Social aspects of reconstruction of old industrial regions in Europe

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Social Aspects of Reconstruction

of Old Industrial Regions in Europe

Kazimiera Wódz, editor

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Social Aspects of Reconstruction of Old Industrial Regions

in Europe

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Prace Naukowe Uniwersytetu Śląskiego

w Katowicach

nr 1722

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Social Aspects of Reconstruction

of Old Industrial Regions in Europe

Kazimiera Wódz, editor

Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Śląskiego Katowice 1998

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Editor of the Series: Sociology M arek S. Szczepański

Reviewers Krzysztof Frysztacki

Marian Malikowski

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Editor’s Note

In September 1997 the 10th Nationwide Congress of the Polish Sociological Association, under the caption “Silesia - Poland - Europe. Society in Transition in Local and Global Perspective” was held in Katowice. This volum e contains texts of the papers delivered within the framework of one of the sym posia of which the congress consisted, and which was devoted to the social aspects of the reconstruction of old industrial areas in Europe. Inclusion of this topic to the program me of the Congress appears fully justified if we bear in mind its location. The Province (Voi- vodship) of Katowice, or to be more precise: the Upper-Silesian Industrial Region (GOP) is a typical example of an old industrial region, whose future looks bleak indeed. The demands of the global market will, sooner or later, enforce substantial structural changes in the region. The course o f those changes will largely depend upon the way in which their social costs will be distributed, but also upon whether and in what range public and private sectors will be urged to cooperate in the search for common solutions. That is the general conclusion that can be drawn from the discussions held during the two days of debates in Katowice. Specialists representing both parts of Europe undergoing unification, invited to take part in the symposium, had the chance to share the results of their studies concerning the old industrial regions; in case of representatives of Eastern Europe the presentations were, more often than not, preceded with some general reflections about the system transfor

mations going on in their respective countries.

The first paper included in the volume is by Jiri Musil, the text is devoted to structural transformations of the traditional industrial regions in the Czech Re

public. The author, on the basis of analysis of statistics as well as regional studies concerning the influence of systemic transformations after 1989 upon the social and spatial changes in the Czech Republic, draws a general conclusion that in his country, slowly yet consequently, the processes of deindustrialization take place, which coincide with reduction of employm ent and a prolonged crisis in some bran

ches of industry. This is particularly true for Northern Bohemia, while down south, and in the west yet to a lesser degree, regions of growth consolidate, based upon

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the traditional and new branches of industry. The domination of small and me

dium -sized towns in the settlement structure of the Czech Republic, as well as the comparatively modest num ber of huge industrial complexes is, in the opinion of the author, of substantial significance for absorbing the consequences o f systemic chan

ges which the Czech economy is subject to. A valuable and detail-providing supple

ment to the deliberations of J. Musil is the penetrating analysis of the segmentation of the labour market in the Czech Republic done by T. Sirovätka. The latter presents it both as a whole and in regions of traditional industrial activities, considering also the decisive factors accounting for marginalizing the low-skill labour force on the local labour markets. A substantial portion of the analyses carried out by T. Sirovät

ka finds its equivalents in the phenom ena occurring in similar regions of Poland.

The next three papers, prepared by German researchers, depict the com plex and diverse process of structural transformations of the old industrial regions in both the “old” and “new” Länder of the re-united Germany. W. Strubelt, when analysing the differences in the level o f economic development in com parable, in terms of industrial structure, regions of W estern and Eastern Germany, observes that largely those differences (disadvantageous for the eastern part of Germ any) are rem iniscent of the state of affairs preceding W orld W ar II. Econom ic problem s facing the old industrial regions in the “new” Länder after the reunification are, to the m ind o f the author, a late echo of similar problems that challenged the western Lands some thirty to twenty years earlier. Looking at the current problems facing the old industrial regions one cannot, in the author’s opinion, omit the historic dim ension, along with the fact that economic developm ent should be measured in terms of long cycles of growth and stagnation. This entails that it is impossible to foresee for sure today whether the now-prosperous southern Lands of (W est) Germany will be able to keep up the existing tem po of developm ent in the future. The author is o f the opinion that even today some worrying signs could be identified, which stem from the ever steeper competition on the global labour m arket and the availability o f cheap labour force both within Europe and outside it.

Two mutually complementary studies, by T. Rom m elspacher and J. Friedrichs and R. Küppers, follow, both dealing with the Ruhr-Gebiet industrial region in which structural transformations due to the decline of heavy industry had started some 40 years ago. The paper by the former author comprises a description of the social consequences of those processes, while the two latter ones present the results of their studies upon the efficiency of revitalization strategies im plem ented in over the last twenty years in the towns of that region. Due to the structural similarities be

tween the Upper-Silesian Industrial Region (GOP) and the Ruhr-Gebiet, the content of those papers is of particular significance. It appears from them, am ong others, that although in many cases serious doubts arise regarding the efficiency of revita

lization activities undertaken by different towns (e.g. those m eant to provide pos

sibilities for creation new jobs for workers who are m ade redundant), relinquishing such activities could lead to their total degradation and fall.

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A critical outlook on the British experiences in the field of revitalizing program mes for old industrial regions has been contained in the papers by D. Byrne and S. Kaczmarek. D. Byrne, on the basis of observation referring to the restructuring of the regions of traditional industries: South Yorkshire and Tyne and W ear, points out to the negative consequences of revitalization strategies which result in speeding up the deindustrialization processes and transformation of the former industrial zones and areas into centres of trade, commerce, services and luxury housing. The im

plementation of such projects, Byrne claims, leads to making the processes of social and spatial segregation more deep and acute, and to strengthening the marginalized position of those social groups which are economically weakest and whose qualifi

cations are the lowest. Critical remarks addressed to similar examples of social and spatial revitalization of old industrial towns in Britain have been formulated in the paper by S. Kaczmarek, finally expressing the conviction that an integrated approach to that problem is necessary.

Another attitude to the social problems accompanying the economic restructuring of old industrial regions has been presented in the paper by L. M orris. Hers is an extensive report on the research done by her in the old shipyard centre o f Hartlepool (North-East England). L. Morris points out the importance of inform al social rela

tions (family, friends, colleagues) in shaping the individual and family strategies for adjustment to structural changes at the labour market. The author states, among other things, that those informal social relations have a significant influence upon the efficiency of leaving unemployment, along with other, more objective factors, such as qualifications, solutions provided in the sphere of social policy or the situa

tion at the labour market.

The four papers that follow, then, bring back the problems of collapsing mining regions. V. Mansourov and M. Chemysh depict the dramatic situation in the Workuta and Primorye coal basins, where miners have not been receiving their wages for months. The scale and concentration of problems connected with the collapsing mining industry are so big that the local authorities, trade unions and government agencies are unable to cope with. The authors believe that when restructuring is limited merely to closing down mines, a social outbreak may be inevitable.

K. W ódz has presented the results of research carried out am ong miners em ployed in coal-mines of the Katowice Province (Voivodship), which concerned their fears and anticipated reactions to changes brought about by the processes of eco

nomic restructuring. The author paints a group mental portrait o f the profession studied, showing its internal differentiation due to cultural differences resulting from the regional origin of the people interviewed. A. Cybula, on the basis of his own and other people’s research conducted in recent years in the Province of Katowice, has found out that entrepreneurship as an attitude predisposing for economic success in the market economy conditions has been observed in a comparatively scarce group of people, whereas further changes in this field would require a fundamental recon

struction of the education system, where technical and professional education on

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elementary level only still dominates. A specific com m entary to the results of em pirical studies, presented in the papers of K. W ódz and A. Cybula, is the pondering upon the importance of social capital in the adaptation processes to systemic changes in the Province of Katowice, presented by A. Cybula and M. S. Szczepański.

Poverty as a result of deindustrialization processes and aftermath of the general system ic changes in the countries of C entral and E astern E urope has been the topic dealt w ith by W. W arzy w oda-K ruszyńska and J. G rotow ska-L eder, as well as J. Szalai. The illustration of the form er topic mentioned has been provided by studies concerning the spatial concentration of poverty, conducted by the authors in the second largest Polish industrial town of Łódź. As regards the latter subject enumerated before, the em pirical basis has been provided by observations of socio

economic trends in the countries of the former Eastern block, as well as the - dom i

nating in those countries and not always so accurate, in the opinion o f J. Szalai - explanations o f the reasons for increasing poverty and the counteractive strategies proposed.

The volume is concluded with the paper by E. Laiferovä and J. Bunćak who, reaching somewhat outside the main topics of the symposium, deal with an analysis of the differentiation processes in the Slovak society and their influence upon the processes of social disintegration and reintegration in that country.

As an organizer of the sym posium I am aware of the fact that the written m ate

rials presented do no full justice to the actual atmosphere of the meeting, the level and quality of discussion there, both during the proceedings and in the lobby. I would like to thank the participants cordially for all that, hoping that this volum e will be another step on the road to exchange experiences in research, as well as reflections upon the present day and future of the old industrial regions of united Europe.

Kazimiera Wódz

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Od Redaktora

W e wrześniu 1997 roku w Katowicach pod hasłem „Śląsk - Polska - Europa.

Zmieniające się społeczeństwo w perspektywie lokalnej i globalnej” obradował X Ogólnopolski Zjazd Polskiego Tow arzystw a Socjologicznego. N iniejszy tom zawiera teksty referatów wygłoszonych w ramach jednego z sympozjów zjazdowych, poświęconego społecznym aspektom rekonstrukcji starych regionów przemysłowych w Europie. W łączenie tej tematyki do program u Zjazdu ze względu na miejsce, w którym się odbywał, wydaje się całkowicie zrozumiałe. W ojewództwo katowickie, a ściślej biorąc, Górnośląski Okręg Przemysłowy, stanowi typowy przykład starego regionu przemysłowego, którego przyszłość rysuje się w czarnych barwach. Prędzej czy później wymagania globalnego rynku w ym uszą tu zasadnicze przekształcenia strukturalne. Ich przebieg w dużej mierze będzie zależeć od tego, w jaki sposób zostaną rozłożone społeczne koszty tych przekształceń, ale także od tego, czy i w ja kim zakresie uda się zachęcić do współpracy w poszukiwaniach wspólnych rozwią

zań sektor publiczny i prywatny. Taki generalny wniosek wypływa z dyskusji toczo

nej w trakcie dwudniowych obrad w Katowicach. Zaproszeni do udziału w sympoz

jum specjaliści, reprezentujący obie części jednoczącej się Europy, mieli okazję zaprezentować wyniki swoich badań dotyczących starych regionów przemysłowych, poprzedzonych często, w wypadku przedstawicieli Europy W schodniej, ogólną refle

ksją na temat przekształceń ustrojowych, jakie dokonują się aktualnie w ich krajach.

Tom otwiera Jiri Musil tekstem poświęconym aktualnym przekształceniom stru

kturalnym tradycyjnych regionów przemysłowych Republiki Czeskiej. Autor, opie

rając się na analizie danych statystycznych oraz badań regionalnych nad wpływem przeobrażeń ustrojowych po roku 1989 na przekształcenia społeczno-przestrzenne w Republice Czeskiej, dochodzi do generalnego wniosku, że w tym kraju wolno, acz konsekwentnie, dokonują się procesy deindustrializacji połączone z redukcją zatrudnienia i przedłużającym się kryzysem niektórych branż przemysłowych. Do

tyczy to zw łaszcza północnych Czech, gdy tym czasem na południu, a także - w mniejszym stopniu - na zachodzie kraju formują się regiony wzrostu, oparte na dawnych i nowych dziedzinach przem ysłu. D om inacja w strukturze osadniczej

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Czech małych i średnich miast oraz stosunkowo niewielka liczba wielkich kom

pleksów przemysłowych ma - zdaniem autora - istotne znaczenie dla absorbowania skutków systemowych zmian czeskiej gospodarki. Cennym uzupełnieniem i uszcze

gółowieniem rozważań J. M usila jest przedstawiona przez T. Sirovatkę wnikliwa analiza segmentacji rynku pracy w Republice Czeskiej jako całości i w regionach tradycyjnego przemysłu, a także czynników decydujących o marginalizacji nisko wykwalifikowanej siły roboczej na lokalnych rynkach pracy. W iele z przedstawio

nych przez T. Sirovatkę analiz ma swoje odpowiedniki w zjawiskach obserwowa

nych w podobnych regionach w Polsce.

Trzy kolejne opracowania, przygotowane przez badaczy niemieckich, ukazują złożony i niejednoznaczny w swej wymowie obraz przekształceń strukturalnych starych regionów przemysłowych w dawnych i nowych landach zjednoczonych Niemiec. W. Strubelt, analizując rozpiętości w poziom ie rozwoju ekonom icznego w porów nyw alnych pod w zględem struktury przem ysłu regionach Zachodnich i W schodnich Niemiec, zauważa, że w znacznej mierze różnice te (na niekorzyść tych ostatnich) przypom inają stan istniejący przed II w ojną światową. Problemy ekonom iczne, przed którym stanęły stare regiony przem ysłow e nowych landów po zjednoczeniu, są - zdaniem autora - spóźnionym echem tych samych kwestii, z którymi landy zachodnie musiały się zmierzyć trzydzieści lub dwadzieścia lat temu. Patrząc na aktualne problem y, z którymi borykają się stare regiony prze

mysłowe, nie m ożna - zdaniem autora - zapominać o wymiarze historycznym, 0 tym, że rozwój ekonom iczny powinien być mierzony długimi cyklami wzrostu 1 stagnacji. Oznacza to, iż nie da się dzisiaj przewidzieć z całkow itą pewnością, czy prosperujące dzisiaj południow e landy N iem iec (Zachodnich) utrzym ają w przyszłości aktualne tempo rozwoju. Zdaniem autora, już m ożna mówić o pe

wnych niepokojących sygnałach, wynikających z rosnącej konkurencyjności glo

balnych rynków pracy i dostępności zarów no w Europie, jak i poza nią, taniej siły roboczej.

D w a kom plem entarne wobec siebie opracow ania T. R om m elspachera oraz J. Friedrichsa i R. Ktippersa dotyczą przem ysłow ego okręgu Ruhry, w którym pro

cesy strukturalnych przekształceń, związanych z upadkiem przem ysłu ciężkiego, rozpoczęły się prawie czterdzieści lat temu. W tekście pierw szego z wymienionych autorów znajdujemy opis społecznych skutków tych procesów, dwaj pozostali przed

stawiają wyniki swoich badań nad skutecznością strategii rewitalizacyjnych, reali

zowanych przez ostatnie dwadzieścia lat w miastach tego regionu. Ze względu na strukturalne podobieństwo Górnośląskiego Okręgu Przemysłowego i Zagłębia Ruhry refleksje przedstawione w tych tekstach m ają szczególną wymowę. W ynika z nich m iędzy innymi, że choć w wielu wypadkach m ożna mieć pow ażne w ąt

pliwości co do efektywności działań rewitalizacyjnych podejm owanych przez po

szczególne m iasta (na przykład w odniesieniu do możliwości tworzenia nowych miejsc pracy dla zwalnianych z pracy robotników), to zaniechanie tych działań mogłoby doprowadzić do ich całkowitej degradacji i upadku.

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Krytyczne spojrzenie na doświadczenia brytyjskie w dziedzinie programów re

witalizacji starych regionów przemysłowych przynoszą teksty D. B yrne’a i S. Kacz

marek. D. Byrne, opierając się na obserwacjach dotyczących restrukturyzacji dwóch regionów tradycyjnego przemysłu - South Yorkshire oraz Tyne and Wear, wskazuje na negatywne - jego zdaniem - skutki strategii rewitalizacyjnych, prowadzących do przyspieszenia procesów deindustrializacji i przekształcania dawnych przestrzeni przemysłowych w centra handlowo-usługowe, rozrywkowe, kulturalne, strefy luk

susowego mieszkalnictwa. Realizacja tego rodzaju projektów - twierdzi Byrne - pro

wadzi do pogłębienia procesów segregacji społeczno-przestrzennej miast i utrwale

nia marginalnej pozycji najsłabszych ekonomicznie, najniżej wykwalifikowanych grup społecznych. Krytyczne uwagi pod adresem podobnych przykładów społecznej i przestrzennej rewitalizacji starych miast przemysłowych w Wielkiej Brytanii for

mułuje w swoim artykule S. Kaczmarek, wyrażając na koniec przekonanie o po

trzebie zintegrowanego podejścia do tego problemu.

Inne spojrzenie na społeczne problemy towarzyszące procesom restrukturyzacji ekonomicznej starych regionów przemysłowych przynosi artykuł L. M orris. Jest to obszerny raport z badań przeprowadzonych przez autorkę w dawnym ośrodku przemysłu okrętowego Hartlepool (Płn.-W sch. Anglia). L. Morris zwraca uwagę na znaczenie nieformalnych relacji społecznych (rodzinnych, przyjacielskich, ko

leżeńskich) w kształtowaniu indywidualnych, rodzinnych strategii przystosowa

wczych do strukturalnych zmian na rynku pracy. Autorka stwierdza między in

nymi, że te właśnie nieform alne więzi społeczne m ają oprócz innych, bardziej zobiektywizowanych czynników, takich jak: kwalifikacje, rozwiązania w zakresie polityki społecznej, sytuacja na rynku pracy, istotny wpływ na skuteczność wy

chodzenia z bezrobocia.

W kolejnych czterech artykułach pow racają problem y upadających regionów górniczych. V. M ansourov i M. Chemysh przedstawiają dramatyczny obraz sytuacji w rejonie W orkuty i Przymorza, gdzie górnicy od wielu m iesięcy nie otrzym ują wypłat za swoją pracę. Skala i natężenie problem ów związanych z upadającym przemysłem wydobywczym jest tak wielka, że nie radzą sobie z nimi władze lokal

ne, związki zawodowe, agendy rządowe. Autorzy uważają, że restrukturyzacja ogra

niczona do zamykania kopalń doprowadzi do społecznego wybuchu.

W opracowaniu K. W ódz przedstawiono wyniki badań wśród górników zatru

dnionych w kopalniach województwa katowickiego, dotyczących ich obaw i prze

widywanych reakcji na zmiany wywołane procesami restrukturyzacji ekonom icz

nej. Autorka kreśli zbiorowy portret mentalny badanej grupy zawodowej, ukazując jej wewnętrzne zróżnicowanie, które wynika z odmienności kulturowych, zwią

zanych z pochodzeniem regionalnym respondentów. A. Cybula, opierając się na wynikach własnych oraz cudzych badań socjologicznych, prowadzonych w osta

tnich latach w województwie katowickim, stwierdza, że przedsiębiorczość jako postawa predestynująca do sukcesu ekonom icznego w warunkach gospodarki ryn

kowej występuje u stosunkowo niewielkiej grupy badanych, a dalsze zmiany w tej

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dziedzinie wym agałyby gruntownej przebudow y system u kształcenia, zdom ino

wanego nadal przez szkolnictw o zaw odow e. Sw oistym kom entarzem do przed

stawionych w tekstach K. W ódz i A. Cybuli wyników badań em pirycznych są refleksje nad znaczeniem kapitału społecznego w procesach adaptacji do zmian systemowych w województwie katowickim, przedstawione przez A. Cybulę i M. S.

Szczepańskiego.

Ubóstwo, jako skutek procesów deindustrializacji oraz efekt ogólnych przeob

rażeń systemowych w krajach Europy Centralnej i W schodniej, to temat podjęty przez W. W arzywodę-Kruszyńską i J. Grotowską-Leder oraz J. Szalai. Ilustracją do pierwszego z wymienionych wyżej tem atów są wyniki badań nad przestrzenną kon

centracją ubóstwa, przeprowadzonych przez autorki w drugim co do wielkości m ieś

cie przem ysłowym Polski - Łodzi. W wypadku drugiego tematu em piryczną pod

staw ą rozważań stały się obserwacje trendów społeczno-ekonom icznych występu

jących w krajach byłego bloku wschodniego oraz dom inujących w tych krajach, nie do końca trafnych - zdaniem J. Szalai - sposobów wyjaśniania przyczyn ros

nącego ubóstwa i proponowanych strategii zaradczych.

Tom zam yka wychodzący nieco poza obszar tem atyczny sym pozjum tekst E. Laiferovej i J. Bunćaka, poświęcony analizie procesów różnicowania się społe

czeństwa słowackiego i ich wpływu na procesy dezintegracji i reintegracji społecznej w tym kraju.

Jako organizator sympozjum m am świadomość, że przedstawiony w formie publikacji zapis, nie oddaje rzeczywistej atmosfery tego spotkania, poziomu i jakości dyskusji toczącej się zarówno w czasie obrad, jak i kuluarach. Za to wszystko składam wszystkim referentom i dyskutantom serdeczne podziękowania z nadzieją, że niniejszy tom będzie kolejnym krokiem na drodze ku wymianie doświadczeń badawczych i refleksji nad dniem dzisiejszym i przyszłością starych regionów prze

mysłowych zjednoczonej Europy.

K azim iera W ódz

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Vom Herausgeber

Im September 1997 tagte in Katowice unter dem M otto „Schlesien - Polen - Europa. Die sich verändernde Gesellschaft aus der lokalen und globalen Perspekti

ve“ die 10. Polnische Konferenz der Polnischen Soziologischen Gesellschaft. Der vorliegende Band beinhaltet die Texte der im Rahmen eines der Tagungssymposien gehaltenen Referate, die die gesellschaftlichen Aspekte der Rekonstruktion der alten Industriegebiete in Europa betreffen. Das Einbeziehen dieser Them atik in das Pro

gramm der Konferenz ist in Bezug auf den Ort der Tagung selbstverständlich. Die W ojewodschaft Katowice, und genauer genommen das Oberschlesische Industriege

biet (GOP) ist Beispiel für ein typisches altes Industriegebiet, dessen Zukunft sich nicht als optimistisch bezeichnen läßt. Früher oder später erzwingen die Erfordernisse eines globalen Marktes grundsätzliche strukturelle Umwandlungen. Ihr Verlauf wird im großen Maße davon abhängen, wie die gesellschaftlichen Kosten dieser Umwand

lungen verteilt werden, und auch davon, ob und inwiefern es gelingt, die staatlichen und die privaten Unternehmer zu bewegen, gem einsame Lösungen zu finden. Das ist die Schlußfolgerung der während der zwei Symposium stage in Katowice geführten Diskussion. Die zur Teilnahme an dem Symposium eingeladenen Fachleute aus beiden Teilen des sich vereinigenden Europas hatten die Gelegenheit die Ergebnisse ihrer Forschungen über die alten Industriegebiete darzustellen; den Referaten gingen sehr oft - im Falle der Vertreter Osteuropas - allgemeine Überlegungen über die sich gegenwärtig in ihren Ländern vollziehenden System umwandlungen voraus.

Den Band leitet der Text von J. M usil ein, über die aktuellen strukturellen Umwandlungen der traditionellen Industriegebiete der Tschechischen Republik. Der Verfasser stützt sich auf die Analyse der statistischen Daten und der regioneilen Untersuchungen über den Einfluß der Sytemumwandlungen nach 1989 auf die gesell

schaftlich - räumlichen Um wandlungen in der Tschechischen Republik, und kommt zum Schluß, daß in diesem Land, langsam aber konsequent, der Prozeß der Deindust

rialisierung in Verbindung mit der Kürzung der Arbeitsplätze und einer andauernden Kriese einiger Industriezweige stattfindet. Es betrifft vor allem die nördlichen Gebiete Tschechiens; im Süden dagegen und im beschränkten M aße im W esten des Landes

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entstehen Regionen des Zuwachses, die auf den neuen und alten Industriezweigen beasieren. Die Dom inanz in der Ansiedlungsstruktur Tschechiens der kleinen und mittelgroßen Städte und eine relativ kleine Zahl großer Industriekom plexe hat - der M einung des Verfassers nach - wesentliche Bedeutung für die Absorption der Fol

gen der Systemveränderungenen der tschechischen W irtschaft. Eine wertvolle Er

gänzung und Detaillierung der Erörterungen von J. Musil ist die von T. Sirovätka dargestellte präzise Analyse der Segmentierung des Arbeitsmarktes in der Tschechis

chen Republik und in den Regionen der traditionellen Industrie wie auch der Fakto

ren. die über die M arginalisierung der nichtqualifizierten Arbeitskräfte auf dem lokalen Arbeitsmarkt entscheiden. Viele der von Sirovätka dargestellten Analysen finden ihre Entsprechungen in den in ähnlichen Regionen in Polen registrierten Phänomenen.

Die drei nächsten Referate wurden von deutschen Forschem vorbereitet und zeigen das komplizierte und in seiner W irkung nicht eindeutige Bild der strukturellen Um wandlungen der alten Industriegebiete in den neuen und alten Ländern des ve

reinigten Deutschlands. W. Strubelt analysiert die D iskrepanzen der ökonom ischen Entwicklung in vergleichbaren (wenn es um die Industriestruktur geht) Gebieten West- und Ostdeutschlands; dabei beobachtet er, daß diese Unterschiede im großen M aße (zum Nachteil der letzteren) an den Stand vor dem zweiten W eltkrieg erinnern.

Die ökonomischen Probleme, vor die die alten Industriegebiete der neuen Länder nach der Vereinigung gestellt wurden, sind - der M einung des Verfassers nach - Echo der gleichen Problem, mit denen sich die westlichen Länder vor 20 oder 30 Jahren auseinandersetzen mußten. Regiestriert man die Problem e, die jetzt in den alten Industriegebieten auftreten, darf man - der M einung des V erfassers nach - nicht den historischen Aspekt und die Tatsache, daß die ökonomische Entwicklung in langen Anwachs- und Stillstandzyklen gemessen werden sollte, vergessen. Es bedeutet, daß man heute nicht m ehr mit Sicherheit voraussehen kann, ob die heute florierenden Südgebiete W estdeutschlands das heutige Entwicklungstem po auch in der Zukunft einhalten werden. Der M einung des Verfassers nach kann man schon über einige beunruhigende Zeichen sprechen, die aus der wachsenden Konkurenz- fähigkeit des globalen Arbeitsmarktes und der Zugänglichkeit, sowohl in Europa als auch in anderen W eltteilen, biliger Arbeitskräfte resultieren.

Zwei sich ergänzende Bearbeitungen von T. Rom m elspacher und J. Friedrichs sowie von R. Küppers betreffen das Ruhrgebiet, in dem die Prozesse der mit dem Untergang der Schwerindustrie verbundenen strukturellen Umwandlungen schon vor vierzig Jahren begannen. Im Referat des ersten der genannten V erfasser findet man die Beschreibung der gesellschaftlichen Folgen dieser Prozesse, und die anderen Autoren zeigen die Ergebnisse ihrer Untersuchungen über die Effektivität der Revita

lisierungsstrategien, die in den letzten 20 Jahren in den Städten dieser Region vollzo

gen wurden. W egen der strukturellen Ähnlichkeit des Oberschlesischen Industriege

bietes und des Ruhrgebietes sind die in diesen Texten dargestellten Erörterungen von besonderer Bedeutung. Aus ihnen resultiert, daß obwohl in vielen Fällen die Effekti

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vität der durch die einzelnen Städte unternomm enen Revitalisierungsaktivitäten starke Zweifel aufwerfen könnten (zum Beispiel in Bezug auf die M öglichkeit der Bildung neuer Arbeitsplätze für die gekündigten Arbeiter), könnte das Aufgeben dieser Aktivitäten zur vollen Degradierung und zum endgültigen Fall führen.

Eine kritische Erörterung der englischen Erfahrungen auf dem Gebiet der Revita

lisierungsprogram m e alter Industriegebiete sind die Texte von D. Byrne und S. Kaczmarek. D. Byrne fußt auf den Beobachtungen der Restrukturalisierung zweier Gebiete der traditionellen Industrie - South Yorkshire und Tyne & W ear, und zeigt die negativen - seiner M einung nach - Folgen der Revitalisierungsstrategien, die zur Beschleunigung der Deindustrialisierungsprozesse und zur Um wandlung alter Indu

striegebiete in Handels-Dienstleistungs-, Unterhaltungs-, und Kulturzentren wie auch in Gebiete der Luxuswohnungen führen. Die Realisierung derartiger Projekte - meint Byrne - führt zur Vertiefung der Prozesse der gesellschafts-räumlichen Teilung der Städte und zugleich zur Festigung der Randstellung der ökonomisch schwächsten, weniger qualifizierten Gesellschaftsgruppen. Kritische Bem erkungen über ähnliche Beispiele der gesellschaftlichen und räumlichen Revitalisierung alter Industriestädte in Großbritannien macht auch in seinem Aufsatz S. Kaczmarek, indem er zum Schluß die M einung über die Notwendigkeit der integrierten Lösung dieses Problems äußert.

Eine andere Sicht der gesellschaftlichen Probleme, die die ökonomische Restruk

turalisierung der alten Industriegebiete begleiten, ist im Aufsatz von L. M orris zu finden. Es ist ein um fangreicher Bericht über die von der Verfasserin im ehemaligen Zentrum der W erftindustrie Hartlepool (Nord-West England) geführten Untersuchun

gen. L. Morris weist auf die Bedeutung der informellen gesellschaftlichen Beziehun

gen (Familie, Freunde, Bekannte) für die G estaltung individueller und familienbezo

gener Anpassungsstrategien im Bereich der Änderungen auf dem A rbeitsm arkt hin.

Die Verfasserin stellt unter anderem Fest, daß gerade diese informellen Gesellschaft

lichen Beziehungen außer anderen objektiveren Faktoren wie: Qualifikationen, Lö

sungen im Bereich der Gesellschaftspolitik, die Lage auf dem Arbeitsmarkt, besonde

ren Einfluß auf die Effektivität der Abschaffung der Arbeitslosigkeit haben.

In den folgenden vier Aufsätzen werden erneut die Probleme der sich dem Fall neigenden Bergbaugebiete dargestellt. V. Mansourov und M. Chemysh zeigen die dra

matische Lage auf dem Gebiet Workuta und dem Küstengebiet, wo die Bergleute seit vielen Monaten keinen Lohn für ihre Arbeit bekommen. Das Ausmaß und die Intensität der Probleme der sich dem Fall neigenden Kohlenindustrie sind so groß, daß sich die Lokalregierungen, die Gewerkschaften und die Staatausschüsse damit keinen Rat mehr wissen. Die Verfasser sind der Meinung, daß eine Restrukturalisierung, die sich auf die Schließung der Gruben begrenzt, zu gesellschaftlichen Unruhen führt.

Im Aufsatz von K. W ódz wurden die Ergebnisse der Untersuchungen der in den .Gruben der W ojewodschaft Katowice angestellten Bergleute über ihre Ängste und die voraussichtlichen Reaktionen auf die Veränderungen, die durch die Prozesse der ökonomischen Restrukturalisierung hervorgerufen werden, analysiert. Die Verfas

serin zeigt ein mentales Bild der untersuchten Berufsgruppe und zeigt ihre inneren

2 Social Aspects..

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Differenzierungen, die aus den kulturellen Unterschieden resultieren, die wiederum m it der regioneilen Abstam m ung der Befragten verbunden ist. In Anlehnung an die Ergebnisse der eigenen und fremden soziologischen U ntersuchungen, die in den letzten Jahren in der W ojewodschaft Katowice durchgeführt wurden, stellt A. Cybula fest, daß die Untem ehm ungsbereitschaft - als Grundlage für den ökonomischen Erfolg unter Bedingungen der M arktw irtschaft - bei einer relativ kleinen Gruppe der Untersuchten auftritt; er meint auch, daß weitere Veränderungen auf diesem Gebiet eine tiefgreifende Reform des Bildungssystems, das weiterhin durch die Berufschulen beherrscht wird, erforden. Ein Kommentar zu den in den Texten von K. W ódz und A. Cybula dargestellten Ergebnissen der empirischen Untersuchungen sind die Überlegungen über die Bedeutung des gesellschaftlichen Kapitals in den Prozessen der Anpassung an die Systemveränderungen in der W ojew odschaft K a

towice, die von A. Cybula und M. S. Szczepański dargestellt wurden.

Die Arm ut als Folge der D eindustrialisierungsprozesse und Ergebnis der allge

meinen System veränderungen in den Ländern M ittel- und Osteuropas sind das The

ma, das W. W arzywoda-Kruszyńska und J. Grotowska-Leder wie auch J. Szalai erörtern. Das erste Them a illustrieren die Ergebnisse der Untersuchungen über die räumliche Konzentration der Armut, die von der Verfasserin in der zweitgrößten Industriestadt Polens - Łódź - durchgeführt wurden. Die em pirische Grundlage für das zweite Thema bildeten die Beobachtungen der gesellschafts - ökonom ischen Trends, die in den Ländern des ehemaligen Ostblocks auftreten und in diesen Län

dern vorherrschen, und der Art und W eise - der M einung von J. Szalai nach nicht im mer korrekten - Erklärung der Ursachen der wachsenden Armut und der vorge

schlagenen Vorbeugungsstrategien.

Den Band schließt der Text von E. Laiferovä und J. Buncäk, der den Rahmen des Symposiums ein wenig sprengt und die Differenzierungsprozesse der slovaki- schen Gesellschaft und seinen Einfluß auf die gesellschaftliche Desintegrierung und Reintegrierung in diesem Land analysiert.

Als Veranstalter dieses Symposiums bin ich mir dessen bewußt, daß die im Band festgehaltenen Referate die Atm osphäre dieses Treffens, sein Niveau und die Qua

lität der Diskussionen während der Tagung und am Rande nicht im geringesten wiederspiegelt. Dafür möchte ich mich bei allen Referenten und Diskutanten herzlich bedanken und ich hoffe, daß dieser Band ein nächster Schritt im Austausch der Erfahrungen, Untersuchungen und Reflexionen über die Gegenwart und die Zukunft der alten Industriegebiete im vereinigten Europa bilden wird.

Kazim iera Wódz

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Old and New Industrial Regions in the Czech Republic

Jiri Musil

Central European University and Charles University Prague

The following study is a social macroregional analysis of industrial growth and decline in the Czech Republic with stress on developm ents after 1989. It is based on two main types of information: (1) on my own statistical analysis using data for 75 Czech districts and for the city of Prague, carried out especially for this study, (2) on a summary of other relevant regional studies which tried to explain the impacts of societal changes after the collapse of the com m unist regim e in 1989 on the socio-spatial structure of the Czech Republic. The aim of the study is to show that the systemic transformations after 1989 gave an impulse to regional changes which can, in long-term perspective, change the traditional division of the country into the industrial north and non-industrial south.

To enable the reader to understand the wider context of the regional changes, and especially of the regional changes in industrial developments, the first part of the paper describes the relevant part o f the systemic changes in the Czech Republic after 1989.

1. A short summary of the systemic

changes in the Czech Republic after 1989

For better understanding of the industrial growth and decline, some basic trans

formation features of the political as well as of the economic systems and o f the effects of the splitting of former Czechoslovakia must be - even in a very condensed form - mentioned.

The basic feature which should be stressed before describing more specific parts of the last five years prevailing political regime, is the fact that all the systemic changes

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were based on a mixture of neo-conservative and neo-liberal economic and political philosophy. The main com ponents o f this policy can be described in the following way:

- neo-liberal conception of economic transform ation, stressing the step by step introduction of market mechanisms into the main parts of economy, stressing privatization, deregulation, liberalization of prices, reduction of state subsidies in many parts of the economy, internal and external convertibility of the Czech crown and free foreign trade policies;

- stress on individual responsibility, on the dim inishing role of the state and other public bodies in economy in general, and especially in social, health services and partly also in education with the aim to reduce public expenditures and to have a balanced state budget;

- at the same time, however, the formation of a relatively strong, centralistically oriented state administration, without influential interm ediary regional and as- sociational self-governing units; the model intends to support the so-called “so

ciety of citizens” based on individual persons, municipalities and the state, but not to support a civil society

- em phasis on social consensus and on balancing carefully the interests of the em erging new upper and middle classes (enterpreneurs, top managers, bankers, upper layers of state and municipal bureaucracy, parts o f intelligentsia) with the interests of other employees, manual workers and farmers;

- ideological neutrality, stress on the formal conception o f dem ocracy and on the negative concept of freedom, e.g. on “freedom from” ;

- pragmatic political culture, readiness to make compromises, except in some sphe

res o f economic policy, as e.g. a balanced state budget;

- support of spontaneous market as well as political processes which should not be regulated or planned.

There are four elements of the systemic changes which proved to be the most relevant for understanding the changes in the regional structure of the Czech Repub

lic as mentioned in most studies on the Czech transformation:

1) the marketization of economy in general,

2) the opening of the Czech economy to the foreign com petition, inclusive the opening of the borders,

3) the non-functioning o f the housing m arket leading to the declining internal migration of people, i.e. to the rather sub-optimal functioning of the labour market and,

4) the transformations in the sphere of territorial government and administration.

To these systemic changes another factor should be added, i.e. the division of C ze

choslovakia into two independent states, into the Czech and Slovak Republic.

1 This view was expressed by the strongest o f the ruling coalition parties, namely by the “Civic Dem ocratic Party” , not by the two other and sm aller coalition parties.

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2. Main trends in the sectorial structure of Czech economy

Before starting to describe in concreto the main effects of the above mentioned elements on the industrial regions, the main relevant trends in the structure of Czech economy must be mentioned.

In the period 1990-1993 the GDP declined by 20%, the industrial production by 30% and the agricultural production by 25%. After 1993 up to 1997 the overall industrial production has been rising, with practically stagnating num ber of people em ployed in industry, i.e. in 1994 - 1.62 m illion and in 1996 - 1.63 m illion.

The m ain reductions in industrial job s w ere carried out in the first four years of the transformation and the industrial labour market stabilized relatively after 1993. It should be, however, stressed that the num ber of industry em ployees de

clined from 2.02 million in 1990 to 1.62 million in 1994. The rapidly growing service sector was able to absorb probably the largest part of the form er employees of industry who lost their jobs. Sim ilar processes can be observed in agriculture.

The num ber of agriculturalists dropped from 631 thousand in 1990 to 312 thousand in 1996. That means that more than a half of agriculturalists left this sector of economy in a short period. It seems, however, that only a part of them moved into the service sector. Some o f them, probably old people and women, simply ceased their activities in the formal part of economy. Two sectors were growing:

construction and services. The m ost rapid growth can be observed in services.

In 1990 there were about 2.3 m illion people em ployed in this sector, in 1996 the number went up to approximately 2.7 million.

At the same time the unem ployment oscillated in the mentioned years between 150,000 to 200,000 and the overall num ber of people in the form al econom y declined from 5.35 million in 1990 to 5.04 million in 1996.

Our calculations have shown that from approximately 720 thousand o f em ploy

ees in industry and agriculture who lost jobs in these two sectors, roughly 400 thousand moved into the services, 50 thousand moved into construction industry, 150-200 thousand remained unem ployed and a relatively small num ber of formerly active people, i.e. cca 50 to 70 thousand left the formal economy.

The restructuring of the Czech labour market proceeded in a situation of de

clining housebuilding rate and growing housing shortage and in a situation of de

clining internal migration of population. This is a rather im portant fact hinting to an im portant systemic feature of Czech transformation o f industry and agriculture.

The economic transformation after 1989, leading to rather extensive structural chan

ges in the proportions of the main economic sectors and to quantitatively extensive moves of labour force from one sector to another, proceeded without any substantial changes of the regional and settlem ent system of the country. M ost o f the systemic

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changes in industry, agriculture and services were absorbed by the local and regional labour and housing markets. Such a phenomenon hints to a specific character o f the settlem ent structure of the Czech Republic but also to som e specific features of the Czech social and cultural patterns. I shall return to this point in the part summarizing the results of my paper.

3. The changes inside the sector of industry

The marketization of economy, the opening of the Czech economy to foreign competition and to some extent the split of the country into two independent states started to change the structure of industry itself. Some industries began to decline, other stagnate and some expand. According to the statistical data for the last seven years, i.e. 1990-1997, to the declining industries belong m anufacture of leather and leather products, textile industry and m anufacture of textile products, m anufacture of footwear, m anufacture of furniture and m anufacture of paper and paper products, and also metallurgy.

The second group is com posed o f those branches which practically stagnate.

Here we find the m anufacture of m achinery, which forms the largest part of the Czech industry. Inside this group stagnating as well as growing enterprises can be found; it is a rather mixed group.

To the growing parts of industry belong glass industry, m anufacture of other non-metallic mineral products, m anufacture of rubber and plastic products, food and beverage industry, especially producion of beer, electronic industry, chemical in

dustry including refineries of oil and mainly the car industry.

The available data thus prove that the Czech Republic is undergoing a deindus

trialization process surprisingly with a considerable decline in traditionally strong and com petitive branches of Czech light industry, as e.g. footwear industry, ready

made clothing industry, paper industry.

Table 1 Em ploym ent in the three basic subsectors o f industry, 1990, 1994 (in %)

Subsector 1990 1994 Index 1994/1990

Coal, ore, etc. extraction 9.2 6.2 54.0

Processing industry 86.9 88.2 81.0

Energy, production and distribution 3.9 5.6 114.8

TOTAL 100.0 100.0 X

S o u r c e : C zech Statistical O ffice, 1996.

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To the data on changes in the manufacturing industries information on the de

cline in coal-m ining industry should be added. According to the available statistics, the hard coal-m ining went down from 22.4 million tones in 1990 to 10.9 million tones in 1994. The decline in both coal-mining was in the same period not so spec

tacular, i.e. from 83.7 million tones to 66.0 million tones. This trend was accom panied of course by the declining number of people employed in the mining industry.

4. The impact of transformation on the regional patterns of industry

The synergic effects of growth-decline processes in industry, o f a relatively rapid growth of the service sector, of the opening of Czech economy to foreign com petition, of the geographic reorientation of the foreign trade - from East to West - and last but not least, the split of Czechoslovakia, are already reflected in the changing regional patterns.

Regions where the declining industries are concentrated start to face economic and social difficulties linked with growing unemployment, falling wages declining social infrastructure and sometimes with social disorganization. The regions which observe economic and industrial growth start to attract people, and there are many sings of improvement in life conditions as, e.g., renewing and reconstruction of housing, growing retail sector and, in general, rising living standard.

The unemployment level is one of the most frequently used indirect indicators of the regional economic as well as social situation. To other indicators of regional conditions and mainly of the attractiveness of individual regions belong the data on migration and on growth or decline of population. These data must be, however, rather carefully interpreted due to the differences in the age structure o f individual regions’ populations. As direct indicators of industrial developm ent in regions the data on industrial production are often used, e.g. the data on the output expressed in current prices. Even if the time period we are analysing is short, according to the above mentioned indicators, some trends in the regional industrial growth and de

cline can be already identified. The follow ing part o f the paper tries to summarize them.

The data on growth or decline of population indicate the following trends:

- m ining regions and regions with steel production and heavy engineering are slowly loosing population. They form two geographical clusters, one is the nor

thern M oravian and Silesian region (with core districts Karvinä and Ostrava), the second the north Bohemian mining region (core districts Most, Teplice, Usti nad Labem); this second region forms a continuous zone along the borders between Bohemia and Saxonia;

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Fig. 1. Unemployment rate in districts o f the Czech Republic - April 1997

U n em p lo y m en t R a te , %

I I - 0 .9 9 [ m i ] 2.00 - 2.99 H i 4 .0 0 -4 .9 9 ■ ■ 6.00 +

E 3 1 .0 0 -1 .9 9 m i l 3.00 - 3.99 W ä 5.00 -5 .9 9

- decline of population was observed also in some other industrial districts, but they do not form continuous zones;

- decline of population in large non-industrial regions separating M oravia and Bohemia, and Prague metropolitan region from South Bohemia;

- there are, however, regions where at least a medium growth o f population,2 based most probably on the expansion of industry, can be found; to them belong Central Bohem ian region with such enterprises as Skoda, South Bohem ian growth zone stretching from Tabor to Ceske Budejovice and to Cesky Krumlov and the Central M oravian region; the population growth in Northern M oravia is a result of a spe

cific age structure, i.e. of relatively strong young age groups;

- growing are also the urban regions of main Czech cities, first of all Prague, but also, in a lesser degree Brno, Pilsen, Karlovy Vary, Zlfn and Olomouc.

With population decline and outmigration are correlated data on unemployment. Fig.

1 shows quite clearly that there are two main large regions where the highest unemploy

ment rates are concentrated: the North Bohem ian and the North M oravian region.

Com parisons o f data on unemployment in individual districts at the beginning of 90s and in 1997 have proved that the differences between the regions of the country are growing. A process of economic, social and spatial polarization has undoubtedly started.

2 The population o f the Czech R epublic was stagnating in the period 1980 (10.3 m illion) to 1994 (10.3 m illion) and after 1994 declining. Thus regions with population grow th are quite an exceptional phenom enon signalizing their econom ic growth.

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The macroregional effects of the transformation of Czech society, and especially of the restructuring of Czech industry, caused by the introduction of market mecha

nisms and of foreign industry competition, can be seen from the data in the following table documenting the shifts in regional distribution of industrial output.

Table 2 The industrial production in the regions o f the Czech R epublic in 1991 and 1995

Regions

Year Index

1995/1991

1991 1995

Prague 15.8 13.4 85.0

Central Bohemia 13.1 14.2 108.4

Southern Bohemia 4.6 5.5 119.6

W estern Bohemia 6.0 6.6 110.0

Northern Bohemia 15.1 14.2 94.0

Eastern Bohemia 9.8 9.6 98.0

South M oravia 13.7 14.6 106.0

North M oravia 21.9 21.9 100.0

TOTAL 100.0 100.0 X

N o t e s : The output o f industry in current prices; index o f grow th 1991 = 100.0.

S o u r c e : C zech Statistical Office, 1997.

The table indicates the following shifts in the m acroregional patterns of Czech industry: deindustrialization of Prague, decline in the relative proportion of industrial production in the old industrial regions in the north and the relative growth of industry in the new regions. These new regions are in the southern half of the country and in Central Bohemia. The most considerable relative growth can be seen in the two regions which are located along the German and Austrian borders, i.e. in Sou

thern and W estern Bohemia.

5. Changing shares of employees in industry and services according to regions

The last part of the analysis which tests the hypothesis that systemic changes after 1989 started to modify the traditional regional distribution of Czech industry,

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Fig. 2. Changes in the regional distribution of industry in the years 1980-1995

D istricts w ith in creasing sh ares o f em ployees in in d ustry D istricts w ith d ecreasing sh ares o f em ployees in industry M L A R G E G A IN S ^ ^ 1 SM A L L G A IN S SM A L L L O SSES I I L A R G E L O SSES

H+H M E D IU M G A IN S l l l l l l M E D IU M L O SSES

Fig. 3. Changes in the regional distribution of the service sector in the years 1980-1995

Districts with increasing shares o f em ployees in th e service secto r D istricts w ith d ecreasing sh ares o f em ployees in th e service sector

■ i L A R G E G A IN S SM ALL G A IN S g g g ] SM A L L LO SSES □ L A R G E LOSSES

H + H M E D IU M G A IN S l l l l l l M E D IU M LO SSES

is based on the following procedure. For 75 districts and Prague were calculated for 1980 and 1995 the shares (in%) of the employees in industry, agriculture and ser

vices from the total number of economically active population in the country. These data show the changing “weights” of individual districts in the total industrial,

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agricultural or service m anpow er o f the Czech Republic in two different periods. The data for 1980 show the spatial distribution o f the three sectors, as m easured by the num ber of employees, in a period of “developed” socialism, the data for 1995 registered already the im pact of the system ic changes which started in 1990.

Figs. 2 and 3 indicate the shifts in the regional distribution of industrial and service jobs. They can be summarized in the following way: in general terms, the northern parts of Bohem ia and to a lesser degree of Moravia, started to loose in relative terms the industrial jobs, on the contrary a large and compact region of South Bohemia and South M oravia started to gain such jobs. Another looser seems to be a zone in eastern Moravia, along the borders with Slovakia. Here the split of Czechoslovakia can be one of the causes of such a decline. The developments in the service sector followed to a large extent the same spatial pattern. Nevertheless, in the area of services, still another trend has been registered, i.e. the rapid growth of jobs in services in the largest cities (Prague, Brno, Ostrava, Pilsen, Ceske Bude- jovice, Hradec Krälove). The comparison of the two periods disclosed also some other, less general trends: the formation of new small industrial growth poles based on successful enterprises, like the growth of the M ladä Boleslav district where the Skoda cars are produced and assembled, the continuing attractiveness of old indus

trial centres like Pilsen, Ostrava, Brno or Zlfn.

6. Summary and discussion

In spite of the fact that some analysts refer to the relative rigidity of Czech industry, to the barriers of its structural transformation and especially to the strong stability of Czech heavy industry, the statistical data indicate a slowly proceeding kind of deindustrialization and rationalization leading to the reduction of jobs in industry and to a prolonged crisis of some industrial branches. The collapse of the communist system and the opening of the country to the world, triggered, however, some radical structural changes, which will be sooner or later reflected also in the regional patterns of industry. There exist first signs of processes which will start to restructure the spatial patterns formed in the past 150 years.

Our analysis at the same time hinted at some factors which - for better or worse - cushioned some of the negative social effects of restructuration of the Czech industry. Thanks to the existence of a specific settlement system, i.e. to the existence of a dense network of small and medium-sized towns as well as to the existence of a large num ber of industrial plants of a relative small size and, on the contrary, to the non-existence of too many large industrial plants, the systemic changes in the Czech economy after 1989, were absorbed by the existing social and settlement

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system without large shocks and mainly without large regional migrations of people.

On the contrary: the transformation of Czech economy and industry proceeds under a situation in which the migration of the population decreases. The growing inter

sectoral and social mobility is thus not leading to a growing geographic mobility.

This hints at a phenomenon, which can be described as a strong absorption capacity of the economic and settlement system of the Czech Republic. It seems that until now low level of unemployment belongs to the causes o f the fact that the migration of population is first of all caused by the pull effects, i.e. by the attractiveness of some regions and cities and not by the push effects, as e.g. high unem ploym ent rate in a region. To the main causes of the low mobility of the labour forces belongs most probably the contemporary housing shortage, which is caused by a considerable decline of housebuilding after 1989. There are, however, other factors which retard the m obility of Czech population. They are of a “softer” nature, but their impact can be quite considerable. They can be described as socio-cultural factors. They form an im portant part of the lower middle class value system - which is so typical for the Czechs - and to which belong: localism, attachment to a certain locality or region, and in general a kind of secularized traditionalism. Most Czechs do not like to move, to migrate.

In spite of all the mentioned factors which considerably slow down the regional restructuration of the Czech industry, all the three analyses which have been carried out by the author of this paper, and most o f the other analogous studies, have shown that in the Czech Republic some important long-term regional changes are already going on. To the most relevant belong: the m ore rapid industrial growth in the southern parts of the country, i.e. the share of these parts in the total industrial output of the Czech Republic increased from 37.4% in 1991 to 40.9% in 1995; deindus

trialization of Prague accompanied with a radical improvem ent of the econom ic and political position of the city; a trend towards forming a growth region in South Bohem ia based on the expansion of old industries as well as on new industry bran

ches, on growing tourism and on foreign investments and the interaction with nearby industry in Germany and Austria. In a less pronounced way sim ilar processes can be observed in some parts of the western Bohem ian region.

There is no doubt that the most difficult problems are facing some of the Socialist mono-industrial regions in Northern Bohemia. Other and older Czech industrial agglomerations are - compared with such regions like the U pper Silesian region, or Lorraine, or Ruhr region - relatively small and their industry was traditionally rather mixed. This heritage, this kind of industrial structure, stemming from the 19th- century industrialization, paradoxically helps to m anage the difficulties of restruc

turing the Czech industry in the present time.

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References

Hampl, M. et al., 1996. Geografickä organizace spolećnosti a transform aćm procesy v Ćeske republice [Geographic Organization o f Society and the Transform ation o f the Czech Republic]. Prague: Charles University.

Illner, M., 1997. “Regional Structure and Post-Com m unist Transform ation, the Case o f the Czech Repub

lic” , in M usil, J. and Strubelt, W. (eds.), op. cit., pp. 29—44.

KopaCka, L., 1994. “Industry in the Transition o f Czech Society and Econom y” , Geo-Journal, Vol. 32, No. 3: 207-214.

Kopacka, L., 1996. “Structural Changes o f Econom y in Relation to Industry” , in Ham pl, M. et al., op.

cit., pp. 219-237.

M usil, J., K otacka, L. and R ysavy, Zd., 1997. “Regional E ffects o f the T ransform ation Processes in the Czech Republic after 1989”, in Becker, A. (ed.), Regionale Strukturen im Wandel. Opladen:

Leske, Budrich.

M usil, J. and Strubelt, W. (eds.), 1997. R äum liche A usw irkungen des Transform ationsprozesses in D eutschland und bei den östlichen Nachbarn. Opladen: Leske, Budrich.

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Social Factors

of Unemployment Growth in Industrialized Regions in the Czech Republic

Tomäs Sirovatka

Masaryk University Brno

1. Introduction

A low unem ployment rate, which unlike the other post-com m unist countries the Czech Republic has maintained, is one of the conditions for the sustainability of economic reform. Unemployment is putting little pressure on government budget, and is not producing social unrest. The com plex of economic and social factors that contributed to the “Czech paradox” of low unem ploym ent has more than once been assessed (cf. e.g. with, Możny, 1994; OECD, 1995).

2. Economic transformation and prospects for the labour market

2.1. Overall developments in the field of employment

The labour market in the Czech Republic reacted in quite an unexpected way to the im pact of market transformation. Firstly the decrease in em ploym ent sig

nificantly lagged behind the drop in production. Even though the size o f gross domestic product is evidently underrated here, in particular because it does not include the im portant contribution of the “grey econom y” (according to some es

timates this could make up as much as a quarter of gross domestic product); it is evident that in the course of transform ation the decline in gross dom estic product showed itself only partly in a decrease in employm ent and even less in the growth of unemployment. In total, from 1989 to 1995, employm ent decreased by about 7.2 %. If we compare, aware of the sim plifications involved, the m ovem ent of

Social aspects of reconstruction of old industrial regions in Europe

Social Aspects of Reconstruction

of Old Industrial Regions in Europe

Kazimiera Wódz, editor

Social Aspects of Reconstruction of Old Industrial Regions

in Europe

Prace Naukowe Uniwersytetu Śląskiego

w Katowicach

nr 1722

Social Aspects of Reconstruction

of Old Industrial Regions in Europe

Kazimiera Wódz, editor

Contents

Editor’s Note

Od Redaktora

Vom Herausgeber

Old and New Industrial Regions in the Czech Republic

Jiri Musil

1. A short summary of the systemic

changes in the Czech Republic after 1989

2. Main trends in the sectorial structure of Czech economy

3. The changes inside the sector of industry

4. The impact of transformation on the regional patterns of industry

5. Changing shares of employees in industry and services according to regions

6. Summary and discussion

References

Social Factors

of Unemployment Growth in Industrialized Regions in the Czech Republic

Tomäs Sirovatka

1. Introduction

2. Economic transformation and prospects for the labour market

2.1. Overall developments in the field of employment