IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/ilrrev/v50y1997i3p438-459.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Attitudinal Legacy of Communist Labor Relations

Author

Listed:
  • David G. Blanchflower
  • Richard B. Freeman

Abstract

This study of workers' attitudes compares data from International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) surveys for former communist countries in Europe with ISSP data for Western countries over the period 1987–93, which covers the beginning of the transition to a market economy for the former communist countries. Consistent with their hypothesis that communist-run economies left an attitudinal “legacy,†the authors find that the citizens of former communist countries evinced a greater desire for egalitarianism, less satisfaction with their Jobs, and more support for strong trade unions and state intervention in the Job market and economy than did Westerners. Over the course of the period studied, however, residents of the former communist European countries perceived sizable increases in occupational earnings differentials, and they adjusted their views of the differentials that “ought to#x201D; exist in their economies in the direction of greater inequality.

Suggested Citation

  • David G. Blanchflower & Richard B. Freeman, 1997. "The Attitudinal Legacy of Communist Labor Relations," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 50(3), pages 438-459, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:ilrrev:v:50:y:1997:i:3:p:438-459
    DOI: 10.1177/001979399705000304
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/001979399705000304
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/001979399705000304?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Richard B. Freeman, 1994. "What Direction for Labor Market Institutions in Eastern and Central Europe?," NBER Chapters, in: The Transition in Eastern Europe, Volume 2, Restructuring, pages 1-36, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Shiller, Robert J & Boycko, Maxim & Korobov, Vladimir, 1991. "Popular Attitudes toward Free Markets: The Soviet Union and the United States Compared," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 81(3), pages 385-400, June.
    3. Robert J. Shiller & Maxim Boycko & Vladimir Korobov, 1992. "Hunting for Homo Sovieticus: Situational versus Attitudinal Factors in Economic Behavior," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 23(1), pages 127-194.
    4. George A. Akerlof & Andrew K. Rose & Janet L. Yellen & Helga Hessenius, 1991. "East Germany in from the Cold: The Economic Aftermath of Currency Union," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 22(1), pages 1-106.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Blanchflower, David G., 2001. "Unemployment, Well-Being, and Wage Curves in Eastern and Central Europe," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 15(4), pages 364-402, December.
    2. Chong, Alberto & Gradstein, Mark, 2018. "Imposed institutions and preferences for redistribution §," Journal of Institutional Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 14(1), pages 127-156, February.
    3. Joan Costa‐Font & Anna Nicińska, 2023. "Comrades in the family? Soviet communism and demand for family insurance," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 76(4), pages 526-612, November.
    4. Hemesath, Michael & Pomponio, Xun, 1995. "Student attitudes toward markets: Comparative survey data from China, the United States and Russia," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 6(2), pages 225-238.
    5. Spilimbergo, Antonio & Giuliano, Paola, 2009. "Growing Up in a Recession: Beliefs and the Macroeconomy," CEPR Discussion Papers 7399, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    6. Maxim Boycko & Robert J. Shiller, 2016. "Popular Attitudes toward Markets and Democracy: Russia and United States Compared 25 Years Later," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 106(5), pages 224-229, May.
    7. Alberto Alesina & Nicola Fuchs-Schundeln, 2005. "Good bye Lenin (or not?): The effect of Communism on people's preferences," Harvard Institute of Economic Research Working Papers 2076, Harvard - Institute of Economic Research.
    8. André van Hoorn & Robbert Maseland, 2010. "Cultural Differences Between East and West Germany After 1991: Communist Values vs. Economic Performance?," Post-Print hal-00911822, HAL.
    9. Köllő, János & Simonovits, András & Balla, Katalin, 2006. "Transzformációs sokk heterogén munkaerőpiacon [Transformation shock on a heterogeneous labour market]," Közgazdasági Szemle (Economic Review - monthly of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences), Közgazdasági Szemle Alapítvány (Economic Review Foundation), vol. 0(6), pages 485-508.
    10. Daniele Girardi & Roberto Veneziani & Susanne Wengle, 2023. "Great expectations: a tale of two transitions," Working Papers 968, Queen Mary University of London, School of Economics and Finance.
    11. Earle, John S. & Sakova, Zuzana, 1999. "Entrepreneurship from Scratch: Lessons on the Entry Decision into Self-Employment from Transition Economies," IZA Discussion Papers 79, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    12. Alberto Chong & Mark Gradstein, 2006. "Redistributional Preferences and Imposed Institutions," Research Department Publications 4482, Inter-American Development Bank, Research Department.
    13. Stephanie Eble & Petya Koeva, 2002. "What Determines Individual Preferences over Reform? Microeconomic Evidence from Russia," IMF Staff Papers, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 49(Special i), pages 87-110.
    14. Shleifer, Andrei, 1997. "Government in transition," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 41(3-5), pages 385-410, April.
    15. van Hoorn, André & Maseland, Robbert, 2010. "Cultural differences between East and West Germany after 1991: Communist values versus economic performance?," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 76(3), pages 791-804, December.
    16. Hayo, Bernd, 2004. "Public support for creating a market economy in Eastern Europe," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(4), pages 720-744, December.
    17. John S. Earle & Scott Gehlbach, 2003. "A Spoonful of Sugar: Privatization and Popular Support for Reform in the Czech Republic," Economics and Politics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 15(1), pages 1-32, March.
    18. Sascha O. Becker & Lukas Mergele & Ludger Woessmann, 2020. "The Separation and Reunification of Germany: Rethinking a Natural Experiment Interpretation of the Enduring Effects of Communism," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 34(2), pages 143-171, Spring.
    19. Agnès Bénassy-Quéré & Pierre Villa, 1994. "La réunification allemande du point de vue de la politique économique," Working Papers 1994-09, CEPII research center.
    20. Nicolas R. Ziebarth & Gert G. Wagner, 2013. "Top-down v. Bottom-up: The Long-Term Impact of Government Ideology and Personal Experience on Values," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 1280, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:ilrrev:v:50:y:1997:i:3:p:438-459. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.ilr.cornell.edu .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.