Poland: Thirty Years of Radical Social Change: Thirty Years of Radical Social Change

Discover the surprising transformations of Poland over 30 years. This timeless book uses unique longitudinal data from the Polish Panel Survey POLPAN 1988 - 2018 to understand the radical social, economic, and political changes from the end of Communism to the rise of populism, offering a holistic understanding of the country's post-1989 history. Front Cover Half Title Series Information Title Page Copyright Page Contents Preface and Acknowledgments Tables and Figures Notes on Contributors Introduction Poland: Thirty Years of Radical Social Change 1 Social Psychological Adaptation 2 Unequal Fortunes 3 Votes and Values References Data Note: Methodology of the Polish Panel Survey polpan 1988– 2018 1 Sampling Features 2 Properties of the Data Collection Process 3 POLPAN Questionnaires References Part 1 Social Psychological Adaptation Chapter 1 Responses to Uncertainty: Cosmopolitanism, Traditionalism, Modernism, or Fatalism? 1 Risk and Uncertainty: Definitions 2 Changes in Danger, Risk, and Uncertainty 3 What Are Possible Responses to Uncertainty? 4 Hypotheses 5 Data and Methodology 6 Results 6.1 Cosmopolitanism 6.2 Traditionalism 6.3 Modernism 6.4 Fatalism 7 Discussion and Conclusion References Chapter 2 Growing Happier?: Trends in Subjective Well-Being in Poland in the Context of Socio-structural Change 1 Trends in Average Subjective Well-Being in Transition Countries and Their Explanations 2 The Role of Structural Changes in Shaping Subjective Well-Being Trends 3 Data and Methodology 4 Do Compositional Changes Explain the Increase in Subjective Well-Being? 5 Conclusion Acknowledgement References Part 2 Unequal Fortunes Chapter 3 How the Past Shapes the Future: A Life Course Perspective on Poverty 1 Poland 1988–2018: New, Chronic, and Declining Poverty 2 Hypotheses and Theoretical Background 2.1 Hypotheses 2.2 Poverty and Theories of Poverty 2.3 A Life Course Model of Poverty 3 Methodology 3.1 Samples 3.2 Measurement 3.3 Analytic Technique 4 Results 5 Conclusions References Chapter 4 Precarious Labor Market Trajectories and Social Inequality 1 Socio-Economic Change and Labor Market Opportunities 2 Understanding Employment Trajectories: Literature Review and Hypotheses 3 Data and Methodology 4 Empirical Analyses 5 Concluding Remarks Acknowledgement References Chapter 5 Between Family and Market: Class Divisions in Homeownership among the Young 1 Homeownership Transformation 2 Data 3 Analyses 3.1 Acquisition of Housing Ownership 4 Social Classes as Determinants of Homeownership 5 Conditions of Living 6 Conclusions References Chapter 6 Lost Illusions: The Short-Term Benefits of Vocational Education and Training in Centrally Planned and Market Economy 1 Returns on Vocational Education and Training (vet) and General Education (ge) 2 Decision-Making Approach 3 Education and Earnings 3.1 Centrally Planned Economy 3.2 Market Economy 4 Data and Method 5 Results 5.1 Centrally Planned Economy 5.2 Market Economy 6 Discussion and Conclusions References Chapter 7 Loneliness among Older Adults in Poland: Triggers and Socioeconomic Differences 1 Theoretical Background 1.1 Individual Trajectories of Loneliness during Old Age 1.2 Explanations of Changes in Loneliness 1.2.1 Social Networks 1.2.2 Health 1.2.3 Income and Employment 1.2.4 Propensity to Be Lonely as a Personal Characteristic 2 Data and Method 2.1 Nottingham Health Profile 2.2 Dependent Variable: Loneliness 2.3 Sample 2.4 Statistical Methods 2.5 Predictors: Triggers and Inhibitors of Loneliness 2.6 Predictors of the Person-Specific Baseline Loneliness 3 Results 3.1 Loneliness and Ageing 3.2 Triggers and Inhibitors of Loneliness 3.3 Baseline Loneliness and Socioeconomic Disadvantage 4 Discussion Acknowledgement Supplementary Tables A: Samples’ Characteristics 1 Supplementary Materials B: Questions about Number of Friends in polpan 2 Supplementary Tables C: Alternative Specifications of the Analysis of Triggers of Loneliness 3 Supplementary Tables D: Alternative Specifications of the Analysis of Loneliness and Socioeconomic Disadvantage References Part 3 Votes and Values Chapter 8 The (In)stability of Voting Behaviour in Poland, 2001–2015 1 Factors that Impact the Stability of Voter Behaviour 2 Research Questions 3 Data 4 Electorate Flows between Different Political Parties 5 Correlates of Stable Voting 6 Stability of Voting versus Stability of Opinions 7 Conclusion Appendix References Chapter 9 Cleavages, Partisan Identities and Party Switching: Are Voters and Politicians Similarly Divided? 1 Cleavages, Party Switching, and Party Identity 2 Poland: Political Elites and the Masses Who Vote for Them 3 Data and Methods 4 Results 5 Conclusion References Chapter 10 Attitudes toward Redistribution and Democratic Governance over Time 1 Attitudes toward Redistribution and Democratic Governance 1.1 Legacies of State Socialism 1.2 The “Enlightenment” Framework 2 Data and Methods 3 Outcome Variables 3.1 Attitudes toward Redistribution 3.2 Attitudes toward Democratic Governance 3.3 Predictor Variables 4 Results 4.1 Modeling Strategy for Coevolving Social and Political Attitudes 5 Discussion 6 Conclusion Appendix References Chapter 11 The Authoritarian Turn in Poland, 2013–2018 1 Historical Context 2 Research Questions and Hypotheses 3 Measurement Issues 4 Results 5 Conclusion References Conclusion 1 Historical Perspective 2 Social Psychological Adaptation 3 Unequal Fortunes 4 Votes and Values 5 Cross-national Perspective 6 Final Thoughts References Index Back Cover Uncover the surprising story of Poland's post-communist transformation. Using unique longitudinal data from the Polish Panel Survey spanning 30 years, the authors examine the country's transformation from one-party Communist rule, to shock therapy and accession to the European Union, to the rise of nationalist populism. Delve into the social, economic, and political legacies of the Communist era and explore the unequal fortunes of individuals and social groups, the shifting electoral realities of Polish politics, and more. This wide-ranging and insightful analysis offers a holistic understanding of Poland's remarkable journey over the past three decades. Contributors are: Robert M Kunovich, Marcin Ślarzyński, Dariusz Przybysz, Mikołaj Lewicki, Danuta Życzyńska-Ciołek, Małgorzata Mikucka, Nataliia Pohorila, Sandy Marquart-Pyatt, Aaron Ponce, Katarzyna Kopycka