Slay The Polish Economy

Crisis, Reform, and Transformation
Course Book
ISBN: 978-1-4008-6373-0
Verlag: De Gruyter
Format: PDF
Kopierschutz: 1 - PDF Watermark

E-Book, Englisch, 246 Seiten

Reihe: Princeton Legacy Library

In 1989, Poland became the first Eastern Bloc country to shake off the dominance of its ruling Communist party. Although other post-Communist countries have since followed suit, Poland's experience has been unique in its move to Westernize. In this timely and insightful account, Ben Slay provides the first integrated, comprehensive assessment of Poland's economic transformation from central planning to a market system, and the political and sociological factors that have contributed to it. Drawing on the work of Western and Polish scholars as well as his own research, Slay traces the evolution of the Polish transformation from its historical roots in People's Poland and predicts potential problems and successes facing the Polish economy.

A ground-breaking addition to the emerging study of post- Communist political economies, The Polish Economy demonstrates that other countries now struggling to join the West have much to learn from Poland's example. Of interest to scholars across the social sciences, this work provides general as well as professional readers with a compelling account of the realities behind one of the most important events of our time--the collapse of the Eastern Bloc.

Originally published in 1994.

The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Slay, Benjamin

Slay, Ben

Fachgebiete

• Wirtschaftswissenschaften Wirtschaftswissenschaften Wirtschaftsgeschichte

Inhaltsverzeichnis

List of Tables

List of Acronyms

A Chronology of the Transition, 1989-1993

Preface

Introduction 3

Ch. I The Polish Crisis and Polish Socialism 9

The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Partitions 9

The Rise and Fall of the Second Republic 14

The Establishment of Socialism 21

Stalinism and the Polish October 27

From October to December: The Gomulka Years 31

Gierek's "New Development Strategy" and the WOG Reform 36

The Collapse of the New Development Strategy 43

The Democratic Opposition and the Birth of Solidarity 46

Ch. II Crisis and Reform in the 1980s 50

Martial Law and the "First Stage" of Economic Reform 50

The "Second Stage" of Economic Reform: 1986-1988 65

Political Reform during the Second Stage 70

The Roundtable Agreements 72

The Private Sector in the 1980s 75

Economic Performance in the 1980s 79

The Legacies of the Reforms of the 1980s 85

Ch. III Crisis and Economic Transformation, 1990-1992 86

The Origins of the Balcerowicz Plan 89

The Balcerowicz Plan in 1990 91

The Balcerowicz Plan in 1991 98

Privatization in Poland 1990-1992 102

Between "Breakthrough" and "Continuity" in 1992 111

The Politics of the Economic Transition, 1989-1993 120

Is the Polish Crisis Over? 132

Ch. IV Transformations in Key Markets and Sectors 138

Industry 138

Agriculture 144

Banking, Capital, and Financial Markets 149

Labor Markets and Social Policy 156

External Economic Relations 166

Ch. V The Lessons of the Polish Transition 176

How Does Poland Compare? 176

Lessons of the Polish Experience 178

Notes 189

Bibliography 207

Index 227