The central question addressed in this research is how the 1989 political and economic transformation of Eastern Europe has changed the structure of social stratification in Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and Poland. The study will examine how the emergence of private ownership, a multi-party system, and a market economy has affected the social hierarchy in these countries. It does so by examining the emergence of the new elite and by studying the pattern of status attainment in the three countries. It is evident already that party membership has lost its central role as a basis for recruitment to the elite and that ownership of economic capital has become a distinct advantage. It remains an open question, however, whether the new elite largely will be recruited from the old cadre elite or from the old 'pre-communism' elite. This is one of the central questions addressed by the research. The second question addressed is how the opportunities for educational and occupational attainment for the general population are affected by the political transformation. The occupational structure remains largely unchanged but there is some evidence of fewer constraints on opportunities for social and economic advancement. Economic entrepreneurship is now possible and access to higher education is no longer intimately tied to party membership and political connections. The research will examine whether there is indeed an opening of opportunities in the sense that occupational attainment is less dependent on family background and political connections than on educational attainment and individual aspirations and entrepreneurship. The investigators will collect survey data in all three countries which will allow them to investigate these important questions. The abrupt social and economic changes in Eastern Europe provide a unique opportunity for studying how the structure of inequality in a society is affected by its political and economic institutions. The study will also become an important source for understanding what has happened in Eastern Europe and the data will provide very valuable baseline data for future research.
