Introduction: a special issue in honoring Janos Kornai

Abstract

Janos Kornai is one of the leading economists of the twentieth century. Unfortunately, his interdisciplinary, systemic approach and the Austro-Hungarian convergence on the socialist calculation debate are not explored sufficiently by public choice scholars or by political scientists and economists more generally. The essays published herein try to fill the gaps. In doing so, we start by asking: what is the specific contribution of the eminent economist Janos Kornai to our discipline? The contributions demonstrate that no unique answer to that question is possible. However, despite the diversity of responses, they all converge on one point: Kornai contributes to our understanding of the consequences of an allegedly 'omnipresent' state.

Commissioned editorial commentary: exchange between Janos Kornai and Amartya Sen on Karl Marx

“…Although Kornai is influenced mostly by Marx (see Vahabi, 2019Vahabi, , 2021, he considers himself as an 'anti-Marxist' since in his eyes (Kornai, 2009), Marx bears the 'intellectual responsibility' for the political and economic system created by Lenin and Stalin in Russia and other ex-Socialist countries. Professor Sen is not supportive of an anti-Marxist position.…”

Governance Trends among New EU Member States: Is There Institutional Convergence?

“…The analysis performed in this paper shows that even after the second "convergence push" (after EU accession), the trends might be considered surprising, at least in the areas under the governance umbrella. The second convergence was about resilient linkages between market coordination on one side and private property rights on the other [7]. Under Kornai's so called affinity thesis, it is highlighted that the bureaucratic type of coordination has a natural affinity for state property, whereas market coordination has a natural affinity for private property [7,8].…”

“…The second convergence was about resilient linkages between market coordination on one side and private property rights on the other [7]. Under Kornai's so called affinity thesis, it is highlighted that the bureaucratic type of coordination has a natural affinity for state property, whereas market coordination has a natural affinity for private property [7,8]. In contrast, the link between market coordination and state property is weak.…”

In Janos Kornai’s memory

“…Reading Marx's Capital affected his way of thinking forever, even when he called himself "anti-Marxist" (Kornai, 2009). From a theoretical point of view, his two principal sources of inspiration were Marx and Hayek (Leeson, 2008;Vahabi, 2021aVahabi, , 2021b. In fact, he was influenced so greatly by Capital that he decided to become an economist (Sen 2020).…”

“…Moreover, the inconsistences of the half-measures would erode socialist systems, inevitably leading to revolution. (Vahabi, 2021a(Vahabi, , 2021b(Vahabi, , 2021c Kornai was both a true scholar and a committed public intellectual. He never lost his strong sense of observation and remained uninfluenced by doctrinal biases despite his moral commitment to democratic values.…”