Polish workers and the post-communist transition, 1989–1993

Bibliographic Data

ID6181091
AuthorsMark Kramer (0000-0002-9979-7202, Brown University, corresponding author), Mark S Kramer (0000-0001-9272-8266)
Year1995
Volume28
Issue1
Pages71-114
Publication date1995-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueCommunist and Post-Communist Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0967-067X • E-ISSN: 1873-6920
PublisherUniversity of California Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1016/0967-067x(95)00002-c
OpenAlexW2088446896
LanguageEN
Citations received14
References cited19

Despite the political leverage that blue-collar workers exercised in Poland during the communist era, and despite the much greater freedom for social groups to organize once communism was gone, labor movements were not of major political or economic importance in Poland after 1989. Numerous instances of labor unrest cropped up, and pressure from workers' groups was one of the factors inhibiting large-scale privatization; but overall, organized labor was much less of an impediment to market-oriented economic reform than originally feared. The Polish case highlights the importance of political legitimacy and political consensus for societies embarking on drastic economic changes. It also shows that even when a consensus is initially present, success in implementing economic reform does not always guarantee political tranquility

Communism · Development economics · Economic reform · Economic system · Economics · Legitimacy · Market economy · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Unrest · Law · Polish Historical and Cultural Studies · Post-Communist Economic and Political Transition

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