Ten years after the collapse of communism in Poland, the debate continues over the impact of the transition to a market economy. Whilst few actually say the socialist system could - or should - have been preserved, the path of change has been far from smooth, and has produced both winners and losers in the race to reform. This book assesses the prevailing attitudes of both support and disenchantment among Poles towards transition, in the light of their own experiences. In particular Janice Bell uses statistical indicators on economic well-being, regional voting results and public opinion survey data to analyse the socio-economic influences on patterns of voting behaviour, and finds unemployment to be a crucial denominator. Groundbreaking in its perspective, this study will appeal to all those concerned with the social implications of reform programmes in former communist countries.

The emergence of open unemployment is an unavoidable consequence of postcommunist transition. Some countries - notably in the former Soviet Union - initially slowed economic contraction. But in the longer run slower reformers have generally sustained deeper and more prolonged recessions than faster reforming central European countries. Moreover, the initially low unemployment rates in the former Soviet Union are now rising, and may stabilize at higher post-transition equilibrium rates than in Central Europe. Across the region, real wages reacted in unexpected ways, with significant effects for employment. Productivity gains in Central European industry tended not to be passed along into proportional real wage increases, slowing inflows into unemployment. In addition, and contrary to some earlier assessments, the restructuring process affected not only wage structures, but also the level of unemployment over time. An important constraint on post-socialist countries' response to unemployment is the role served by EU social insurance and labour law standards as guides to countries' progress toward "normal" economic systems. When considering the possible impact of EU integration and ha

Earth's Hidden Angels shows how Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder?PTSD?gradually creeps up on a civilian who has experienced traumatic events in her life. This book also shows how PTSD symptoms began for a military sergeant, and it explains how he is able to deal with his illness.