The challenges of sustained development : the role of socio-cultural factors in East-Central Europe

How wide is the gap between the new democracies of East-Central Europe and the most developed European nations? How can it be narrowed? The book is trying to address these issues in a comprehensive way, taking into account not only economical but socio-cultural and political aspects of development. The book presents a model of the major factors of developmental performance, their inter-relations and effects that are supposed to generate sustained societal development. They include cultural traditions, social capital, cognitive mobilization, quality of governance, entrepreneurial spirit, social cohesion and openness toward international environments. These factors are measured by many empirical indicators; the data are presented for the old and new members of the European Union as well as the other European nations. The significance of the factors in the model is both tested and confirmed using the fuzzy set analysis. Successful accomplishment of institutional reforms is necessary but not sufficient condition for system competitiveness. The results imply that broader socio-cultural factors discussed in the book are necessary: a country can only embark on positive developmental trends if all factors are present simultaneously, since cumulative effect and synergy are required

This book addresses these questions in a comprehensive way. It delves into the inter-relations between the major factors of developmental performance and looks at their effects on sustained societal development. A vast amount of statistical data on social and economic factors in selected European countries is grouped into 31 easy-to-handle tables and analyzed along the following constructs: civilizational competence; social capital; cognitive mobilization; quality of governance; entrepreneurial spirit; social cohesion; and openness to the international environment. The analysis, based on theories and indicators of development, reveals that, in spite of the progress since the fall of Communism, countries in Central and Eastern Europe still fall short of having been transformed into propulsive, "vibrant" societies, with intellectually open-minded, socially and technologically innovative environments

Table of Contents List of Schemes and Charts List of Tables Preface 1. Introduction: The Point of Departure 2. Civilisational Competence 3. Social Capital 4. Cognitive Mobilisation 5. Quality of Governance 6. Entrepreneurial Spirit 7. Social Cohesion 8. The Openness of Societies 9. Developmental Performance 10. Conclusion References Index