ABSTRACT
Chapter 7 is the first empirical chapter in Part III, which deals with the theoretical gap of the lack of research on the effect of socialization. The chapter first introduces the theoretical foundations for the empirical analysis by discussing socialization theory. It interrelates the key elements of socialization theory with finding from empirical justice research. It also discusses how generations are a good way to operationalize socialization effects. It further continues to discuss a generic generational scheme for post-socialist countries where generations are defined based on their primary and secondary socialization experiences on the labor market. It then takes three post-socialist societies (Hungary, East Germany, and the Czech Republic) and investigates how generational membership (adapted from the generic generational scheme to fit country peculiarities) influences wage distribution fairness. The key finding of the chapter is that there are only marginal differences among the generations, therefore socialization per se, has only marginal effects on wage distribution fairness. However, the findings also show that the more drastic and volatile the transition trajectory of a country was, the more likely that differences between generations in regards to the wage distribution can be observed.
