State, Labor, and the Transition to a Market Economy. Agnieszka Paczyńska

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      State, Labor, and the Transition to a Market Economy

      State, Labor, and the

      Transition to a Market Economy

       ..................................................................................

      Egypt, Poland, Mexico, and the Czech Republic

      AGNIESZKA PACZYŃSKA

      The Pennsylvania State University Press

      University Park, Pennsylvania

      LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA

      Paczynska, Agnieszka, 1967–

      State, labor, and the transition to a market economy : Egypt, Poland, Mexico, and the Czech

      Republic / Agnieszka Paczyńska.

      p. cm.

      Includes bibliographical references and index.

      Summary: “Explores what facilitates or hinders social group attempts to influence the process of economic restructuring and reconstruction of state-society relations by focusing on organized labor’s response to privatization of the public sector during the first decade of reforms. Compares Poland, Egypt, Mexico and the Czech Republic”—Provided by publisher.

      ISBN 978-0-271-03436-2 (cloth : alk. paper)

      ISBN 978-0-271-03437-9 (pbk. with epilogue 2012 : alk. paper)

      1. Capitalism—Cross-cultural studies.

      2. Privatization—Cross-cultural studies.

      3. Labor unions—Political activity—Cross-cultural studies.

      4. Political culture—Cross-cultural studies.

      5. Industrial relations—Cross-cultural studies.

      I. Title.

      HB501.P128 2009

      338.9’25—dc22

      2008030465

      Copyright © 2009 The Pennsylvania State University

      First paperback edition 2012

      Epilogue Copyright © 2012

      All rights reserved

      Printed in the United States of America

      Published by The Pennsylvania State University Press,

      University Park, PA 16802-1003

      The Pennsylvania State University Press is a member of

      the Association of American University Presses.

      It is the policy of The Pennsylvania State University

      Press to use acid-free paper. This book is printed on

      Natures Natural, containing 50% post-consumer waste,

      and meets the minimum requirements of American

      National Standard for Information Sciences—

      Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Material,

      ANSI Z39.48–1992.

      To my mother and to the memory of my father

      Contents

       List of Tables

       Acknowledgments

       List of Acronyms

       Introduction

      1 Parties, Unions, and Economic Reforms

      2 Ruling Parties, Organized Labor, and Transitions to Democracy: Poland and Czechoslovakia

      3 Ruling Parties, Organized Labor, and Continued Authoritarianism: Egypt and Mexico

      4 Labor and Privatization in Poland

      5 Labor and Privatization in Egypt

      6 Labor and Privatization in the Czech Republic and Mexico

       Conclusion

       Epilogue

       Bibliography

       Index

       Tables

       1. Public sector restructuring

       2. Unions and privatization

       3. Membership in the largest Polish trade unions in 1993

       4. Methods of privatization in Poland

       5. Union activists’ views on the economy

       6. Egyptian public sector firm losses and employees

       7. Methods of privatization in Egypt

       8. Change in ČSKOS membership

       9. Czech trade union membership in the early 1990s

       Acknowledgments

      The idea for what eventually became this book first came about in the early 1990s in Cairo during a lecture by a World Bank official. He compared Egypt’s economic reform program to the one that Poland was implementing at the time, and in particular the debt-forgiveness deal both countries made with their international creditors. This unlikely comparison intrigued me and would become the core of this study. Along the way the support of numerous people and institutions made the completion of this project possible.

      I would first like to thank William Quandt, Arista Cirtautas, and Krishan Kumar for all their advice during the research and writing process. I want to thank William Quandt, whom I met while working as his research assistant at the Brookings Institution, for convincing me to come to the University of Virginia for my doctoral studies. He has been a wonderful friend and mentor since those Washington days. My greatest intellectual debt goes to David Waldner. David pushed me relentlessly, drove me crazy, and frustrated me to no end when I was his student. I will be forever grateful to him for all the amazing insights he provided (even if I didn’t always appreciate them at the time). His unrelenting constructive criticism resulted in my producing a much better study than I would have otherwise. David has become a great friend, a wonderful sounding board for ideas, and an invaluable supporter of this