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Determinants of catching up or falling behind: interaction of formal and informal institutions

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  • Jan Winiecki

Abstract

The article looks from an institutional perspective at the process of catching up by poorer countries with the level of development already achieved by the richer ones. The author stresses that resources are of secondary importance, relative to the institutional framework conducive to or discouraging economic development. It is from such a perspective that the present writer approaches post-communist transition, noting the existence of leaders and laggards in the process. Differences in outcomes are ascribed, unsurprisingly, to differences in institution-building (both general and specific rules) and, even more importantly, to differences in what the author calls “civilisational fundamentals” of liberty, law and order, and trust. The main thesis is that the fundamentals in question are the heritage of pre-communist past. Therefore, it is the pre-communist heritage, the presence or absence of the fundamentals in question, which largely determine the transition's success or failure.

Suggested Citation

  • Jan Winiecki, 2004. "Determinants of catching up or falling behind: interaction of formal and informal institutions," Post-Communist Economies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(2), pages 137-152.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:pocoec:v:16:y:2004:i:2:p:137-152
    DOI: 10.1080/1463137042000223859
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    1. Simeon Djankov & Rafael La Porta & Florencio Lopez-de-Silanes & Andrei Shleifer, 2002. "The Regulation of Entry," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 117(1), pages 1-37.
    2. Jensen, Michael C. & Meckling, William H., 1976. "Theory of the firm: Managerial behavior, agency costs and ownership structure," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 3(4), pages 305-360, October.
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    2. Katarzyna Metelska-Szaniawska & Jacek Lewkowicz, 2021. "Post-socialist “illiberal democracies”: do de jure constitutional rights matter?," Constitutional Political Economy, Springer, vol. 32(2), pages 233-265, June.
    3. Bönisch, Peter & Schneider, Lutz, 2010. "Why are East Germans not More Mobile? Analyzing the Impact of Social Ties on Regional Migration," IWH Discussion Papers 16/2010, Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH).
    4. Aleksandra Skorupinska & Joan Torrent Sellens, 2014. "Drivers of manufacturing firm's productivity in Germany and Poland: evidence from survey data," Review of Applied Socio-Economic Research, Pro Global Science Association, vol. 7(1), pages 117-124, June.
    5. Jinhua Xie & Gangqiao Yang & Ge Wang & Yaying Zhu & Zhaoxia Guo, 2023. "Substitutes or complements? Exploring the impact of environmental regulations and informal institutions on the clean energy utilization behaviors of farmers," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 25(5), pages 3893-3922, May.
    6. Aleksandra Skorupinska & Joan Torrent-Sellens, 2017. "ICT, Innovation and Productivity: Evidence Based on Eastern European Manufacturing Companies," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 8(2), pages 768-788, June.
    7. Peter Chobanov & Amine Lahiani & Nikolay Nenovsky, 2010. "Money Market Integration and Sovereign CDS Spreads Dynamics in the New EU States," William Davidson Institute Working Papers Series wp1002, William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan.
    8. Zweynert, Joachim, 2007. "How can the History of Economic thought Contribute to an Understanding of Institutional Change?," Journal of the History of Economic Thought, Cambridge University Press, vol. 29(2), pages 189-211, June.
    9. Andrew J. Hussey & Michael Jetter & Dianne McWilliam, 2021. "The Fundamental Determinants of Economic Inequality in Average Income Across Countries: The Declining Role of Political Institutions," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 67(1), pages 104-133, March.
    10. Geoffrey M. Hodgson, 2006. "Instituciones, recesiones y recuperación en las economías en transición," Revista de Economía Institucional, Universidad Externado de Colombia - Facultad de Economía, vol. 8(15), pages 43-68, July-Dece.
    11. Nikolay Nenovsky & Gergana Mihaylova, 2007. "Dynamics of the Financial Wealth of the Institutional Sectors in Bulgaria for the Period 1990 – 2005," Economic Thought journal, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences - Economic Research Institute, issue 4, pages 72-92.
    12. André van Stel & J. Cieslik Cieslik, 2014. "Trends in Business Ownership in Central and East European Transition Economies," Scales Research Reports H201202, EIM Business and Policy Research.
    13. Mendelski, Martin & Libman, Alexander, 2011. "History matters, but how? An example of Ottoman and Habsburg legacies and judicial performance in Romania," Frankfurt School - Working Paper Series 175, Frankfurt School of Finance and Management.
    14. Nikolay NENOVSKY & Kiril TOCHKOV & Camelia TURCU, 2011. "From Prosperity to Depression: Bulgaria and Romania (1996/97 ??? 2010)," William Davidson Institute Working Papers Series wp1018, William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan.
    15. Dimiter IALNAZOV & Nikolay NENOVSKY, 2010. "The Evolution of Post-Communist Countries: An Interpretation from the Perspective of Cooperation," LEO Working Papers / DR LEO 1600, Orleans Economics Laboratory / Laboratoire d'Economie d'Orleans (LEO), University of Orleans.
    16. Geoffrey M. Hodgson, 2006. "Institutions, Recessions and Recovery in the Transitional Economies," Journal of Economic Issues, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 40(4), pages 875-894, December.
    17. Dimiter Ialnazov & Nikolay Nenovsky, 2011. "A Game Theory Interpretation of the Post-Communist Evolution," Journal of Economic Issues, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(1), pages 41-56.
    18. Zweynert, Joachim & Wyszyński, Robert & Polkowski, Andreas, 2006. "Measuring the Attitudes Towards the Extended Order in Latvia, Poland and Russia: The Extended Order Index," HWWA Discussion Papers 350, Hamburg Institute of International Economics (HWWA).

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