Modernisation Theory, Income Evaluation, and the Transition in Eastern Europe

This paper investigates perceptions and evaluations of the distribution of income in Eastern Europe before (1987) and after (1992) the "velvet revolutions" of 1989. These are compared to perceptions and evaluations in the West over the same period. Following suggestions in the recent literature that the transformation process in Eastern Europe can best be interpreted as a process of ongoing modernisation, modernisation theory is adopted as the theoretical framework. Hypotheses derived from modernisation theory are tested using data stemming from the International Social Survey Programme.