Poverty, Ethnicity, and Gender in Eastern Europe During the Market Transition

Book flyer
MS Word
International
MS Word

(Click to Enlarge)

Rebecca Jean Emigh, ed., Iván Szelényi

ISBN: 0-275-96881-2

ISBN-13: 978-0-275-96881-6

DOI:

216 pages

Praeger Publishers

Publication: 11/30/2000

List Price: $119.95 (UK Sterling Price: £82.95)

Availability: Print on demand

Media Type: Hardcover

Trim Size: 6 1/8 x 9 1/4

Subjects:

Description: This provocative volume is the first book to offer an extensive examination of the nature of poverty and its relationship to gender and ethnicity in five post-communist societies. As nations make the difficult transition from socialism to capitalism, the extent and nature of poverty tends to change and, because of this, the proportion of the population living in poverty tends to change. As a result, the proportion of the population living in poverty has increased sharply in these countries. The contributors contend that a new poverty is in the making and that the growing underclass is strongly related to ethnicity, as such an underclass is more likely to form if there is a sizeable Roma (Gypsy) minority. The question of whether gender interacts with poverty the same way ethnicity does is the subject of intense controversy and is addressed here in lucid, accessible prose. In this comprehensive analysis of the interaction between poverty, ethnicity, and gender in East European transitional societies, the contributors thoughtfully address the relevant issues and relationships and conclude that poverty has become deeper and increasingly long-term in Eastern European nations.

Although it is clear that poverty increased in Eastern Europe during the market transition, the extent and nature of the changes have not yet been illuminated. Covering Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia, the contributors analyze the interaction between poverty, ethnicity, and gender in an effort to explain the changing nature of poverty and the formation of an underclass in these countries. Roma (Gypsies) arise as the most likely candidates for membership in the new underclass, as they were always economically disadvantaged and the targets of discriminatory practices. On the other hand, however because they were often better educated than men during socialism, women may have been relatively advantaged, at least temporarily, during the market transition. Thus while poverty may be racialized during the transformation, it may not yet be feminized. In this comparative assessment of social trends in this region, the contributors consider what they mean for the countries where they occur.

Table of Contents:

Preface by Rebecca Jean Emigh and Iván Szelényi
The Racialization and Feminization of Poverty? by Rebecca Jean Emigh, Eva Fodor, and Iván Szelényi
The Price of Procrastination? The Social Costs of Delayed Market Transition in Bulgaria by Peter-Emil Mitev, Ilona Tomova, and Liubena Konstantinova
The Hungarian Neoliberal State, Ethnic Classification, and the Creation of a Roma Underclass by János Ladányi
An Underclass without Ethnicity: The Poverty of Polish Women and Agricultural Laborers by Elzbieta Tarkowska
The Social Construction of Romanian Poverty: The Impact of Ethnic and Gender Distinctions by Nándor L. Magyari, Enikö Magyari-Vincze, Livia Popescu, and Traian Rotariu
Redistribution's Role in Leveling Income: The Overgrown Slovak Welfare State by Iveta Radicová and Michal Vasecka
Conclusions: Spectres of the Underclass by Michael Stewart
Index

About the Author: Rebecca Jean Emigh is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at UCLA. She has published numerous articles on economic sociology and historical sociology, among other topics.

Iván Szelényi is William Graham Sumner Professor of Sociology and Professor of Political Science at Yale University. He is author or coauthor of The Intellectuals on the Road to Class Power (1979), Urban Inequalities (1983), Socialist Entrepreneurs (1988), and Making Capitalism Without Capitalists (1998). He has also published numerous papers in leading journals.

LCC Class: 305


All rights reserved. Copyright © 1999-2010 ABC-CLIO 130 Cremona Dr., Santa Barbara, CA 93117, 805-968-1911