Labor Markets and Social Policy in Central and Eastern Europe (original) (raw)

The Labour Market Situation in the Central-Eastern European Region – Towards a New Labour Paradigm

The author assumes that globalization and its regional and local impacts have an important role in nowadays’ economics. An overview is given about the main findings of the economic theories associated with employment and paid work; reinterpretation of the concept of labour is also provided, divided into pre-industrial, industrial and post-industrial periods, which the author aligns with the periods of the economic thought. The author interprets globalization as a factor influencing the transition between industrial and post-industrial periods; and she elaborately introduces its economic-social and labour market impacts. Central-Eastern European countries and regions are analyzed, as the territorial unit of the research, from labour market and employment aspects. Special attention is paid to the comparative evaluation of the employment policy documents in the case of the investigated countries. The author also draws attention to the deficiencies of labour situation. Afterwards, she contributes suggestions to the criteria of creating a more efficient regional employment policy.

Social Policy in Central and Eastern Europe

Journal of European Social Policy, 1993

This issue of the journal is devoted to the changing social policy in central and eastern Europe. In a departure from our normal editonal practice, most of the articles derive from

Rural Areas in Eastern Europe as Internal Peripheries of the Global Division of Labor

In our paper we seek to conceptualize rural development in the framework of global labor relations in historical capitalism. In our hypothesis, rural development in a global perspective coalesces with semi-peripheral labor relations. The Marxian notion of surplus population which have been formed and reproduced by capitalist social relations tend to be produced in peripheral and semi-peripheral regions. We seek to identify the most recent forms of the surplus population by analysing Hungarian workfare regimes introduced by the state in the post-2008 crises period. In addition to the role of workfare systems in the reproduction of the labour force, including the surplus population, we analyse mechanisms that help to sustain hierarchical local social relations by e.g. means of ethnicizing and excluding segments of the population from the formal labour market or other state institutions.

Is atypical typical? – atypical employment in Central Eastern European countries

My paper presents the employment situation, in particular the atypical employment by the Central Eastern European (CEE) countries, which are joined the European Union in 2004 (Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia). The group of these countries is called, somewhat imprecisely in geographical terms, Central Eastern European region. My hypothesis states that the employment position of CEE countries are not satisfactory in the European Union relation, their human resource position are weak, the level of untypical employment is low, which is influenced by several factors and the mine of applicable legal means is not satisfactory either. This paper focuses on the major forms of atypical employment relations and examines their significance in the CEE countries. The three research questions the article attempts to answer are: (1) Is there divergence or convergence between the CEE countries in the prevalence of atypical employment forms? (2) What are the differences between the major atypical employment forms? (3) Could be solved the world economic crises by the atypical employment forms?

Labour Market Analysis in the Central and Eastern European Countries

Journal of Eastern Europe Research in Business and Economics, 2015

Over the last twenty years, Central and Eastern European countries (CEE) experienced a specific pattern of economic and social evolution. In the post-communism period these countries have initiated a comprehensive process of catching-up the capitalist economies. This process involved a series of institutional reforms and the liberalization and integration of some important markets (capital market, labor market, etc.). In these circumstances, the actual economic crisis represented a major challenge for these economies, which moreover were quite affected and the recovery is slow. For the purpose of the statistic data analysis, we decided to form two groups of countries, based on their history, background and recent development. We first made an analysis of the evolution of macroeconomic indicators to see how economic policy measures were favourable overcoming the crisis for each country. Using a panel date model, we aim to illustrate the influence of some important macroeconomics indicators (unemployment rate, GDP, FDI) on the labour market (real average net earnings, employment rate). The econometric results revealed that the GDP and FDI have a positive influence upon the two dependent variables, reflecting a normal economic situation.

Internal Labor Mobility in Central Europe and the Baltic Region

World Bank Working Papers, 2007

World Bank Working Papers are published to communicate the results of the Bank's work to the development community with the least possible delay. The manuscript of this paper therefore has not been prepared in accordance with the procedures appropriate to formally-edited texts. Some sources cited in this paper may be informal documents that are not readily available. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/The World Bank and its affiliated organizations, or those of the Executive Directors of The World Bank or the governments they represent. The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this work. The boundaries, colors, denominations, and other information shown on any map in this work do not imply any judgment on the part of The World Bank of the legal status of any territory or the endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries. The material in this publication is copyrighted. Copying and/or transmitting portions or all of this work without permission may be a violation of applicable law. The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/The World Bank encourages dissemination of its work and will normally grant permission promptly to reproduce portions of the work.

Cyclicality of the Central-Eastern-European labour market

Globalization and its regional and local impacts have an important role in today’s economics. Paradoxically, challenges arising from the unification of the world have strengthened the need for regional and local answers. Transformation of the labor market requires re-evaluation of the notion of labor, which changes the perspective on the issue of employment. The solution for global lack of employment is increasingly sought with a focus on sustainability and social inclusion at regional and local levels. The European Union’s employment policy determines and sets limits on employment-related objectives and efforts of nation states. Europe and Hungary have no experience of regionally differentiated employment policy; however, a regional employment policy would be reasonable. I analyzed aims and employment policy tools of Central-Eastern European countries’ employment policies to develop recommendations for a regional employment policy in Hungary. The method is analysis of available statistical data, the study and critical analysis of the situation.