Inequality and Stratification in the Transitions from Socialism by Ted Gerber and Michael Zaslavsky (2025)

The transitions from state socialism to market economies in the late twentieth century represented a profound transformation in virtually all aspects of the economic and social lives of the populations who experienced it. This chapter summarizes the voluminous literature that has arisen since the onset of market transitions, which has sought to describe, explain, and theorize changes in inequalities and social stratification within and between post-transition societies. After sketching a brief picture of the various macroeconomic trajectories of post-transition countries, the authors turn to the seminal Market Transition Theory (MTT) proposed by Victor Nee and evaluate it in light of empirical studies. They then review literature that has moved beyond the debate over MTT by considering other domains, sources, outcomes, and processes of inequality and social stratification. Although the MTT debate may have largely run its course by the early 2010s, it continues to influence the study of social stratification through its theorization of the relationships among economic structure, politics, and human capital. Additionally, the comparative scope of the field expanded drastically as researchers puzzled over the consequences of market transition. The heterogeneous inequality and social stratification trajectories of the countries in question suggest that there is still room to theorize divergent outcomes; students of social stratification may be assured that much remains to be learned about the effects of the transition from socialism.