Citation

Discussion Paper Details

Please find the details for DP10990 in an easy to copy and paste format below:

Full Details   |   Bibliographic Reference

Full Details

Title: Left Behind but Doing Good? Civic Engagement in Two Post-Socialist Countries

Author(s): Milena Nikolova, Monica Roman and Klaus F Zimmermann

Publication Date: December 2015

Keyword(s): civic engagement, international migration, left behind, post-socialism and social remittances

Programme Area(s): Labour Economics

Abstract: The fall of socialism in Central and Eastern Europe restored ordinary citizens? rights and freedoms and ended their political and social isolation. While the freedom of movement was quickly embraced, civil society revival lagged due to the eroded civic norms, declining social capital, and worsening economic conditions. In this paper, we examine the link between the out-migration of relatives and friends and the pro-social behavior of the left behinds in two post-socialist countries?Bulgaria and Romania?the EU?s poorest, unhappiest, and among the most corrupt members. We show that having close contacts abroad is consistently positively associated with civic engagement and that the cultural transmission of norms from abroad could be driving the results. Specifically, the strength of the civic engagement culture of the family or friend?s destination matters for the pro-social behavior of respondents in the home countries. Our results imply that the emigration of family and friends may have positive but previously undocumented consequences for the individuals and communities left behind in Bulgaria and Romania. Given civil society?s role for development in post-socialist Europe and the socio-economic and institutional challenges that Bulgaria and Romania face compared with the rest of the EU, understanding the channels fostering civil society and well-being are important for national and EU policymakers.

For full details and related downloads, please visit: https://cepr.org/active/publications/discussion_papers/dp.php?dpno=10990

Bibliographic Reference

Nikolova, M, Roman, M and Zimmermann, K. 2015. 'Left Behind but Doing Good? Civic Engagement in Two Post-Socialist Countries'. London, Centre for Economic Policy Research. https://cepr.org/active/publications/discussion_papers/dp.php?dpno=10990