Communist Friendship Ties in Creation of Human Capital During the Transition to Capitalism: The Case of Poland.

(Preliminary version. Do not quote) The role of social capital in an occupational attainment process has been widely discussed in the social sciences literature. However, there is a lack of an empirical research that examines the dynamics of social capital influence on occupational status during the transition from communism to capitalism. In this paper, I assume that certain friendship patterns considerably help in formation of assets that are useful on the job market. I test the hypotheses that the friendship ties established in communism era pay off in capitalism as they influence improving economic well-being, attaining better occupational positions, and becoming an entrepreneur. The survey panel data used in my analyses are drawn from the representative sample of adults in Poland; it covers three important time points: 1988, the beginning of the transformation; 1993, a middle of this process; and 1998, the advanced phase of transition. This research shows that the impact of having ”advantage ” friends at the end of communism era on the subsequent improvement in economic well-being belonging to the winners ’ category is strong and significant. In addition, the fact of being acquainted with an entrepreneur at the end of the initial phase of transition considerably influences the chances of becoming an entrepreneur in the advanced phase o