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This paper tests empirically whether Aid-for-Trade has been working since its launch in the early 2000s. Using panel data consisting of 102 developing countries from 2002 to 2017, this paper finds that the Aid-for-Trade (AfT) initiative has been working conditionally. Specifically, AfT itself turns out to be effective in export promotion in developing countries, but more so only in a few countries with high growth rates. That is, AfT has greater effects in recipients with high state capacity and a sound economic environment. Additionally, the WTO-led AfT initiative, launched in 2005, has contributed to export promotion by aid recipients, indicating that more commitments from donor sides are essential for the effectiveness of AfT. These empirical findings are supported with evidence from the case of Vietnam, one of the largest recipients of both ODA and AfT, which illustrates the importance of the economic environment in which AfT initiative is implemented. Strategic economic policies implemented by the Vietnamese government have moved its centrally planned economy to a market-based economy, thus promoting integration with the global economy and creating a compatible environment for AfT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of informal institutions is broadened in this paper to refer to a mode of institutions that is ambiguous, temporary or uncodified. More importantly, it can be a state product to further state interests because it can be (1) a form of experiment of institutional innovation; (2) associated with preference for ex post bargaining; and (3) an instrument for state power. Uneven land reform in China is studied to analyse the different roles of informal institutions in the economic reform. It is found that, first, urban land reform proceeds in a more formal way; and second, informal institutions are employed in urban land reform as transitional institutions towards more efficient formal institutions while they are employed in rural land reform as an instrument to sustain state legitimacy and power. Two conditions for the above differences are identified: (1) Rural governance, collective landownership and agricultural production were fully integrated in the planned economy. Privatisation that would dismantle old institutions of rural governance and build new ones causes concerns about state legitimacy and authority. (2) Rural society is more organised by the clan system than urban society and, hence, ex post bargaining is more likely to be preferred in the countryside than in the city. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the 30 years of transition from communist regimes, the people's views towards transition have varied from support to opposition. We empirically examine the influences of international labour migration on these views, using the survey data covering 28 transition countries in Europe and the former Soviet Union area and three points of time, 2006, 2010 and 2016, based on multivariate regression models. Our main findings are twofold. (I) Labour emigration to Western Europe increased people's support for a market economy and democracy over a planned economy and authoritarian government, albeit a less robust result for democracy. This suggests the role of social remittances – migrants transmit their experiences and promote the support for transition among people remaining in the home countries. (II) However, immigrant inflows reduced these support, suggesting that the economic and cultural conflicts with immigrants made people sceptic towards liberal policies or nostalgic towards the communist era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Janos Kornai was the most outstanding economist from the socialist and post-socialist region in the last 50 years. He was a world-renowned scholar who left behind an immense legacy of works published in over 20 languages. His theory of systemic disequilibrium in a centrally planned economy, the concept of hard and soft budget constraints, and economic shortage were of revolutionary importance to the scientific interpretation of the processes of production, distribution and capital accumulation in state socialist economies. Also of note is the author's work on political economy of socialism, which he taught at the Harvard University. When analysing the socialist system, Kornai essentially contented himself with a descriptive approach, whereas in works published after 1989 he focused his attention on normative economics, suggesting directions of structural reform, institution-building, and economic policy in post-socialist transition. Also of great importance is Kornai's last book comparing the disequilibrium characterised by shortage in socialism with the disequilibrium typical of the surplus in capitalism. This article analyses the evolution of this outstanding economist's theoretical thought and its impact on real economic processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is a common belief that small towns of formerly socialist countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) are suffering a substantial decline due to the better offerings in bigger metropolitan areas and in western countries. This belief has been reinforced by a long transformation process: firstly, the transition from a command economy to capitalism and secondly, the move from manufacturing to service. To investigate this issue, a concentrated research on one territory was conducted, which gives a more intimate picture of the status of rural municipalities in a typical post-communist area of CEE. This information was compared to secondary historical and current data concerning economics, infrastructure, and demographics giving us a picture of the municipalities' viability by creating a multi-criteria analysis. This research indicates that small towns are not suffering precipitous declines, which is a common belief. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Slovakia's transition history long paralleled that of the Czech Republic, but the former adopted bold new reforms early in this decade. This article is a comparative treatment of fiscal decentralisation since 1993 and more recent reforms of public administration, the two efforts representing the foundation of the New System. Czech experience is invoked simply to provide an appropriate benchmark for the evaluation of Slovakia's New System introduced in 2004, including the 19% ‘flat tax’ and other striking measures in local public finance.The second focus of the article is on the macroeconomic impact of the New System. It is too early to perceive what its long-term effects will be, so this treatment is more tentative. But because one would like to know whether Slovakia's return to an economic growth path is actually a result of the New System and whether this recent growth will persist, these issues are given some consideration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to answer the question raised in the article's title, a comprehensive study of Russia's transition process was conducted. With respect to the current growth rates in Russia, one may ask whether they indicate (1) success of transition or (2) favourable external circumstances such as rising prices for oil, gas etc. Analytically, progress in transition has been approximated by productivity and efficiency estimates, which are generally expected to rise during transition. In general, little evidence of such rising trends was found. Instead, notable ups, downs and divergences among regions were uncovered. According to this analysis, Russia's current growth rates can be attributed neither to general success of transition nor to Putin's reforms. Hence, the question mark of the article's title remains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the performance of acquisitions in Slovenia in the period of transition between communist rule and the advent of the market economy. The proposition is that, once the motives of an acquisition are identified, the success or failure of a particular acquisition can be measured by examining the extent to which those motives have been achieved. The actual realisation of some motives for acquisitions, such as to transfer skills and share activities, is strongly tied to the ROE and value added per employee in the acquired company in the post-acquisition period. On the other hand, realisation of financial synergies has not resulted in higher ROE or value added per employee. Based on our research into 45 acquisitions in Slovenia, we pinpointed some key success factors that determined the performance of the acquired firm. From the point of view of a local firm that was sold, the key question was how the acquirer would ensure the company's long-term development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Post-socialist countries in Central and Eastern Europe underwent a massive programme of privatisation in the 1990s. Corporate networks that emerged from the privatisation process are a reflection of a particular privatisation model chosen. In Slovenia, as in developed economies, financial institutions play a central role in the corporate network. But whereas in Western economies these are mainly banks, investment banks, pension funds and insurance companies, the central role in Slovenia was given to privatisation investment funds and state funds. Owners and regulators in transition countries face the difficult task of balancing between governance issues and benefits that arise from co-operation among companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]