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Developing market orientation tax systems has been a significant component of the economic transition in Central and Eastern Europe. Some challenges faced by policy makers in tax policy design for transition countries are studied in this volume. In particular, taxation and corruption, fiscal decentralization, revenue adequacy at the national level and the taxation of natural resources are examined in the papers that follow. The authors of the papers are well qualified to examine these issues. Each author has extensive practical experience in advising transition economies in addition to their individual academic and scholarly achievements. These papers reflect that experience and expertise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses the method of measuring tax capacity and tax effort to analyze how well Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries are utilizing their tax capacities, relative to one another. Using panel data for ten CEE countries covering the years 1992-2000, I construct a tax effort index for each country and conclude that there are substantial variations in tax effort among CEE countries and several countries have the potential to increase revenues via increased tax effort. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of International Political Science Review is the property of Sage Publications Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

As the literature on small state foreign policy predicts that smaller states of the international community attempt to enlarge their influence by seeking a constructive status or proving their adherence to positive norms, the cases in which small states use a negative image to better their international position are almost completely neglected. The article aims to assess how the status of Visegrád countries in interstate society changed since their accession to the European Union in light of the generally negative perception of their governments' ideological background connected to different kinds of populism and nationalism. Using the GDELT Database, the number of government-level interactions initiated towards the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia was analysed in a European context between 2004 and 2020. The results of the inquiry showed a drastic decrease in the interactions initiated towards the four countries between 2004 and the mid-2010s with a slightly higher ratio of confrontative interactions than in the case of other small and middle-sized states. Data show that Hungary, governed by populist parties since 2010, witnessed the smallest drop in attention in the last decade. These results defy the expectations of the small state literature and suggest a more complicated relationship between international status and the image of small states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper challenges the mainstream social scientific approach that emphasizes “moral inferiority” in corruption and bribery in Central and Eastern Europe. We argue that in many cases, people participate in informal organizational resource exchanges not because of immorality or greed but rather because of powerful external forces. By using the case of contemporary Hungary to support this argument, this paper provides a systematic analysis of such imperatives. The findings of 50 in-depth qualitative interviews suggest that two main imperatives can be distinguished; macro-level social and meso-level organizational forces. Macro-level forces may be linked to historical paths, Hungary's socialist and pre-socialist social conditions, and its post-socialist welfare state development. Meso-level organizational forces are more general phenomena and can be found in many other countries in the world. Moreover, there are numerous categories within each theme. Some of them represent normative imperatives, while others are more material structural forces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the collapse of the Berlin wall, women and girls have been trafficked from central and eastern Europe to work as prostitutes in the European Union. This paper looks at the response of the international community to the problem of sex trafficking as it impacts on the EU. The focus is on criminal justice intervention with respect to protection of and assistance to 'victims', and a specially witness protection, in the light of the following: the tensions and promises between treatment of trafficked women as 'victims' of crime and criminal justice informants; and the need to re-focus on a 'woman-centred' approach to criminal justice intervention for trafficked women. Given the diverse nature of law and criminal justice practice between EU Member States, the paper necessarily presents a generic critique of current EU and international 'best practice' recommendations, with some commentary on practice based on the author's research, with respect to what 'gold standards' of practice offer in theory and what is delivered in reality. The question of 'victim-centred' justice and/or 'woman-centred' justice is raised in an effort to promote effective policy recommendations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In marketing, Eurasia is currently still an area of terra incognita between the CEE and the Asia-pacific region. This paper deals from a linguistic cultural studies viewpoint with the question of how far Eurasia can be a relevant region for MNE marketing. To this end, the enrichment of the conception of Eurasia in Russia will be researched in its philosophical, political and economic dimensions using the original geographic dimension as a baseline. The individual conceptual components will be scrutinized in detail for their potential significance for regional marketing in post-soviet economic discourse, whereby neo-Eurasianism in contemporary Russian thinking deserves particular significance. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article presents Central European perspective on why nationalism is not the right doctrine to combat climate change. Topics include nationalism the political doctrine that can help the world to deliver on the need to decrease greenhouse gas emissions; and ideas of ecological modernization that suggest to mitigate climate change efficiently through technological innovations and without reforms in the decision-making.

The authors present a comparative analysis of employment determination in four transition economies as they moved from central planning to a market economy in the early 1990s. They use firm-level panel data sets from the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia to estimate dynamic employment equations for the period from immediately before to immediately after the start of transition. For the most part, firms appear to have been quick to adjust employment to wage levels, and there is little evidence of labor hoarding. There were important cross-country variations in the determinants of employment during the reform process, however. Hungarian and Polish firms started the transition already substantially reformed, and became even more responsive to market signals as transition proceeded. In contrast, firms in the Czech and Slovak Republics started in the completely unresponsive mode characteristic of central planning, but rapidly caught up with their counterparts in Hungary and Poland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article addresses newly emerging interstate rivalry between Central and Eastern European states based on unevenness of capitalist development and growing assertiveness of particular states in terms of their various strategies and tactics. It critically analyses the efficacy of ‘New Warsaw Pacts’ concepts and argues that in the Central and Eastern European area, we observe a specific form of a post–Cold War multi-polarity, whereby interstate rivalry is becoming increasingly more complex. The term of ‘Beggar Imperialism’ is utilized as a possibly useful description of a specific form geopolitical strategy shown by the example of Poland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides new insight into the local institutional embeddedness of entrepreneurial behaviour. By introducing a sociological institutional framework for place-based entrepreneurship, it adds to the knowledge of the role of regulative, normative and cognitive institutions in local entrepreneurial practices in rural Central Europe. Based on extensive case studies in regions located across five countries, the analysis suggests that the influence of regulative institutions on local entrepreneurship is tempered, if not superseded, by specific place-dependent normative and cognitive institutions, and that the fit between the different institutions is decisive for the emergence of entrepreneurial practices in a specific location. The article provides explanations of why and under which conditions entrepreneurs show different change practices in rural transition and non-transition contexts. The study concludes that institutional mechanisms are place-bound, and that a place-sensitive institutional approach can serve as a fruitful way forward for developing our contextualised knowledge of entrepreneurial behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the developments in employment, unemployment, wages and income distribution in the Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC) 20 years after the transition from planned economies to capitalism. A discussion of the economic transformation of CEECs is given, including during the transition crisis, post-transition growth and 2008-2009 global crisis. Some of the significant developments were noted, including stagnant or slight decrease of the total employment rate and discrepancy between wage and productivity increases.

Policy coherence, understood as synergy between policies, has been found to facilitate development and economic growth. However, there is little research on the conditions in which it emerges. This article identifies different paths conducive to policy coherence in the process of transforming centralized economies of Central and Eastern Europe into market-driven ones. It shows that government characteristics with likely impact on the quality of policy-making, such as accountability and institutional constraints, are associated with coherent policies only in a limited number of cases. It also shows that governments that are not constrained and accountable, formulate coherent policies if they find themselves in contexts that do not pose constraints, or that offer strong incentives. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article explores the determinants of corruption in transition economies of the post-Soviet Union, Central-Eastern Europe, and Western industrialized states. We look in-depth at the East–West gap in corruption, and why entrepreneurs and small business owners become engaged in corrupt deals. Part of the answers lie in the country-specific formal and informal institutional make-up. The likelihood of engaging in corruption is influenced by the lower efficiency of financial and legal institutions and the lack of their enforcements. Also, viewing illegal business activities as a widespread business practice provides the rationale for entrepreneurs to justify their own corrupt activities. Moreover, closed social networks with family, friends, and national bureaucrats reduce the opportunism of the contracting party of the corrupt deal, thus providing breeding grounds for corruption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Chemotherapy for breast cancer often deteriorates quality of life, augments fatigue, and induces neutropenia. Mistletoe preparations are frequently used by cancer patients in Central Europe. Physicians have reported better quality of life in breast cancer patients additionally treated with mistletoe preparations during chemotherapy. Mistletoe preparations also have immunostimulant properties and might therefore have protective effects against chemotherapy-induced neutropenia. Patients and Methods: We conducted a prospective randomized open label pilot study with 95 patients randomized into three groups. Two groups received Iscador® M special (IMS) or a different mistletoe preparation, respectively, additionally to chemotherapy with six cycles of cyclophosphamide, adriamycin, and 5-fluoro-uracil (CAF). A control group received CAF with no additional therapy. Here we report the comparison IMS (n = 30) vs. control (n = 31). Quality of life including fatigue was assessed with the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC-QLQ-C30). Neutropenia was defined as neutrophil counts <1,000/μl and assessed at baseline and one day before each CAF cycle. Results: In the descriptive analysis all 15 scores of the EORTC-QLQ-C30 showed better quality of life in the IMS group compared to the control group. In 12 scores the differences were significant (p < 0.02) and nine scores showed a clinically relevant and significant difference of at least 5 points. Neutropenia occurred in 3/30 IMS patients and in 8/31 control patients (p = 0.182). Conclusions: This pilot study showed an improvement of quality of life by treating breast cancer patients with IMS additionally to CAF. CAF-induced neutropenia showed a trend to lower frequency in the IMS group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of International Political Science Review is the property of Sage Publications Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Since 1989 an extremely rapid process of integration through the market has been taking place between the EU and Central and Eastern Europe. This operates through the three vehicles of integration: trade, foreign direct investment, and outward-processing trade, and has been encouraged by trade concessions and the process of legal approximation. In contrast, many of the political questions relating to enlargement in areas such as the Common Agricultural Policy, the Structural Funds, and Economic and Monetary Union still have not been resolved definitively. There remains a binomial asymmetry between the economic (market) and political aspects of integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The EU's conditions for the central and east European applicants look deceptively straightforward: they comprise stable democracy, a competitive market economy, and the capacity to implement EU laws and policies (the so called acquis communautaire). However, they are very general and not amenable to quantitative assessment, leaving ambiguity about exactly when they have been met. This ambiguity increases the EU's power in accession negotiations, but the accompanying uncertainty diffuses its influence in shaping institutional and policy choices. This article examines the EU's accession conditionality levers and the constraints on their use. It concludes that readiness for membership depends not only on technical progress in negotiations, but also on when the current member-states are politically ready for enlargement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduces a series of articles on the challenges facing initiatives aimed at enlarging the European Union (EU). Stability and security considerations of Central and Eastern Europe; Possible institutional consequences of an EU expansion; Accession criteria for Central and Eastern Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reviews the experiences of the Central European parliaments in the early years of their post-communist democracy. Details on the six paradoxes of institutional development which the countries experienced; What the paradoxes resulted from.

Analyzes the electoral systems and democracy in seven post-communist countries in Central Europe, between 1990 through 1994. Results of their first two elections; Consequences for party development; Degree to which democratization have progressed; Categories in which these post-communist countries.

Copyright of International Political Science Review is the property of Sage Publications Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)