The ratchet effect explains the resilience of economic elites, specifically the fact that many high-ranking decisionmakers (deputy managers) from pre-transition period remained in influential positions.

The ratchet effect describes situations in which managers prefer not to use up all opportunities for increasing output (and exceeding the original plan) as they are risk-averse and prefer to have reserve capacities for future plans. 

It was an effect typical for new owners of privatized companies right after voucher privatization, it was a strategy which helped the lucky few of them the majority control over privatized enterprises.

The ratchet effect describes situations in which managers volunteer to produce significantly more than they were supposed to produce and thus make plans harder to achieve.