Chapter 1 Prologue Chapter 2 Foreword Chapter 3 Introduction Part 4 Markets, Democracy, and Privatization-The Theoretical Argument Chapter 5 Neoliberal Privatization-The Dream That if You Create Private Owners, Democracy and the Market Economy Will Follow Chapter 6 Institutional Policy Design, Politics, and the Creation of Capitalism Chapter 7 Ownership Regimes-The Basic Model of How They Form Chapter 8 The Two Trajectories of Ownership Regime Evolution Part 9 Czech Privatization as the Illustrative Case of the Ownership Model of Political Economy Chapter 10 Elite Approval-November 1989 to May 1990 Chapter 11 Legimating the Giveaway-June 1990 to February 1991 Chapter 12 Creating Plutocracy-February 1991 to May 1992 Chapter 13 Implementing the Ownership Regime-February 1991 to December 1995 Chapter 14 The Abuses of Plutocracy, the Failure of Czech Neoliberalism-January 1996 to December 1997 Chapter 15 Political and Economic Implications of Czech Rapid Privatization Part 16 Conclusion-Ownership Regime Theory in Comparative Perspective Chapter 17 Plutocracy Escaped, Plutocracy Avoided, Plutocracy Embedded
Andrew Harrison Schwartz (1957–2004) was research associate at the Berkeley Roundtable on the International Economy (BRIE). John Zysman is codirector of the Berkeley Roundtable on the International Economy (BRIE).
At last, a comprehensive analysis of the long-term effects
privatization policies have had on the politics, society, and
economics of transition economies. Focusing on the Czech Republic,
The Politics of Greed convincingly argues that while initial
conditions are important, how policies were chosen and implemented
has had profound implications not only for enterprise restructuring
and corporate governance, but for democracy and the rule of law. A
must-read for all observers of the transition process and future
policy makers, and a powerful rebuke of the 'the end justifies all
means' attitude that has guided so many policies in the early
1990s.
*Katharina Pistor, Columbia Law School*
Among the throngs of researchers in Eastern Europe in the 1990s,
Andy Schwartz stood out with his unique combination of a careful
understanding of regional privatization strategies and incomparable
insight into the realities of high-powered financial markets. These
assets become evident in this book, as the research produces an
original, powerful argument about the roles of ideology and
distributional politics in the construction of economic
institutions. The empirics and framework are cold reminders of the
foolhardy attempts to create markets without institutions and are
useful analytical tools for students of privatization, corporate
governance, and institutional reform.
*Gerald A. McDermott, University of Pennsylvania*
Recommended.
*CHOICE*
...Important contribution.... Thorough critique.... Intimate
knowledge of events and debates...
*Slavic Review, Spring 2009*
Schwartz's book is a landmark in the study of Central European
transitions. It develops a unique political economy approach to
transition studies, arguing that privatization was the central
process of transition and showing that the ways that privatization
was conducted in each country have left lasting legacies for
postcommunist politics and economics. Schwartz lambasts the
unintended consequences of neoliberal privatization strategies and
paints a sharp picture of what Central European capitalisms are
really like.
*Mitchell Orenstein, Maxwell School of Syracuse University*
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