Labor Force Attitudes in the Transition to the Market: the Czechoslovak Case

Changes of labor market attitudes in a post-centrally planned economy are examined on the basis of survey data in terms of the production and utilization of human capital; work incentives and rewards; private ownership and job allocation; work perspectives and unemployment; and the role of the state. The transitory period is confused. The transformation of post-communist countries is being carried out when the era of market regulation is over in the West and state guardianship in the labor market is being eroded, but in Central and Eastern Europe the inheritance of institutions and attitudes from the era of central planning remain palpably present, and surveys show that the population of working age has not yet fully perceived the extent of what is required to achieve the transformation to a market economy.