This article asks: To what extent has the macro-economic crisis of national governments and financial institutions affected ordinary Europeans at the micro-economic level? The first section sets out hypotheses about which individual and national characteristics are most likely to influence...

In totalitarian systems informal social networks are very important as means of insulating individuals and families from pervasive repression by an intrusive state. This was particularly so in the Soviet Union, since in furtherance of the state's attempt to transform Russia, anti-modern means...

The economic crisis facing national governments is first of all a macro-economic crisis involving vast sums controlled by a small number of institutions, private as well as public, international as well as national. This analysis uses survey data to show that the micro-economic effects of the...

Major proponents and opponents of European integration debate issues in terms of absolute values and ideology. Pragmatism offers a third way: it judges specific policies on the basis of experience -- and after more than half a century there is a lot of EU experience to judge. It analyses the...