dostupne resurse za pokrivanje potreba. Istražuju se scenariji sa različitim dinamikama integracije varijabilnih obnovljivih izvora energije i električnih vozila, korištenjem programskog alata EnergyPLAN. Električna vozila su spojena na mrežu korištenjem pametnih sustava (vehicle-to-grid) i služe kao skladište električne energije iz varijabilnih izvora. Scenariji su osmišljeni za godine 2025., 2030. i 2035. Zbog geografske blizine otoka scenariji se dijele u dva velika skupa, jedan za izolirane energetske sustave i drugi za sustave međusobno spojene interkonekcijama. Analiza međusobno spojenih sustava se odvija korištenjem MultiNode proširenja za EnergyPLAN. Svaki otok će služiti kao zasebna zona trgovanja električnom energijom, djelujući zajedno kao jedan sustav. Cilj ovog rada je analizirati koliko više lokalno proizvedene energije se može integrirati u sustav te istražiti tehno-ekonomsku izvedivost za scenarije u interkonekcijskoj izvedbi. Rezultati pokazuju da međusobno spajanje interkonekcijama obnovljivih izvora energije i energetskih spremnika, na nekoliko otoka, povećava udio energije iz obnovljivih izvora energije u finalnoj potrošnji energije, nasuprot tome da svaki otok djeluje kao izolirani obnovljivi energetski sustav

Sadašnje stanje i nadolazeći trendovi tržišta električne energije u Hrvatskoj s posebnim osvrtom na obnovljive izvore energije

Razvoj tržišta električne energije je aktualna tema u Europskoj Uniji jer su to kompleksni sustavi koji se uvijek razvijaju i donose nove izazove za stručnjake. Republika Hrvatska, kao mlada zemlja članica EU, je neraskidivo povezana s događanjima na europskoj sceni. U ovome radu se prilazi jednoj složenoj multidisciplinarnoj temi tržišta električne energije, kako na lokalnoj, tako i na europskoj razini. Isprepliću se pojmovi iz energetike, financija, statistike, elektrotehnike i ekonomije. Nadalje daje se uvid u razlike između sustava koji se koristi u Republici Hrvatskoj i sustava koje koriste pojedine zemlje Europe. Polazeći od opisivanja elektro-energetskog sustava RH-e, u 1. poglavlju, moguće je vidjeti osnovnu energetsku statistiku RH-e, stanje naše infrastrukture te način vođenja cijelog EES-a. U 2. poglavlju se dotičemo tržišta električne energije u RH i njegovog zakonskog okvira. Sustav poticaja za obnovljive izvore i kogeneraciju je tema 3. poglavlja. Ovdje se također daje opis utjecaja obnovljivih izvora na vođenje EES-a. U 4. poglavlju se daje osvrt na tržišta električne energije u Europi. Jedna od najvažnijih i najvećih trenutnih inicijativa EU, vezanih za integraciju svih tržišta električne energije u Europi, je opisana u 5. poglavlju. U 6. poglavlju se daje pregled sustava poticaja za tehnologije obnovljivih izvora u Europi. Pred sam kraj, u 7. poglavlju, rađena je analiza slučaja za fotonaponsku elektranu primjenjujući različite sustave poticaja. Ova analiza slučaja služi kao demonstracija razlika u sustavima poticaja. 8. poglavlje je zaključak. Svrha ovog rada je pružiti čitatelju osnovne informacije za daljnje istraživanje vlastitih interesa vezanih uz ovu temu

Synthetic genomes

Napredak biotehnologije doveo je do jednostavne sinteze kratkih oligonukleotida željenog slijeda u DNA sintetizatorima. Već godinama se razvijaju metode kojima bi se takvi fragmenti spajali u veće, sve do cjelovitih sintetskih genoma. Standardne metode sastavljanja pomoću restrikcijskih enzima i ligaze imaju već odužu povijest pa tako i ograničenja. Iako je temeljena na tom principu, metoda BioBricks je danas široko primijenjena zahvaljujući modifikacijama. Danas se rutinski koriste modernije metode koje ne zahtijevaju restrikcijske enzime, već se temelje na preklapajućim homolognim sljedovima. Specifične egzonukelaze, polimeraze i ligaze su sposobne prerađivati takve sljedove te od njih sastavljati veće fragmente DNA. Primjeri takvih metoda su metode sastavljanja DNA In-Fusion te Gibson Assembly. Navedene metode se koriste u proučavanju strukture i funkcije genoma, kao i mogućnosti unaprjeđenja samih metoda. Najistaknutiji uspješni projekt sinteze genoma je sintetski genom Synthia, gdje je uspješno stvorena bakterijska stanica potpuno kontrolirana kemijski sintetiziranim genomom. Daljnja istraživanja su pružila mnoge spoznaje o esencijalnim genima te mogućnosti modifikacije sintetskih genoma. Aktualni projekt The Genome Project – Write istražuje mogućnosti sinteze većih eukariotskih genoma. Do sada su najznačajniji uspjesi postignuti s kvaščevim sintetskim genomom, a daljnji planovi stavljaju naglasak na sintezu ljudskog genoma.The progress of biotechnology has led to a simple synthesis of short oligonucleotides of the desired sequence in DNA synthesizers. Many methods have been developed to assemble them into larger fragments, even to complete synthetic genomes. Although standard assembly methods based on restriction enzymes and ligases have been used for a long time, they are limited for today’s purposes. Such method, BioBrick assembly is widely applied thanks to modifications. Currently developed are modern methods which do not require restriction enzymes, but are based on overlapping homologous ends. Specific exonucleases, polymerases and ligases are capable of processing such sequences and assembling them into larger DNA fragments. Examples of such methods are In-Fusion and Gibson Assembly. Mentioned methods are used in studying the structure and function of the genome, as well as the possibilities of improving the methods themselves. So far, the most prominent genome synthesis project is synthetic genome Synthia, where researchers created a bacterial cell completely controlled by chemically synthesized genome. Further research has provided many insights into the nature of genomes and the potential for their modification. Current project The Genome Project - Write explores possibilities for synthesis of larger eukaryotic genomes. Up to now, the most significant successes have been achieved with the yeast synthetic genome, and further plans emphasize the synthesis of the human genome

Foreign investment in eastern and southern Europe after 2008. Still a lever of growth?

Editors:Béla Galgóczi,Jan Drahokoupil, and Magdalena Bernaciak Chapter, Foreign direct investment and the development of the automotive industry in central and eastern Europe, authored by Petr Pavlinek, UNO faculty member. This book investigates the role that foreign direct investment (FDI) in central-eastern and southern Europe has played in the post-crisis period, comparing patterns across countries and sectors. An overarching objective of this publication is to assess the extent to which FDI can still be seen as a key driver of economic development, modernisation and convergence for Europe’s low- and middle-income economies, taking into account also the risks and limiting factors associated with FDI.https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/facultybooks/1310/thumbnail.jp