An Analysis of Robert E. Lucas Jr.'s Why Doesn't Capital Flow from Rich to Poor Countries?

The Weakness of Civil Society in Post-Communist Europe.

The Weakness of Civil Society in Post-Communist Europe

The Myth of Ethnic War: Serbia and Croatia in the 1990s. By V. P. Gagnon, Jr. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2004. 217p. $35.00Publications focusing on Yugoslavia's collapse and the wars in Croatia, Bosnia, and Kosovo abound. One of the key category errors committed in much of this work—and especially in the mountains of journalistic output throughout the 1990s—has been to classify Yugoslavia's wars merely as wars of rival ethnicities and nationalisms, if not ancient hatreds. Conventional wisdom has it that Yugoslavia's wars in the 1990s were typical “Balkan” wars emanating from primordial nationalisms, heavily laden with historical baggage and rich in potent myth and symbols. The easiest way to explain Yugoslavia's violent disintegration in the late twentieth century was to relapse into cliche-ridden accounts of base, primeval ethnic rivalries that hitherto had been contained by a combination of the restraints imposed by Tito's brand of communism and the exigencies of a polarized Cold War international system in which Yugoslavia inhabited a very particular space.

The Myth of Ethnic War: Serbia and Croatia in the 1990s

The End of Poverty may be a triumph. It fulfils the fairytale aspiration towards a better existence for the world’s poorest within the constraints of contemporary finance. Seldom has modern economics put forth a blueprint with so audacious a goal in mind. In The End of Poverty, Jeffrey Sachs makes us believe, really believe that it is possible to overcome economic hardship in the developing world and achieve true prosperity. He shares his thoughts with eloquence and meticulous detail. With a foreword provided by Bono, we are immediately prepared for a script that is indeed larger than life, for a bold and daring plan, a mission seemingly impossible. It is suddenly hip to talk about poverty, permissible to question existing global economic policies and even forgivable to demand reform. Sachs allows us a glimpse into his own mind – the journey through his successes in Bolivia, Poland and Russia and now a passionate conviction to extrapolate these advances onto an African setting. However, his battles as an economic reformer historically have not been without defeat. The relative economic setbacks suffered in Bolivia and Poland are not the subject of this book. They are not in the spirit of The End of Poverty. Instead we are reassured by his familiarity with tenuous economic terrain. As a personal advisor to the United Nations’ Secretary General, Sachs affords us exposure to a classified frame of mind, off the beaten path. He allows us to see that it may be possible, by direct intervention, to select a Luo village like Sauri, ravaged by AIDS, poverty and tropical disease and offer hope for a brighter existence. Africa is by no means an easy topic, far less an easy economic arena to provide as a test ground. Sachs however, makes a brilliant argument even to the lay reader wading through some of the technical econo-jargon. The more one reads, the easier it becomes to believe that the cost of a better future for Africa is within affordable limits, certainly by western standards. The 120 billion dollars of aid that he demands would theoretically be used to establish better infrastructure, schools, roads, sanitation and disease control. The question forever begs, however, how easily will this translate into practical African terms? How successful has Africa been in the past at implementing globally contrived economic reforms? The End of Poverty does not answer these questions either. But one suspects that may never have been its mandate. Instead it proffers an alternative opinion about poverty with a pointed focus on eradication rather than mere elimination. The policies are complex and relatively controversial. Admittedly, any idea as radical as those in The End of Poverty can only be expressed in the esoteric parlance of revolution and never be slowed by the pedantic rules of evolution. How else could they ever achieve the triumph for Africa?

The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time

Purpose – We study particular structural and organisational factors affecting the formality of human resource management (HRM) practices in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in South-Eastern European (SEE) post-communist countries, in particular Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) in order to understand the antecedents of formalization in such settings.

Design/methodology/approach – Adopting a quantitative approach, this study analyses data gathered through a survey of 168 managers of SMEs from throughout the region.

Findings – The results show that HRM in SMEs in the SEE region can be understood through a three-fold framework which includes: degree of internationalisation of SMEs, sector of SMEs and organisational size of SMEs. These three factors positively affect the level of HRM formalisation in SEE SMEs. These findings are further attributed to the particular political and economic context of the post-communist SEE region. 

Research limitations/implications – Although specific criteria were set for SME selection, we do not suggest that the study reflects a representative picture of the SEE region because we used a purposive sampling methodology.

Practical implications – This article provides useful insights into the factors which influence HRM in SMEs in a particular context. The findings can help business owners and managers understand how HRM can be applied in smaller organisations, particularly in post-communist SEE business contexts. 

Originality/value – HRM in SMEs in this region has hardly been studied at all despite their importance. Therefore, this exploratory research seeks to expand knowledge relating to the application of HRM in SMEs in SEE countries which have their business environments dominated by different dynamics in comparison to western European ones.

/pdf/a-three-fold-framework-for-understanding-hrm-practices-in-1jxbnt4xm4.pdf

A three-fold framework for understanding HRM practices in South-Eastern European SMEs

Purpose – This paper aims to examine the phenomenom of wild capitalism under post Communist transformation. Many commentators on post Communist transformation focus their attention on dysfunctional corporate governance and the deleterious consequences of liberalisation on business ethics. Poor business ethics and bad corporate governance may be a consequence of labour exploitation for comparative advantage, and the abandonment of party authority. This allowed rapacious rent‐seeking by a minority well placed to benefit from the newly de‐regulated regime. A by‐product is a burgeoning informal economy encouraged by insider dealing of privatised state assets. State regulation, where it exists, is often ignored. Employment relations are fragmented, with state‐owned enterprises retaining some form of collective regulation, while newly privatised enterprises seek to marginalise union activity.Design/methodology/approach – The paper analyses why Serbia has diverged from the Slovenian case in the former Yugoslavia...

/pdf/wild-capitalism-privatisation-and-employment-relations-in-42087ut22o.pdf

Wild capitalism, privatisation and employment relations in Serbia

This book traces the role of ordinary workers both during the Tito period and in the October 2000 Revolution in Serbia against Milošević. The everyday experience of workers under Tito is described, including the experiment of self-management. The authors offer a critical analysis, arguing that Tito and the Communist leadership of Yugoslavia saw self-management as a modernising project to compete with the West, and as a disciplining tool for workers in the enterprise. The socialist ideals of self-management were subsequently corrupted by Yugoslavia’s turn to the market. The causes of the revolution against Milošević are then examined, including the debilitating effects of debt and subservience to the international financial institutions, the hangover from the civil wars, and the corrupt nature of the regime.

Workers and revolution in Serbia

This book offers a refreshing new analysis of the role of workers both in Tito’s Yugoslavia and in the subsequent Serbian revolution against Milosevic in October 2000. The authors argue that Tito and the Communist leadership of Yugoslavia saw self-management as a modernising project to compete with the West, and as a disciplining tool for workers in the enterprise. The socialist ideals of self-management were subsequently corrupted by Yugoslavia’s turn to the market. The authors then move on to examining the central role of ordinary workers in overthrowing the nationalist regime of Milosevic and present an account which runs contrary to many descriptions of 'labour weakness' in post-Communist states. Organised labour should be studied as a movement in and of itself rather than as a passive object of external forces. Two labour movement waves have emerged under post-Communism, the first an expression of desire for democracy, the second as a collaboration and clientelism. A third wave, against the ravages of neoliberalism, is only just emerging.

Workers and revolution in Serbia: From Tito to Miloševic and beyond

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Wild capitalism, privatisation and employment relations in Serbia

Workers and revolution in Serbia

Workers and revolution in Serbia: From Tito to Miloševic and beyond