Economic Reforms In The Soviet Union And Eastern Europe Since The 1960s

The author discusses the traditional system of management of the economy as it existed in the early 1950s in the USSR and goes on to deal with the reforms of the 1960s and of the 1980s, country by country. He shows that the focus of the reforms is on finding a proper combination of planning and the market mechanism, and their success will be judged by their ability to solve acute economic problems.

The author discusses the traditional system of management of the economy as it existed in the early 1950s in the USSR and goes on to deal with the reforms of the 1960s and of the 1980s, country by country. He shows that the focus of the reforms is on finding a proper combination of planning and the market mechanism, and their success will be judged

This book discusses the evolution of ideas about the desirable combination of planning and market in the former Soviet Union, Poland, Czechoslovakia and Hungary since the 1960s, when major economic reforms started, up to 1991 when the countries have been engaged in a transformation of their economies into market economies. It also discusses the common and contrasting features of the debates which evolved in the countries under review.

Economic reform, structural adjustment, macroeconomic stabilization, and participation in the world economy are interconnected aspects of the same issue: the long-term economic viability of centrally planned economies in the rapidly changing economic environment of the modern world. Any economic strategy that focuses on only one or two of these aspects at the expense of the others is likely to fail; yet even strategies that build on all of these bases may well fail unless political leaders can muster exceptional skill, garner international support, and enjoy some good luck. The contributions to this volume reflect the recent research on this issue by various specialists on the economies of the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. Each author emphasizes macroeconomic stabilization, structural adjustment, participation in the larger world economy, or ecomonic reform.

The contributors to this volume analyze the rise of the socialist welfare system, its advantages and disadvantages. The main focus of the volume is the analysis of the changes carried out and also those expected in the welfare system in the USSR, Poland and Hungary as a result of economic reforms.

Compilation of papers on the reform of the economic systems of planned economy in Eastern European countries and the USSR - includes papers on the effects of political ideology on the soviet system, the economic reforms of 1965 and 1968 in Bulgaria, the obstacles to economic development in Czechoslovakia, management and marketing reforms in Hungary, changes in the economic planning systems of Poland, Romania and Yugoslavia, etc. References.

Analyzes the interaction between Eastern European and Soviet political and economic reform, emphasizing Soviet actions under the present regime. It deals with the consolidation of party power, the attempts to legitimize authority, new Soviet rules and procedures, and various philosophies of reform.

Monograph of selected conference papers on economic development in the USSR and in Eastern European socialist countries - covers economic administration reforms (incl. Political aspects and social implications), research and development and the impact of technological change, income distribution, etc. Flow charts, graphs, references and statistical tables. Conference held in banff 1974 September 4 to 7.

Can the economies of Eastern Europe make the dramatic transition from centrally planned to market-led economies? This is one of the most important and topical issues to arise from the events of 1989-90. Prior to the failure of communism in the Eastern Bloc, reform-minded economists had experimented with the concepts of 'market socialism' which presented no real challenge to the basics of the Soviet-type system. However, those same economists are now formulating radical proposals for de-regulation, privatization and political democratization. Reform and Transformation in Eastern Europe tries to understand the intellectual background that changed these 'reformers' into 'transformers' and examines the problems of managing this dramatic transition. It demonstrates the rediscovery of economic liberalism in Eastern Europe and provides a fresh look at economics in this area. The book is also theoretically important. 'Reform economics' is treated as a legitimate scientific problem in the history of economic thought, rather than an obscure ideological corollary of practical reform making, as it is usually considered. The contributors include some of the most distinguished economists and policy makers in Europe. The book examines its subject from three perspectives--Western liberal economics (the likely future); Stalinism (the past); and the prospects for successful transition. Reform and Transformation in Eastern Europe offers a distinctive insight into one of the major issues facing the new governments of Eastern Europe.

Eastern Europe faces a 'time of troubles' more serious than at any time since 1956. The proximate causes are economic. To be sure, we have heard dire economic predictions about Eastern Europe before. But the fact remains that economic growth in the region declined from 7.3 percent yearly in the first half of the 1970s to 4 percent yearly in the second half of the decade to negative growth after 1980. It has been argued that the East European economic slowdown would have occurred much more precipitously had it not been for three factors: periodic investment campaigns at lower stages of development; Soviet trade and other subsidies beginning in the 1960s; and cheap Western credits in the 1970s. By the end of the 1970s, these palliatives lost much of their effectiveness. The East European economies had, by and large, exhausted the potential of extensive development, and thus a boost in investment (a proven instrument for improving the performance of centrally planned economies at lower levels of development) was less effective than it had been in earlier economic downturns. The associated rigidities of the East European economic mechanisms hampered (in comparison with other economic systems at comparable stages of economic development) adjustment to the second international economic 'shock' of the late 1970s. Soviet trade subsidies, especially for energy imports, were reduced. And Western credits became more expensive and then dried up.