Wschodnioeuropejskie transformacje. Wzrost PKB w czasie jako miara sukcesu transformacji
East-European Transformations. GDP Growth over Time as a Measure of the Transformation Success

Summary/Abstract: GDP growth over time is a widely used measure of the transformation outcome, which is easily accessible and cross-country comparable. GDP has been criticized as an indicator of social welfare, but little attempt was made to develop the alternative measure of the transformation outcomes. The article seeks to answer the question whether GDP growth over time is useful to assess the transformation outcomes. Transformation in Eastern Europe has its own characteristics, since it involves several paralel transformation processes among which there is formation of political nation. Given the findings of various authors regarding the course of Eastern European systemic transformation, one can hypothesize that the unfinished process of shaping national identity hinders transformation. This hypothesis had been confirmed with regard to the processes of democratization, but it is difficult to examine the possible relationship between the (civic) national identity and economic growth because of lack of appropriate indicators of identity. The article presents an attempt to test the hypothesis on the basis of national identity measure constructed on the base of the European Values Survey, although due to the scope of EVS, this indicator is imperfect. The results are promising, however not conclusive due to the quality of national identity index. It can be a task for a future research project to find a relevant measure that can quantify the stage of national identity formation.

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