Enterprise and Social Benefits after Communism

This 1997 book examines the evolution of firm-initiated social benefits in Central, East European Countries and the former Soviet Union.

Martin Rein (Edited by), Barry L. Friedman (Edited by), Andreas Wörgötter (Edited by)

9780521584036, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 17 July 1997

346 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 2.4 cm, 0.68 kg

"The greatest strenght of this volume lies in the wealth of descriptive information and original data it presents on a subject of critical importance to the societal well-being and economic effiency of postsocialist states. All chapters are well-grounded in expert knowledge of the cases, drawing on a range of document and press sources, interviews with enterprise managers, social surveys, and so on." Linda J. Cook, Slavic Review

Historically, enterprises were an important delivery vehicle for the administration and financing of many programmes of social protection in the economies of Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. In most cases this was through systems mandated by the state. When the Central and East European countries (CEECs) began their reforms many expected enterprises to quickly eliminate the benefits they had provided to workers once freed from the encumbrance of state control. This volume, originally published in 1997, investigates the size of these benefits and the forces producing changes in them. Each chapter covers a specific country, exploring the scope, scale and change of benefits in the respective countries,and investigates their determinants. Surprisingly, they find only modest declines and even some increases in aggregate benefits, rather than rapid change. Change is more visible in the details. This volume examines social functions, like early retirement, in both established and newly privatized enterprises.

1. Introduction Martin Rein, Andreas Wörgötter and Barry L. Friedman
Part I. Distinctive Analytic Frameworks: 2. The provision of social benefits in state-owned, privatized and private firms in Poland Saul Esrtrin, Mark E. Schaffer and I. J. Singh
3. Do East European enterprises provide social protection? John S. Earle
4. Wage and non-wage labour costs in the Czech Republic - the impact of fringe benefits Randall K. Filer, Ondrek Schneider and Jan Svejnar
5. Firms and government in the provision of benefits in Russia Simon Commander and Richard Jackman
6. What comes after enterprise-centred social protection? The case of East Germany Martin Kohli
7. Enterprise social benefits and the economic transition in Hungary Martin Rein and Barry L. Friedman
Part II. Institutional Analyses: 8. Fringe benefits in transition in Hungary Gaspar Fajth and Judit Lakatos
9. Social security in companies: the case of the Republic of Slovenia Sonja Gavez and Marina Letonja
10. Social protection in enterprises: the case-study of Albania Emira Brahja, Edmond Leka and Rubin Luniku
11 Social protection in the enterprise: the case of Slovakia Jan Planovsky and Andreas Wörgötter
12.The enterprise social wage in the transitional economy of Ukraine Irina Tratch and Andreas Wörgötter
13. Social protection and enterprise reform: the case of China Zu Liu Hu
Index.

Subject Areas: Economic systems & structures [KCS]