Europeanization, Varieties of Capitalism and Economic Performance in Central and Eastern Europe

The current EU enlargement process is EU's biggest enlargement ever in terms of scope, diversity and issues involved. Therefore a book dealing with the Europeanization of the newly acceding countries could not be more timely. The book offers a rigorous treatment of the complex issues faced by Central and Eastern European countries (CEECs), using the latest theoretical developments of a long-standing intellectual tradition concerned with understanding the relationship of politics and economics. The hypothesis tested at length through a combination of quantitative and qualitative methodologies was that institutions are the underlying determinant of the long-run performance of economies. The book argues that the institutional inconsistencies found in the emerging models of capitalism create a set of incentives for political and economic actors that in some CEECs are not growth enhancing. By showing that CEECs did not adopt a uniform model of capitalism, the book further clarifies the debate surrounding the issues of Europeanization, globalization and institutional convergence.