Abstract
The author has been concerned with the trend of the social security systems in Central Europe. In this paper, he points out the characteristics of the social security systems in Central Europe from the late 1980s to the mid-1990s, what is called “the transition period”, and examines the relationship between the economy and the social security systems with particular reference to Poland, and discusses their significance.
Central European countries experienced diverse and dynamic changes in their societies by the transition started in the end of the 1980s. Under these circumstances, the social security systems in Central Europe during the transition period, which are characterized by “generosity” and “pathdependency”, enabled rapid economic stabilization and growth, as well as contributing to political and social stability. Specifically, an application, properly modified, of the previous social security system constructed under the socialist order, and a postponement of their drastic and time-consuming reforms are the most important factors that made it possible for Central European countries to prioritize economic policies.
Consequently, the high level of generosity in the social security systems in Central Europe during the transition period helped promote economic efficiency by absorbing those who emerged from the transition and could not adapt to the new social order by keeping them latent temporarily, and created the circumstances in which each government could concentrate on economic policies. In this sense, the social security systems in these countries contributed to a rapid progress of transition.
