Entrepreneurship and the informal economy: a study of Ukraine's hidden enterprise culture

How many entrepreneurs start-up their business ventures conducting some or all of their trade in the informal economy? The aim of this paper is to answer this key question that has been seldom addressed using data from 600 face-to-face structured interviews conducted in Ukraine in late 2005 and early 2006. Analyzing the 331 entrepreneurs identified (i.e., individuals starting-up an enterprise in the past three years), just 10 percent operate on a wholly legitimate basis, while 39 percent have a license to trade and/or have registered their business but conduct a portion of their trade in the informal economy, and 51 percent operate unregistered enterprises and conduct all of their trade on an off-the-books basis. Given that some 90 percent of all business start-ups operate partially or wholly in the informal economy, and that 40 percent of all respondents depend on the informal economy as either their principal or secondary contributor to their livelihoods, the paper concludes by considering the wider implications of these findings both for further research and public policy.

Analysing organisational culture : a critical ethnography of public relations and personnel specialists in a state bureaucracy

Following an introductory chapter, I examine (i) typologies which have differentiated the literature on organisational culture and symbolism (Chapter 2), (ii) the contribution of organisation theory to organisation culture (Chapter 3), and (iii) recent literature on organisational culture and symbolism (Chapter 4). Within these chapters, I adopt Habermas' (1972) notion of knowledge-constitutive interests, assessing the contrubutions to understanding organisational culture made by literature guided by technical, practical and emancipatory cognitive interests. In doing so, I suggest that more critical studies on organisational culture and symbolism have been comparatively neglected. Lamenting this neglect, I suggest that Giddens' theory of structuration can be employed to advance the development of a critical, emancipatory conceptualisation of organisational culture. In particular, I argue that this Giddensian analysis, by penetrating the existential, poltical and material processes of cultural reproduction (Chapter 5), is able to disclose some of the more contradictory features of organisation culture. The remainder of the thesis comprises of a critical ethnography of the work cultures of public relations and personnel specialists located in a state bureaucracy. I begin the ethnography with a dicussion of my research methods (Chapter 6) and an overview of the departments studied (Chapter 7): I then examine (i) the work cultures of the specialists (Chapter 8), (ii) the specialists' management of the relationships with the hosts bureaucracy (Chapter 9); and, (iii) opportunities the specialists had for developing an emancipatory praxis (Chapter 10). Finally, in a concluding section, I offer some critical reflections on the contributions of the thesis and suggest areas for future research.

New technology, industrial relations and white collar trade unions : the case of the National and Local Government Officers Association

The decade since 1979 has seen the most rapid introduction of microelectronic technology in the workplace. In particular, the scope offered for the application of this new technology to the area of white collar work has meant that it is a sector where trade unions have been confronted with major challenges. However the application of this technology has also provided trade unions with opportunities for exerting influence to reshape traditional attitudes to both industrial relations and the nature of work. Recent academic research on the trade union response to the introduction of new technology at the workplace suggests that, despite the resources and apparent sophistication of modern trade unions, they have not in general been able to take advantage of the opportunities offered during this period of radical technological change,the argument being that this is due both to structural weaknesses and the inappropriateness of the system of collective bargaining where new technology issues are concerned. Despite the significance of the Public Sector in employment terms, research into the response of public sector white collar trade unions to technological change has been fairly limited. This thesis sets out the approach of the National and Local Government Officers Association (NALGO), the largest solely white collar union in the world with over three quarters of a million members employed in a wide range of public service industries. The thesis examines NALGO's response at national level and, through detailed case studies, at local level in respect of Local Government and Water Industry NALGO members. The response is then evaluated and conclusions drawn in terms of a framework based upon an assessment of the key factors relevant in judging the ability of NALGO to respond effectively to the challenges brought about by the technological revolution of the last ten years.

Comparing German and British political culture through values : and analysis of the values of health care reform

This research sets out to compare the values in British and German political discourse, especially the discourse of social policy, and to analyse their relationship to political culture through an analysis of the values of health care reform. The work proceeds from the hypothesis that the known differences in political culture between the two countries will be reflected in the values of political discourse, and takes a comparison of two major recent legislative debates on health care reform as a case study. The starting point in the first chapter is a brief comparative survey of the post-war political cultures of the two countries, including a brief account of the historical background to their development and an overview of explanatory theoretical models. From this are developed the expected contrasts in values in accordance with the hypothesis. The second chapter explains the basis for selecting the corpus texts and the contextual information which needs to be recorded to make a comparative analysis, including the context and content of the reform proposals which comprise the case study. It examines any contextual factors which may need to be taken into account in the analysis. The third and fourth chapters explain the analytical method, which is centred on the use of definition-based taxonomies of value items and value appeal methods to identify, on a sentence-by-sentence basis, the value items in the corpus texts and the methods used to make appeals to those value items. The third chapter is concerned with the classification and analysis of values, the fourth with the classification and analysis of value appeal methods. The fifth chapter will present and explain the results of the analysis, and the sixth will summarize the conclusions and make suggestions for further research.

Inequality, fiscal capacity and the political regime: lessons from the post-communist transition

Using panel data for twenty-seven post-communist economies between 1987-2003, we examine the nexus of relationships between inequality, fiscal capacity (defined as the ability to raise taxes efficiently) and the political regime. Investigating the impact of political reform we find that full political freedom is associated with lower levels of income inequality. Under more oligarchic (authoritarian) regimes, the level of inequality is conditioned by the state���s fiscal capacity. Specifically, oligarchic regimes with more developed fiscal systems are able to defend the prevailing vested interests at a lower cost in terms of social injustice. This empirical finding is consistent with the model developed by Acemoglu (2006). We also find that transition countries undertaking early macroeconomic stabilisation now enjoy lower levels of inequality; we confirm that education fosters equality and the suggestion of Commander et al (1999) that larger countries are prone to higher levels of inequality.

L��szl�� Csaba, Crisis in economics? Studies in European political economy. Budapest: Akad��miai Kiad�� , 2009, 224pp., e35.10 h/b.

Book review

The measurement and decomposition of economy-wide productivity growth:Assessing the accuracy and selecting between different approaches

Productivity at the macro level is a complex concept but also arguably the most appropriate measure of economic welfare. Currently, there is limited research available on the various approaches that can be used to measure it and especially on the relative accuracy of said approaches. This thesis has two main objectives: firstly, to detail some of the most common productivity measurement approaches and assess their accuracy under a number of conditions and secondly, to present an up-to-date application of productivity measurement and provide some guidance on selecting between sometimes conflicting productivity estimates. With regards to the first objective, the thesis provides a discussion on the issues specific to macro-level productivity measurement and on the strengths and weaknesses of the three main types of approaches available, namely index-number approaches (represented by Growth Accounting), non-parametric distance functions (DEA-based Malmquist indices) and parametric production functions (COLS- and SFA-based Malmquist indices). The accuracy of these approaches is assessed through simulation analysis, which provided some interesting findings. Probably the most important were that deterministic approaches are quite accurate even when the data is moderately noisy, that no approaches were accurate when noise was more extensive, that functional form misspecification has a severe negative effect in the accuracy of the parametric approaches and finally that increased volatility in inputs and prices from one period to the next adversely affects all approaches examined. The application was based on the EU KLEMS (2008) dataset and revealed that the different approaches do in fact result in different productivity change estimates, at least for some of the countries assessed. To assist researchers in selecting between conflicting estimates, a new, three step selection framework is proposed, based on findings of simulation analyses and established diagnostics/indicators. An application of this framework is also provided, based on the EU KLEMS dataset.

Rhythmic masking release:effects of asynchrony, temporal overlap, harmonic relations, and source separation on cross-spectral grouping

The rhythm created by spacing a series of brief tones in a regular pattern can be disguised by interleaving identical distractors at irregular intervals. The disguised rhythm can be unmasked if the distractors are allocated to a separate stream from the rhythm by integration with temporally overlapping captors. Listeners identified which of 2 rhythms was presented, and the accuracy and rated clarity of their judgment was used to estimate the fusion of the distractors and captors. The extent of fusion depended primarily on onset asynchrony and degree of temporal overlap. Harmonic relations had some influence, but only an extreme difference in spatial location was effective (dichotic presentation). Both preattentive and attentionally driven processes governed performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)

Employment and the Social Economy. EU Funding Opportunities for Developing Human Resources

The paper examines the role of EU cohesion policy in the field of human resources development and improving conditions for employment. The main objective of the analysis is to present a comprehensive picture about funding opportunities in connection with financing the activities of organisations of the social economy. As a background, the study stresses that the success of the European integration process depends to a great extent on the strength of economic and social cohesion between EU member states and regions. In order to create conditions for sustainable and balanced growth with social inclusion, there is a need to enhance the competitiveness of less developed regions combating the difficulties of structural change, and to improve their development prospects. To achieve this aim, one of the most important fields is to improve human resources. The paper points out, that EU cohesion policy has a crucial role in reducing disparities. After a general introduction to the EU level regional policy funding, the study focuses on the activities supported by the European Social Fund (ESF). The next part of the study deals with the possible types of the social economy projects and problems of self-financing. The author emphasises that social innovation emerges where State and markets fail to deliver for society (theory of non-profit/third sector) but not just to fix or replace them. The author concludes that these projects require state subsidies (official grants) at the beginning, but at the same time they can generate income. In this respect they follow same economic goals as other market actors, however, the crucial difference is that their main goal is not to make high profits for the owners. In the last part, as a concrete case study, the paper concentrates on the priorities of the Hungarian development plan in relation to social renewal. The author explains the priorities and fields of interventions of the social renewal programme. Finally, the chapter deals with the recent changes in the Hungarian employment policy and related measures supported by the European Social Fund. The chapter concludes that several employment programmes, projects for the development of social economy and programmes assisting the spreading of voluntariness and the training of volunteers have been launched with the co-financing of ESF.

Az ��zleti kapcsolatok menedzsmentj��nek gondolati modellje. ��s ez mi��rt lehet fontos a v��llalati vezet��k sz��m��ra? (The conceptual model of management of business relations ��� and why it may be important for the corporate executives?)

A szerz��k cikk��kben az ��zleti marketinget ��s a gazdas��gszociol��giai megk��zel��t��st ��tv��zve vizsg��lj��k az ��zleti kapcsolatok ir��ny��t��s��nak n��h��ny probl��m��j��t. Gondolati modellj��k figyelembe veszi a kapcsolatra vonatkoz�� k��ls�� ��s bels�� szab��lyokat, a kapcsolatban ��rintettek percepci��it ��s cselekv��seit. Az ��zleti kapcsolat menedzsmentje alatt els��sorban tervez��, szervez�� ��s ellen��rz�� tev��kenys��geket ��rtenek, amelyek att��l f��gg��en alakulnak, hogy egy kapcsolat l��trehoz��sa, fenntart��sa vagy v��ltoztat��sa-e a c��l. Rem��nyeik szerint az ��ltaluk javasolt gondolati modell alkalmaz��sa a t��rsadalmi ��sszetev��k vil��gosabb felismer��s��ben seg��theti az ��zleti ��let r��sztvev��it. Dolgozatuk c��lja az ��zleti kapcsolatok menedzsmentj��t megk��nny��t�� gondolati modell fel��ll��t��sa. A modell operacionaliz��l��sa ��s empirikus tesztel��se meghaladja jelen ��r��suk kereteit ��s egy esetleges j��v��beni kutat��s t��m��ja lehet. ____________ The purpose of this article is to create and demonstrate such a conceptual model, which might assist in the more efficient management of business relationships. The peculiarity of the way of thinking proposed by the authors is that it takes into account the complexity of business relationships and its social embeddedness. Thus they make an attempt to systematize the key components of business relationships, their processes, economic and social characteristics. The authors would like to approach this from the point of view of the management of the business relationship, trusting that the deeper understanding of the complexity of business relationships and the consistent consideration of this complexity may contribute to the more successful management of relationships.

Bevezet��s a K��zpontos��t��s ��s piaci reform c��m�� k��tethez = Introduction to the volume Centralization and Market Reform

Az al��bbi ��r��s Kornai J��nos ��letm��sorozata k��zelj��v��ben megjelen�� harmadik k��tet��nek bevezet��je alapj��n k��sz��lt. (A sorozat els�� k��tete, A hi��ny ��s m��sodik k��tete, A szocialista rendszer 2012-ben jelent meg.) Ritk��n fordul el��, hogy ��letm��v��t rendszerezve, egy szerz�� maga veszi t��telesen sorra ��r��sait, t��rja fel az ��r��sok megsz��let��s��nek k��r��lm��nyeit, ��s elemzi ��ket t��bb ��vtized t��vlat��b��l. Kornai J��nos ��letm��sorozat��nak ��ssze��ll��t��sakor erre a rendk��v��li feladatra v��llalkozott. A k��tetben megjelen�� 22 ��r��shoz f��z��tt gondolatainak k��zl��sekor mai szemmel veszi g��rcs�� al�� az egy kiv��tel��vel a rendszerv��lt��s el��tt ��rt cikkeit, valamint 1956-ban ��rott els�� k��nyv��t, A t��lzott k��zpontos��t��st. Az ��r��sokat rendszerez�� bevezet�� a k��zpontos��t��sra ��s a piaci reformra ��sszpontos��tja a figyelmet - e t��mak��rr��l bebizonyosodott, hogy korai m��g csup��n a k��zgazdas��gtani elm��lett��rt��net fejezetek��nt sz��mon tartani. A k��tetben megjelen�� ��r��sok egy r��sze k��zvetlen��l kapcsol��dik a magyar gazdas��g tapasztalataihoz, m��sik r��sze pedig elm��leti jelleg��. Ennek megfelel��en az itt k��z��lt bevezet��s is foglalkozik mind a magyar gazdas��gt��rt��net m��ig is figyelemre m��lt�� ��s tanuls��gos gyakorlati probl��m��ival, mind pedig a szocializmust ��s a kapitalizmust, a centraliz��lt ��s decentraliz��lt form��kat ��sszehasonl��t�� ��ltal��nos elm��letekkel. ______ This piece forms the introduction to the forthcoming third volume of J��nos Kor-nai s life s work series reissued in Hungarian. (The first and second volumes, Economics of Shortage and The Political Economy of the Socialist System, ap-peared in 2012.) It is rare for an author to arrange his own life s work, taking his writings item by item, presenting the circumstances in which they arose, and ana-lysing them decades later. His thoughts on the twenty-two writings in the volume, at the time of republication, involve scrutinizing with present-day eyes articles written, with one exception, before the change of system, along with his first book, Overcentralization, written in 1956. The introduction that systematizes these fo-cuses on centralization and on market reform - events show it is still too soon to see these subjects simply as a chapter in the theoretical history of economics. Some of the articles draw directly on experiences with the Hungarian economy, while others have a theoretical nature. So the introduction also deals both with practical problems of Hungarian economic history that remain notable and instructive, and with comparative general theories of socialism and capitalism and centralized and decentralized forms.

Ra��l Castro's Government: Recent Economic Reforms and Some Political Considerations.

Four years after calling for structural and conceptual changes, Ra��l Castro finally unveiled a roadmap of substantive economic reforms. Over the next 18 months, at least a million workers will be laid off from the bloated state sector. Alternative forms of earning a living ��� self-employment, cooperatives, leasing of land or physical space, among others ��� are being authorized as old constraints on these alternatives are rescinded. From the perspective of ordinary Cubans, these reforms ��� called an actualizaci���n, or an update of the economic model ��� were long overdue. Yet, in hindsight, the slow-paced process can be explained, not in terms of the need for time to ���identify��� Cuba���s economic problems which have been known for decades, but by Ra��l Castro���s emphasis on la institucionalidad, the need to channel decision making through institutions. His brother left a chaotic state apparatus which first needed mending before an elite consensus on the reform package could be forged. Cuba is entering a situation without precedent: this package is likely to run its own course without the Comandante (Fidel Castro) stopping it. By 2015, Cuban society will probably look different than today, featuring unprecedented inequality and living standards that are on the rise.

Dimensions of gender relations and reproductive health inequity perceived by female undergraduate students in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam: a qualitative exploration

Introduction Increasing evidence indicates that gender equity has a significant influence on women���s health; yet few culturally specific indicators of gender relations exist which are applicable to health. This study explores dimensions of gender relations perceived by female undergraduate students in southern Vietnamese culture, and qualitatively examines how this perceived gender inequity may influence females��� sexual or reproductive health. Methods Sixty-two female undergraduate students from two universities participated in eight focus group discussions to talk about their perspectives regarding national and local gender equity issues. Results Although overall gender gaps in the Mekong Delta were perceived to have decreased in comparison to previous times, several specific dimensions of gender relations were emergent in students��� discussions. Perceived dimensions of gender relations were comparable to theoretical structures of the Theory of Gender and Power, and to findings from several reports describing the actual inferiority of women. Allocation of housework and social paid work represented salient dimensions of labor. The most salient dimension of power related to women in positions of authority. Salient dimensions of cathexis related to son preference, women���s vulnerability to blame or criticism, and double standards or expectations. Findings also suggested that gender inequity potentially influenced women���s sexual and reproductive health as regards to health information seeking, gynecological care access, contraceptive use responsibility, and child bearing. Conclusion Further investigations of the associations between gender relations and different women���s sexual and reproductive health outcomes in this region are needed. It may be important to address gender relations as a distal determinant in health interventions in order to promote gender-based equity in sexual and reproductive health.

Late adolescents in transition: Social networks, parent relations, and well -being

A two-year longitudinal study was conducted to investigate late adolescents in transition. An initial investigation with senior high school students assessed students prior to leaving home for college and after college entrance. Of the original 131 participants recontacted two years after their graduation, 78 returned surveys. The study (a) explored changes in social network structure and function, (b) determined whether late adolescent-parent-peer relations change over time, and (c) identified prospectively the impact of social support, adolescent-parent-peer relations, and attachment security on well-being and feelings about the transition after high school. Students attending college locally reported an increase in total network support at Time 2. Regardless of location, more support from friends was received after the transition from high school, whereas family support did not vary across time. Parent relations were closer after the transition and were predictive of various well-being measures and feelings about the transition from high school. ^