Mieke Meurs

De-Development in Post-Socialism: Conceptual and Measurement Issues

In former socialist countries, neoliberal reform promised to replace stagnation with growth and development. Many places, however, experienced a decade of economic decline, accompanied by rising poverty. Although even the worst performing economies managed positive growth rates by 1999-2000, this growth starts from levels as low as 36 percent of 1989 levels. Less recognized than the problem of rising poverty is the erosion of development gains in countries once characterized by high human development. This article distinguishes de-development from the widely recognized issue of poverty. The authors find that transition outcomes are mixed but that de-development can be seen in parts of Central and Eastern Europe and most of the former Soviet Union. One important question is how to use renewed growth to prevent further erosion of development and to recapture lost gains.

Markets, markets everywhere? Understanding the Cuban anomaly

Abstract Cuba has made exceptionally little use of markets compared with other centrally planned economies. Only in the 1970s did the Cubans begin to experiment with a state-controlled, parallel market and in 1980 with a free peasant market. Six years into the experiment, this market was closed, as it produced tensions common to other socialist experiences with market mechanisms: high prices, growing income and consumption inequality, and the illegal redirection of resources from the planned to market sphere. The free market was replaced with a more limited market mechanism, an expanded parallel market in both agricultural procurement and food distribution, considered more compatible with the Cuban commitment to egalitarianism.

Market Reform and Infrastructure Development in Transition Economies

This paper analyzes the determinants of investments in physical infrastructure over the first decade of market reform in Central and Eastern Europe and other former Soviet economies. Both market and political reform would be expected to have an impact on the level of infrastructure, but the relationship will likely differ for infrastructure which remains dependent on the public sector and that which becomes more dependent on private investment after such reforms. Results for a large cross section of transition economies show that market reform has had a positive impact on both traditional and newer types of infrastructure, with a stronger impact on the newer types which are more likely to be market-derived. The findings also suggest that market reform is more likely to push investors to develop infrastructure when political and market reforms are accomplished in tandem.

Popular participation and central planning in Cuban socialism: The experience of agriculture in the 1980s

Abstract In the 1980s, Cuba institutionalized mechanisms of central planning and popular participation under the System of Management and Planning of the Economy (SDPE). This paper examines the implementation of the SDPE in Cuban agriculture, finding that these mechanisms have yielded a number of the expected productive results. Tensions, however, have also developed between participation and central planning, and these have limited the effectiveness of the SDPE. These tensions are linked to the specific forms of participation and material incentives used. Alternative forms of material incentives and broader popular input into planning targets could reduce these tensions and improve agricultural performance.

Decline in pre-school use in post-socialist societies: the case of Bulgaria

Child care is often analysed in its role as facilitator of womens labour-force participation. However, for pre-school-aged children, child care can also contribute in important ways to human-capital development, especially among poor children. By international standards, pre-school enrolments were high under socialism. Since transition, however, enrolment rates have declined. This may leave large numbers of children without the preparation necessary to succeed in school and to be included in the regions post-socialist development. We examine the changing dynamics of preschool enrolment in Bulgaria. We evaluate demand and supply-side explanations for changing enrolments and use municipal-level data to develop a simple model of demand. We examine the impact of changing employment and earnings, proximity and perceived quality of child-care centres, as well as ethnic/cultural background. Through this model, we hope to broaden understanding of preschool enrolment decisions, and to assist policymakers in improving pre-school attendance.

Market Reform, Infrastructure and Exchange Rate Passthrough in Central and Eastern Europe

The economic liberalisation which has occurred in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) over the past 15 years has aimed at integrating markets into the global economy and realising the benefits of competition. This article examines a three-way pooled sample of annual data for 13 industry sectors in five CEE countries to explore the determinants of real exchange rate effects on domestic prices. Changes in the sensitivity of domestic markets to international shocks, as reflected in these exchange rate effects, may be viewed as a proxy for competitive pressures in these markets. We find that market reforms have played an important role in integrating a countrys markets into the global economy, with a lesser impact of infrastructure development.

From Hoes to Hoes: State Policy, Agricultural Mechanization, and Women's Work Under Central Planning

In this paper, I reexamine the finding that the collectivization of agriculture in Eastern Europe resulted in its feminization. Using Bulgarian data, I find that, despite an increase in womens formal labor force participation, women remained concentrated in the least-mechanized, low-wage jobs. I argue that the Bulgarian state did little to break the pattern of womens responsibility for household labor and weak income opportunities. Despite its claim of promoting gender equality, the Bulgarian state incorporated womens subordinate role into a development strategy based on the extraction of surplus from agriculture.

Decentralisation and development in post-socialism: local characteristics and outcomes in post-socialist Bulgaria

Over the past two decades decentralisation of government has been widely promoted by international development organisations. In former socialist economies, where governance had been extremely centralised, decentralisation seemed a way to build economic efficiency and improve public sector governance from the bottom up. This article examines the experience with decentralisation in Bulgaria at the end of its first decade. It finds that the characteristics of local governments varied greatly and evaluates the impact of varying local government characteristics on economic and social outcomes. There is some evidence that local government characteristics do have a significant impact on performance, but this is impact is outweighed by inherited, historical differences in economic development.

Exchange Rate Effects on Domestic Prices in Bulgaria and Poland: Progress in Making Markets?

Abstract The economic liberalization which has occurred in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) over the past 15 years generally has involved establishing domestic markets and privatizing state‐owned firms, both with the intention of integrating the CEE economies into the global economy and allowing the benefits of competition to be realized. We explore how well this has been accomplished in two countries, Poland and Bulgaria, and the domestic conditions that contribute to its accomplishment. The sensitivity of domestic markets to international shocks, as reflected in exchange rate effects on domestic prices, may be viewed as an indicator of how integrated a country’s markets are into the global economy, and a proxy for competition in those markets. In explaining variation in exchange‐rate pass‐through, we examine the impact of market structure, economic liberalization and infrastructure as factors contributing to the development of competitive markets. We find that although integration into global markets can significantly increase market competitiveness, domestic factors also play a significant role.

Transition to market economics: Employment and informal activity in rural areas

According to the neo-liberal model, the high levels of unemployment and collapsing real wages of transition will reallocate labor to new activities. But whether and how households actually reallocate labor is the subject of growing debate. We use survey data from Bulgaria to develop a typology of rural households based on their labor allocation characteristics. We find a diversity of outcomes. A significant share of households experience no change in labor allocation, some shift labor to own commercial enterprises, but a significant minority are displaced from the emerging market economy. Potential for informal activity among these households appears limited. Of great concern is the regional concentration of such households.