DISTRIBUTION OF INCOMES IN EASTERN-EUROPE

The data from national surveys carried out in six East European countr ies are employed to reveal patterns of distribution of incomes. The un derlying assumption is that rules of distribution represent different stages of an exit from the command economy as well as advancement on t heir way to the market systems. Using the OLS regression models of inc omes I attempt to determine which countries are where on the scale of the systemic transition. I refer to the three sets of determinants of incomes, which serve as reference points in searching for signs of tra nsition, namely to: (i) variables affecting incomes in most universal way like family background, sex, place of residence and experience in the labour force, (ii) institutionally ingrained in the command econom y sectoral and industrial divisions, and (iii) meritocratic rules of d istribution, most representative of the market systems. The results sh ow that there are three leading countries on the path to the market ec onomy, i.e., Hungary, Czech Republic, and Poland. Russia locates on th e opposite pole as most deeply ingrained in the communist past.