From Austerity to Austerity: The Political Economy of Public Pension Reforms in Romania and Bulgaria

This article discusses the trajectories of pension system reforms in two of the latecomers to the EU: Bulgaria and Romania. It finds that over the past two decades, the two countries pursued increasingly dissimilar public pension reforms for managing their respective public pay‐as‐you‐go pension systems. Using a political institutionalist theoretical framework, I argue that the divergence between the two cases is attributable to multiple factors. First, different temporary political compromises between national and international actors generated reforms that retrenched public pensions and introduced mandatory private accounts. Second, pension reforms often had unintended consequences that limited their intended impact. Third, incremental adjustments introduced by governments in response to political pressures caused alternating phases of austerity and generosity that catered to different constituencies in each country. In Romania, reform outcomes amounted to a moderately generous pension system, financed through relatively high contribution rates with a small funded component, while in the case of Bulgaria, the pension system evolved into a meagre programme, financed through low contribution rates and a larger private pillar.     

The Trajectory of Post-communist Welfare State Development: The Cases of Bulgaria and Romania

Governments of countries undergoing a post‐communist transition face the dilemma of balancing conflicting demands for greater economic efficiency (to achieve a successful transition to a market system) with demands for enhanced social protection (to legitimize regime change through a visible improvement in living standards which includes vulnerable groups). This paper analyses the transition in Bulgaria and Romania. Unlike other European countries, these countries did not embark on retrenchment policies until the mid‐ to late 1990s, so convergence with policies of spending constraint elsewhere in Europe was belated and partial. The social problems created by strict economic policies, exacerbated by a determination to reorganize the post‐communist welfare states along the lines promoted by international organizations, are now being recognized. Post‐communist governments in South‐eastern Europe have belatedly started to address the social aspects of transition to democracy and the market. This probably reflects the process of regime change in Bulgaria and Romania, which has been characterized as a “two‐step transition to democracy”, with liberal governments only succeeding transformed communist elites in power after a protracted transition.     

国企改革中伦理观的冲突与转换

随着我国商品经济的发展 ,在计划经济体制下建立起来的、完全受计划方式调节的国有企业难以应付复杂多变的经济形势 ,国有企业改革势在必行。经过 2 0年的改革 ,国有企业没有真正地实现脱困。从伦理学的角度看 ,其重要原因在于国有企业在伦理上的基本取向的偏执。因此 ,要实现国企改革的成功 ,解决国企改革过程中伦理观的冲突与转换问题 ,乃是当务之急     

Growth,inequality and poverty in Vietnam: How did trade liberalisation help the poor, 2002–2008

Using the Vietnamese Living Standards Surveys for 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2008, we explore how provinces with differential access to trade liberalisation reforms differ in their pro-poor growth performance in Vietnam. Using both non-parametric and parametric estimation, we find strong, robust evidence of pro-poor growth in provinces with greater exposure to trade liberalisation. Using censored and uncensored regressions, the study also shows that increased wages play a critical role in this outcome. Our analysis enables identification of the core mechanisms through which the poor materialise their gains from trade-driven growth in a transition economy.     

市场化之后道德教育的困境与出路

市场经济正在引发我国社会生活的巨大变化。在经济基础市场化之后 ,道德体系的主流模式开始变迁 ;但是道德变革的进行状态 ,造成主流道德体系的空场 ,道德教育陷入无所依存的失落中。市场经济的主体性后果以及人本价值观念的中心化 ,使得当下道德教育的方法论与目的论皆面临严峻挑战 ,也标识道德教育的改良思路。     

Reforms And Performance of the Medical Systems in the Transition States of the Former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe

The States of the former Soviet Union and eastern Europe inherited acute health problems and introduced numerous reforms in their health sectors in the 1990s. In the initial years of transition most countries experienced increases in morbidity and mortality that were caused by deterioration in health conditions (demographic, consumption, social, environmental) and deficiencies in medical systems. The latter were the result of malfunctioning economies, continued low priority status of health, and ineffective health reforms. Although health trends in the East have become more positive in recent years, they are unlikely to converge rapidly with those in western Europe unless health sector institutions in transition countries are allocated more resources and improve their efficiency and effectiveness.     

中小企业改革发展中的政府角色定位

中小企业在国民经济发展中占据举足轻重的地位,当前大力发展中小企业已成为各级政府的共识.由于我国目前社会主义市场经济体制还不完备,中小企业的整体素质较低,加上自身难以克服的缺陷以及加入WTO等原因,政府在中小企业的改革和发展中承担着组织者和服务者双重角色.借鉴世界各国政府的成功做法,重在发挥政府支持、规范、协调、服务四方面的职能.     

国有企业制度变迁及改革

我国的国有企业制度是在特定的体制条件和特殊的经济背景下形成的 ,既有其存在的必然性、合理性 ;同时也存在着与市场经济的相悖性。针对国有企业制度性缺陷 ,我们进行了一系列改革 ,从放权让利、立足于调整国家与企业利益关系的适应性改革 ,到转换经营机制、着重于对企业制度中的经营制度进行改革 ,再到建立现代企业制度、力求实现国有企业制度的根本变革。国有企业改革逐步深入 ,国有企业制度变迁渐进完成。进一步改革 ,要继续突出以建立现代企业制度为中心 ,实现国有企业制度的全面创新     

知识经济与行政执法方式变革

初见端倪的知识经济对工业经济时代所形成的行政法治提出了严峻挑战 ,呼唤并必将引起行政法治的全面变革 ,尤其是行政执法方式的变革 :行政执法方式的多样化、非权力化、法治化与公开化     

Is a "Middle Class" Forming?

The economic reforms that have been pursued in Russia since the beginning of the 1990s, paradoxical as it may be, have not yet unequivocally and clearly revealed the class (the segment of the population) that will objectively serve as their motive force. The most active social group initiating transformations in the sphere of the economy and pushing them forward in the initial stages was the intelligentsia (and primarily representatives of the "creative" professions). However, it was demanding and striving for, first and foremost, political freedoms, with a poor idea of the essence, results, and consequences of the changes that were declared associated with the transition to the market economy "as in the civilized countries." And while the intelligentsia still occupies an exceedingly active position with regard to political freedoms and "human rights," its notions in relation to market transformations have evolved substantially. Today it demands a market economy for others, while putting forward for themselves slogans such as "Culture (science, the press ...) cannot live by the laws of the market," "The state is obligated to support (to finance) culture, science, education, the mass media ... " and the like.¹     

税费改革后农村基层组织运行机制探析

解放后我国农村基层组织经过了多次改革,特别是税费制度改革后出现了一系列新问题。对此,通过深化农村体制改革,打破城乡分割的二元财政体制,建立精简高效以服务社区和经济建设为目标的农村基层组织,以便解决经费来源困难、组织软散无力等问题。     

Food intake patterns of the unemployed and pensioners in Bulgaria

Transition to a market-oriented economy in Bulgaria has been characterized by declining real incomes and changes in dietary patterns. Nutritional status of the low-income segment of the population has become an important issue. The unemployed and pensioners represent two of the most vulnerable groups because of a substantial reduction in social welfare expenditure. Nationwide food intake survey data collected in 1997 allowed examination of how food intake patterns of the unemployed and pensioners differed from patterns of the employed. Income and sociodemographic profiles, including age, education, gender and geographic region were responsible for differences in food intake patterns.     

北京市国有医院产权制度改革基本目标与保障

我国医疗服务行业进入市场经济以来,特别是加入WTO后,国有医院体制改革进入了攻坚阶段,即国有医院产权制度改革阶段。本文对北京市国有医院产权制度改革的目标、任务和其保障条件等进行了深入的探讨,旨在提醒北京市国有医院的管理者在医院产权制度改革的大潮中保持清醒的头脑,坚定信念,睿智操盘,使改革在政府的监管下健康有序地进行,最终实现建立现代医院制度的目标。     

Productivity growth,external shocks,and capital inflows in Chile: A general equilibrium analysis

This paper uses a computable general equilibrium model to analyze the growth path of the Chilean economy during 1977–1981. During that period a comprehensive package of reforms liberalized international trade and removed restrictive labor legislation. As a result of the reforms, there were large changes in relative prices and in the structure of production and demand, and the economy enjoyed unprecedented growth with declining inflation. But large macroeconomic imbalance become evident toward the end of the period and in 1982 Chile experienced an abrupt and severe recession. Taking the real exchange rate as an exogenous policy variable, and using the observed levels of employment growth and foreign capital inflows, this paper compares model-generated growth paths with those of the economy. First, the benchmark simulation path is used to estimate the magnitude and pattern of growth and productivity change during the 1971–1981 period. Next, counter-factual simulations are used to assess how Chile's economic performance would have differed if (a) external events had been different; and (b) foreign capital inflows had been different. The analysis suggests that the macroeconomic imbalances that led to the crisis in 1982 were exacerbated by the large capital inflows and real exchange rate appreciation that resulted from the use of the exchange rate as a stabilization device.     

The Impact of Neo-liberalism on South Korea's Public Pension: A Political Economy of Pension Reform

This article examines the recent Korean pension reforms from a political economy perspective. It argues that these reforms are of particular interest because, unlike major pay-as-you-go pension schemes in Europe, the Korean pension scheme is a funded one and, therefore, is subject to market exposure. Also in contrast to the problems that public pension reforms have encountered in European and other OECD countries, especially 'blame avoidance', the more radical Korean reforms were implemented without significant challenge or resistance. First of all, the National Pension Scheme is described prior to the 1997 Asian economic crisis. Then the impact of this crisis on the Korean welfare state and, especially, its pension system are analysed. The main part of the article consists of a political economy of the pension reform process, in which the key roles of the international governmental organizations and the domestic neo-liberal policy elite are pinpointed. This neo-liberal ideology was critical in developing and sustaining an influential discourse on the 'crisis' in Korea's national pension fund. The article concludes by arguing, against the neo-liberal tide, for the inclusion of a pay-as-you-go element in the national pension in order to tackle escalating poverty in old age.     

Postcommunist Societies in Times of Transition: Perceptions of Change Among Adolescents in Central and Eastern Europe

This article examines adolescents' perceptions of the economic changes and the justice of the new "social contract" in Eastern/Central Europe. Focusing on three countries, Hungary, Bulgaria, and the Czech Republic, it explores the social, political, and economic environments in which adolescents came of age in 1990. Surveys conducted among high school students in each country during 1995 tapped their perceptions of the economy, the local community, and their personal beliefs about the efficacy of individual initiative and hard work. Responses differed significantly based on age, gender, social class, value orientation, and country. Older adolescents and girls were more likely to observe that economic disparities were growing in their country and to be cynical about the value of hard work. Those with socialist values also discounted the value of recent changes. Adolescents in the Czech Republic were the least cynical about economic changes, whereas those in Bulgaria were the most cynical, with Hungarian youth the least optimistic about the future.     

Unemployment insurance in Bulgaria and other East European countries: The transition to a market economy

Unemployment places those it affects in a situation of dependency on unemployment benefits. The regulation of that dependency and the measures necessary to avert it, in Bulgaria (and also in other East European countries) during the period of transition to a market economy, forms the subject of labour and social insurance legislation relating to unemployment and introduced on a temporary basis. Unemployment insurance benefits (unemployment benefits in cash, unemployment assistance, social assistance) are provided for limited periods fixed in the light of the nature of the benefit, the causes of unemployment, the number of years of service, age, gender and other factors. The degree of dependency of unemployed persons on such benefits is also determined by the level of those benefits. The principal categories of legal instruments by which that dependency can be averted or reduced are (1) contributions by the State to the establishment of labour law relationships by providing information to unemployed persons on job vacancies, vocational training and retraining measures, job creation measures and placement; (2) incentives to employers to maintain existing jobs and to create new ones (credits, exemption from interest payments, etc.).     

市场化改革与腐败治理：基于微观案件数据的实证分析

随着市场化改革的深入，中国的腐败现象也呈增长趋势。本文通过对1993—2013年3 843个腐败案件的分析发现，那些具有配置资源权力的官员出现腐败问题的可能性更大，程度也更严重。这一效应在官员的任职领域正处于市场化改革阶段时被放大，但随着改革的完成而大幅度减小。市场化过程中腐败问题的制度性根源在于市场化改革没有完成或不彻底的市场化，而不是市场化本身。因此，只有坚持市场化改革，才能清除权力寻租的土壤，进而遏制腐败问题。     

Ageing and the politics of pension reforms in Central Europe,South‐Eastern Europe and the Baltic States

Cerami A. Ageing and the politics of pension reforms in Central Europe, South‐Eastern Europe and the Baltic States Int J Soc Welfare 2011: 20: 331–343 © 2010 The Author(s), Journal compilation © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd and the International Journal of Social Welfare. This article investigates ageing and the politics of pension reforms in Central Europe, South‐Eastern Europe and the Baltic States. It emphasises the importance of historical legacies, presence of veto points, trade unions' power, electoral rules and country‐specific patterns of political competition, but it also highlights the central role in institutional change played by other concomitant factors, such as those associated with the communicative actions of national and international actors. The role played by power politics, class conflicts and strategic use of social policies is also emphasised. The main argument put forward in this article is that pressures for reforms in the pension systems have not only been the response of demographic, economic and financial pressures but have also been the result of a new consensus found on new economic ideas and discourses that saw in the privatisation of the economy a new modernisation paradigm.     

The evolution of the Georgian social protection system since independence: An unclear future despite recent expansion

In the first decade of transition, the Georgian social protection system experienced a major retrenchment as the government struggled to finance welfare provision in the face of massive economic contraction and the near collapse of public institutions. Since 2004, this trend has been reversed, with the economy returning to a fast growth path and public administration improving considerably. Recent reforms, including the notable introduction of universal public health insurance, are welcome steps towards building a modern welfare state. Major challenges still remain, however, especially in relation to the system's limited effect on widespread poverty. Decelerating growth, the lack of strong pro‐welfare actors, and the absence of positive external pull factors may stall or prevent future growth, but the changing nature of the social contract between the people and government, as well as Georgian politicians' growing recognition of the importance of the welfare system for inclusive growth, leaves ample space for optimism.