ABSTRACT
Despite broadly similar economic and higher education policies, the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) countries have diverged from one another. In the European context, little had been known about the capacity of the CEE political economies to produce human capital. The relevance of political parties in economic development can be explored in future research. The interesting empirical patterns can be explored further in future work on education policies. In a broader perspective, the entire literature on skill formation rests on the work of Gary Becker and his analyses of human capital and education. This chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book. The book provides some empirical tests of the implications of the dependent market economy by analyzing the hypothesized relationships within a larger quantifiable framework. It also provides some explanations for the domestic drivers of this change: political parties.
