Recenzija: Karl Marx, Zbornik radova povodom dvjestote obljetnice rođenja
Review of: Goran Sunajko, Maroje Višić (ur.), Karl Marx, Zbornik radova povodom dvjestote obljetnice rođenja, Naklada Breza, Zagreb 2018.
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Review of: Goran Sunajko, Maroje Višić (ur.), Karl Marx, Zbornik radova povodom dvjestote obljetnice rođenja, Naklada Breza, Zagreb 2018.
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With the mid- 1989 collapse of Communist politics in Eastern Europe, the whole region entered into a phase of intensive economic reforms, commonly called " transition" to capitalism. This wave of systemic change has triggered a lively theoretical discussion on whether reform programs should assume a more radical-blueprint-form or a more evolutionary one, lacking a definite strategy. The initial consensus was that economic theory favors the radical approach, and the 1990 program adopted by Poland was radical. Arguments for an evolutionary model of reform seem to be gaining ground, however, partly in response to the very high costs of Poland's "shock therapy" program. [...]
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During Yugoslavia's national decomposition, the individual republics chose "go-it-alone" transition policies for their economies, including changing property rights in the economy. The divergence of privatization plans is such that they bear no resemblance to one another, and with accumulating experience the divergence increases. The process of privatization of socially owned enterprises in each successor state can be discussed independently. The privatization of land and housing as well as "ground up" privatization, all important issues, will be dealt with only as they concern the privatization of enterprises. [...]
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Although political economists tend to emphasize how economic interests affect politics or how political structure influences the economy, the purpose here is to investigate a less common but no less important possibility: that the economy, by failing, might spur intellectual rejection and a search for a radically new and radically totalistic alternative to the present system. Economic crisis, in short, might be the handmaiden of intellectual utopianism. My empirical study of Hungarian economists and political change from 1984 to 1990 makes clear that capitalism has a heavily utopian character for Hungary and that this "utopian capitalism" grew out of the crisis of Kadarist neotraditionalism. Economically, the model of state socialism reached bankruptcy by the mid-1980s. [...]
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This research aims to explore the causal link between political stability (PS) and foreign direct investments (FDI) in the case of Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H). The motivation to conduct this study lies in the fact that literature to date has paid little attention to the impact of political stability on FDI in the country of interest. In order to investigate the present causal linkage, annual time-series data were collected in the time-span running from 2002 to 2016. To provide empirical evidence we have employed the time-series econometrics. The obtained results indicate that political stability causes foreign direct investments. In addition, the results suggest that foreign direct investments have a causal link with the political stability. This result is of particular importance, given that Bosnia and Herzegovina can benefit significantly from the FDI, especially in the initial period, although long-term economic growth requires a sustainable and stable political environment. The outcome of this paper can provide significant insights for policy makers. This is why the concluding remark summarizes in detail the policy implications together with the recommendations for future research.
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The central problem of political economy is the relationship between authority structure and ownership relations. Nowhere is that relationship of greater concern to policymakers , or of greater interest to social scientists , than in Eastern Europe, where post-communist governments are grappling with the monumental task of privatization. Is it possible for countries undergoing transitions from authoritarianism to multiparty democracy to undertake radical reforms of ownership relations? In the East European context, does democratization facilitate or impede privatization? [...]
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This text had been written in September 1989, two months before the "velvet revolution" in Czechoslovakia. It does not mean that the authors were then subject to self-censorship. By no means. The intellectual climate prevailing in the Institute for Forecasting was then quite liberal and, at least for the people from the Institute, that November Revolution brought about no important change in this respect. Yet the text is influenced by the authors' pre-revolution state of mind, though this influence is delicate and rather complex. [...]
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With the first free elections since 1947, the nearly-two-year transition period from Communist power to a democratic political system was completed in Hungary last spring. The process began after the Communist party (then MSZMP) conference, held in May 1988. Opposition parties proclaiming the principles of a market economy and political democracy were established one after the other. The ruling Communists were forced to accept the entrance of the new parties into the political arena, and in the summer of 1989 negotiations began on the issues of peaceful transition to a pluralist political system. [...]
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A gale of liberalism is blowing over post-centrally planned economies. In the economically destroyed countries of East-Central Europe a free market order is generally viewed as a panacea. The commonly used argument is clear and quick: market economy is the one that works; we do not have the time and the means to experiment with any Third Way models; let us adopt well-proven Western solutions. [...]
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While the introduction of democracy to Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union is highly desirable for many reasons, it is unfortunately unclear if enacting a major economic transformation is one of them. On the contrary, it would seem that the basic preconditions required for the creation of self-regulating markets in the economy are not so much "democratic" as they are "liberal." That is, the political requirements of economic reform lie less in the introduction of institutions for popular control of the state than in the establishment of mechanisms that would limit the use of political authority in the economy regardless of who exercises it. As such, the use of markets as the basic regulator of economic transactions appears much more closely related to the creation of limited sovereignty than to the introduction of popular sovereignty, desirable as the latter may be. [...]
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For nearly three decades , the conception of reform of the state socialist economies of East Central Europe was dominated by the search for the correct mix of plan and market within the state sector. By the mid 1980s a new conception of reform emerged in Hungary focusing on the small-scale private sector, as economists debated the correct mix of public and private ownership across sectors of the economy. The year 1989 witnessed , in both Hungary and Poland , a fundamental break with these conceptions of reform : rather than simply stimulating the expansion of the traditional private sector , policy makers began designing a variety of measures for the privatization of the public sector itself. [...]
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A case of managing a public utility in post-transitional context is elaborated in this paper. The aim is to identify main determinants of household recycling, in order to make recommendations for design of appropriate recycling policy in Split (Croatia). Based on the overview of relevant literature, individual motivation towards waste selection is explored and preliminary survey results are presented. Implications for local policy-making and management of local public utilities are discussed.
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The paper deals with various analyses by Croatian economists of the so-called process of transformation and privatization in the 1990s. In recent decades, especially since the first multi-party parliamentary elections in April 1990, the process of political-economic transformation has not only decisively changed the socio-economic structure of Croatia, but also influenced the Croatian polit-economic thought. By reviewing works by Croatian economists, political economists and sociologists, this paper has the ambition to make a contribution to a new approach of studying the process of transformation and privatization. This paper develops the thesis that the process of transformation and privatization was essentially a restoration of capitalism through primary accumulation of capital. What is also called wild capitalism, cronyism, and even tycoon capitalism – was in fact the usual course of the emergence and development of peripheral capitalism. Its specific feature is connected with the nation-state which had the role of system-maker as well as ruling-classmaker, rather than the other way around – that the ruling class had created its own state and economic system. At the same time, we reject as simplified various conclusions that the transformation and privatization process should have been and could have been more just and fair. In the end, one can better understand the paradox of Croatia starting the process of transformation and privatization as one of the countries with the best features and finishing as one of the most unsuccessful examples.
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The article traces the expansion of a Čakovec-based construction enterprise Građevni kombinat Međimurje from its formation in the 1960s until it reached the peak of its business growth at the very end of the 1970s. On one hand, it is a compelling history of technocracy, entrepreneurship, and business development in a deregulated semi-planned economy. On the other, it is the story of the modernisation of Yugoslav agricultural periphery and the transformative experience of a provincial city on the fringes of Belgrade’s or Zagreb’s political interests. Among other things, the research underlines some of the most relevant characteristics related to the formation of large business systems in self-management. It scrutinises the relations and interactions between business and politics on a local level. Indirectly, the article questions the success of the market reform in Yugoslavia and seeks the boundary between the company and the Party.
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This article focuses on the connection between religion and gendered division of housework, approaching the relationships based on individual and contextual religious dimensions. Building on social identity theory, the paper looks at how religious practice and identity connects with housework division and what happens in countries with high religious heterogeneity. The research hypotheses are tested using multilevel regression models, employing data from International Social Survey Program 2012 and from the Quality of Government dataset and they are partially supported by the data. The results show that religious identity matters for housework division, but the effects differ depending on religious denomination.
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The purpose of this study is to compare and analyze whether the 2008 global economic crisis affected the balance of the energy companies which are listed in the Istanbul Stock Exchange and have not shown continuity in 2005-2013 period by using a variety of analyzing methods. Companies that demonstrate continuity between the years 2005-2013 were not assessed in this study. Horizontal and vertical analyses were made on the financial statements of the companies which are evaluated and liquidity ratios were assessed. Based on this analysis, it was found that these companies were differently affected by the crisis.
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Foreign trade and foreign direct investments are widely considered the two main engines that fuel economic growth and development of a country. Moldovan’s situation is quiet a unique one, because even after almost 30 years of independence it still find itself in a transition type of state. The main goal of the article is to submit to the analysis the current state of the Moldovan’s exports and foreign direct investments inflows. It examines the dynamic of the two during 2002-2018 period. The methods used in this paper are, on the one hand, the Content Analysis with a focus on qualitative observation and, on the other hand, a quantitative analysis, using the correlation between the volume of exports and foreign direct investments in order to identify the link between these indicators. As a result, we notice very little to know correlation between export and foreign direct investments in case of the Republic of Moldova, which leads us to the idea that further research is, required which would implicate other factors.
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As a theory that sets some basic principles according to which a good government, whatever its form, must be run, democracy offers good prospect for achieving national development of especially heterogeneous societies. The common feature of democratic governance is its emphasis on improving the socio-economic welfare of the people and this is synonymous with the idea of national development. All over the world, democracy is prioritized because it is assumed to have the magic wand to effectively deal with inter and intra group conflicts arising from the democratic method. But the Nigerian experience with democracy is not very pleasant. The people’s votes in most cases have refused to count. While ethno-religious violence is rife in the polity, the economy remain on its kneel with abject poverty as a recurring decimal among the people. The popular expectations, that democracy will resolve all these challenges have largely been unattained. Therefore, it is against this backdrop, that this study explored the effect of democracy on national development in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic. A descriptive method was adopted and cross-sectional data were collected across the twenty five Local Government Areas in Delta State with the aid of a structured questionnaire. Non- probabilistic sampling techniques comprising of purposeful and convenience techniques were used to elicit information via questionnaire from 400 respondents. Data were analysed using Pearson product moment correlation and regression analysis. The result of the study revealed that there is a positive and significant relationship between democracy and national development in Nigeria’s fourth republic. Thus, the study recommends among others that the political leaders should adhere to the basic tenents of democracy and constitutionalism to promote good governance and foster national development.
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Is the welfare state efficient? Is it a resolution for problems associated with risk? While looking at high-level generalization, the opposite polarity can be seen on this topic: supporters and critiques. Nevertheless, both sides still need much more accurate empirical pieces of evidence. Moreover, using specific theoretical perspectives can help to obtain an accurate assessment of patterns for institutional analysis. In this paper, risk phenomenon will be assessed within welfare states and it will be analyzed how risk can be related to welfare policies and “trust”. The analysis cannot be limited solely to one field; economic, political, and social aspects also ought to be taken into consideration for further investigations. Nevertheless, in this paper, the concepts will only be analyzed in terms of economic factors.
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