This paper takes a panel series approach to investigate whether the intensity of financial intermediation encouraged investment and growth in 12 Central and Eastern European(CEE) economies from 2001 to 2015. The results from our regression confirmed our hypothesis that there was a uni-directional relationship between financial intermediation and economic growth and while we only analyzed 12 CEE countries, this relationship has held among other developing countries as well. We will provide background on the general CEE transition out of communism and the ensuing ebbs and flows of the financial and real sector through the early 2000s. The 2008 financial crisis marked a key event for CEE that gave us the opportunity to analyze important characteristics of how our model acted before and after a major crisis. We found a significant relationship with the crisis and our finance-growth model that furthered our prediction that the expansion of financial intermediaries in developing countries acts as a key mechanism through which an economy grows. The research allowed us to understand the nature of statistical causality between financial and real sector activity.

This thesis aims to examine both the extent to which political opinion polling can contribute to democratic processes in different countries, and the degree to which polling is tied to the developing processes of restructuring and transition which contemporary advanced societies are tending to undergo. Specifically, the examination will focus on political opinion polling in both 'late-capitalist' and 'post-communist' societies. In doing so, it will consider two key related issues: firstly, how shifting political contexts impact upon the ability of polls to carry out their perceived tasks of measuring public opinion and contributing to political democratisation; and secondly, whether polls extend or inhibit democratic processes. The principal concept around which this analysis is organised is that of 'Complex Politics'. This has as its core an analytical framework which focuses upon those aspects of political systems similar to both late-capitalist and post-communist societies, which impinge directly upon political opinion polling. These are Political Culture, Party Systems, Mechanisms for Political Participation, and the Policy Process. It is argued that, despite the obvious differences in context and recent history, the complexity of contemporary political envirorunents in which polls operate in both types of political system are such as to display broadly similar problems for pollsters. In order to project the course of development of polling, the likely issues that pollsters will need to address in the future, and the shape and nature of the links between polling and the processes of democratisation in late-capitalist societies, it is instructive to refer to the current experiences of pollsters and polling in the transitional states of Central and Eastern Europe. As the processes of political pluralisation and restructuring take place in these former communist societies, this will help to identify the major problems which pollsters are likely to face in countries such as Britain and elsewhere in continental Europe when attempting to gauge political opinions, beliefs, orientations and behaviour as their own societies become more variable and complex.

In late 2003 after two financial crises and many years of deliberation, the Russian Government introduced a deposit insurance scheme (DIS) aimed primarily at protecting the savings of the population. The DIS's stated objectives were to protect the right and legal interests of depositors, to strengthen public confidence in the banking system, and to encourage household savings. Recent official assessments of the scheme have been, at best, partial, have tended to use government statistics and have failed to establish a link between the banking sector outputs and the impact of the DIS. This thesis undertakes a detailed evaluation of the Russian DIS based on a comprehensive analysis of vast literature on deposit insurance schemes globally covering rationales for its establishment and its main features, as well as of the relevant Russian legislation and past attempts at evaluating the Russian DIS which were somewhat patchy. Adopting a cross-sectional, mixed methods approach, the study reports on the findings that emerged from a combination of surveys, interviews and observations conducted at six participating Russian banks in spring 2009. These were supplemented by documentary evidence from the banks and the Russian Deposit Insurance Agency. To facilitate the analysis and interpretation of the data, a theoretical framework was devised, and included a set of success criteria and impact indicators. The results of the analysis indicate that the Russian DIS does not appear to have fully achieved its stated objectives. Irrefutably, the Russian Government failed to establish an effective institutional and regulatory environment which could have enforced uniform provision of information about the DIS to retail depositors. This is evidenced by visible differences among bank practices in relation to the implementation of the DIS. Consequently, as a result of these variations in implementation, the retail depositors’ understanding of the DIS and its perceived impact differs depending on which bank they patronise. This research provides a number of original theoretical, empirical, analytical and methodological contributions

The aim of this thesis is to display the problematic areas where greater coordination and cooperation could occur between all energy market players in order to fulfill a vision of a Central and Eastern European regional market place.

This study focuses on nationalism in Central and Eastern Europe. Anchored in theories that this region historically has been characterized by a nationalism that is based on the ethnic group rather than on liberal or civic concepts, it is the purpose of this study to explore whether these theories still apply in recent times when the region has been liberalized, for example manifested in the entry to the European Union. The research question has been tested through analysis of the constitutions of a number of Central and Eastern European countries in order to investigate what type of nationalism that the states have codified in their basic political documents. The results show that some of the states give expression to the historical ethnic nationalism in their constitutions, which indicates that the theories still are relevant.

This dissertation addresses generalized trust in Post-Communist Europe. I examine trust stressing two sets of factors: the impact of attitudes associated with cleavages coming out of transition to democracy, and the importance of informal interpersonal association over more formal, structured forms of association. I argue that the classic list of cleavages suggested by Lipset and Rokkan (1967) have less importance to trust since those cleavages developed under the communist one-party state and were therefore less connected to the party system. As a result, these classic cleavages did not have the same mobilization functions as they did in Western Europe. Instead, I argue that cleavages that have developed out of the transition to democracy and a free-market economic system bear greater importance to trust. I further argue that due to the experience of forced group association during the communist era, and lingering distaste for formal political participation, the familiar Western models of the benefits of social engagement underestimate the importance of informal association in the post-communist states. Informal association was a key component of survival during the communist era and continues to be a valuable means of conferring information and forming political judgments. The first contribution this dissertation makes is that it brings together theories of political cleavages with theories of trust and social capital development. The dissertation bridges the gap between societal divisions and the position of the individual within these divisions. A second contribution of the dissertation is the testing of established theories of formal social engagement in post-communist states. The secretive nature of association during the communist era differs greatly from the open nature of association in the West. Theories of trust and social capital development must take this fact into account when exploring post-communist states.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2003. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 101-105).

The present thesis examines the implications of ownership and institutions for corporate financing in Central and Eastern Europe. There are three empirical chapters (chapters 2, 3 and 4). Chapter two examines the role of business networks for firm external financing. Our central hypothesis here is that firms’ affiliation to business association is likely to be beneficial in securing external finance (especially bank finance) in countries with weak legal and judicial institutions, as it helps banks and financial institutions to minimize the underlying agency costs of lending. Using recent EBRD-World Bank BEEPS data, we find some support to this central hypothesis in our sample. Importance of foreign banks for economic development of CEE countries has been emphasized in the literature though there is wide dispersion in foreign investment in the region. In this context, chapter three (i.e., the second empirical chapter) focuses on the implications of corruption for foreign bank entry and ownership structure in Central and Eastern European countries. The chapter argues that the presence and persistence of corruption (both absolute and relative) may adversely affect costs of setting up as well as running day-to-day operations of foreign banks in host emerging economies. Using primarily Bankscope bank-level data we find that greater absolute and relative corruption may lower foreign bank entry, greater relative corruption may encourage foreign greenfield entry in our sample; while relative corruption is not significant for foreign takeover. The latter highlights the importance of encouraging foreign investors from countries with similar institutions. Finally, considering the implications of ownership for bank capital and performance in chapter four (the final empirical chapter) in light of the focus on bank capital and capital regulation in discussions after the recent banking crisis, we argue that the relationship between bank capital and bank performance crucially depends on bank ownership structure. Using Osiris data we examine foreign greenfield and other joint venture (JV) differential effect of high bank capital on bank performance. A significant positive effect of foreign Greenfield (as opposed to JV) bank capital on bank performance, after controlling for all other factors is found. We attribute this to better governance compared to varied ownership arrangement in other joint venture banks. Thus wide dispersion in the quality of institutions and ownership explains a great deal of variation in the economic performance of countries in the region. We hope findings of this thesis would inform policies and will also influence future research.

This study focuses on nationalism in Central and Eastern Europe. Anchored in theories that this region historically has been characterized by a nationalism that is based on the ethnic group rather than on liberal or civic concepts, it is the purpose of this study to explore whether these theories still apply in recent times when the region has been liberalized, for example manifested in the entry to the European Union. The research question has been tested through analysis of the constitutions of a number of Central and Eastern European countries in order to investigate what type of nationalism that the states have codified in their basic political documents. The results show that some of the states give expression to the historical ethnic nationalism in their constitutions, which indicates that the theories still are relevant.

The dissertation examines transitional justice mechanisms implemented in post-communist Central and Eastern Europe. The question of how to deal with the legacies of communist repression has been an important source of political divisions in the region. The post-communist states of Central and Eastern Europe had an array of choices to consider when addressing demands for retrospective justice: from criminal prosecution of important officials, to restitution of property, or declassifying of secret files for public inspection. The two most common paths taken in the region have consisted of lustration laws and the decisions surrounding public access to secret police files. Lustration laws involve the disqualification of certain categories of former communist officials and secret police collaborators from public positions under the new regime. The dissertation explores differences in lustration laws and access to secret files across four cases that represent variation along a spectrum of outcomes: the Czech Republic having the strongest type of lustration, Poland and Hungary having a weaker form, and Romania lacking institutionalized lustration. The extant literature has focused on instances where such laws have been instituted, but has little to say about cases where it failed. The dissertation pays special attention to the case of Romania, with the goal of explaining its failure to enact lustration in spite of repeated attempts. The analysis is organized in two main sections. The first evaluates the existing patterns of lustration in the region. The second offers an in-depth analysis of the understudied case of Romania with the intent of filling the vacant niche in the existing literature. Primary sources examined include the proposed projects of lustration laws, the final drafts of laws, parliamentary debates and media reports on the issue. The dissertation concludes that differences in lustration patterns can be fully explained only by simultaneously considering the impact of several factors: the pervasiveness of security apparatus during the last phase of communist rule, the type of regime change, and the extent to which political actors embraced the lustration agenda.