Measuring The Role Of The 1959 Revolution On Cubas Economic Performance

This paper quantitatively measures the impact of the 1959 Cuban revolution on the country's GDP per capita and exports. We use various policy evaluation methods to obtain a valid counterfactual of Cuba's GDP per capita after the revolution using other Latin American countries as control candidates. We find evidence that regarding both outcomes, the overall impact of the revolution was negative. We also document a negative effect of the economic embargo imposed by the United States and a sizable, positive effect of Cuba's trade agreement with the Soviet Union.

Monograph comprising an evaluation of economic growth, basic needs satisfaction and income distribution after the 1959 revolution in Cuba - discusses historical trends, growth rate measurement problems, economic structure changes, trade, industrial production, agricultural production, successes in reducing unemployment, poverty and regional disparities, etc. Bibliography pp. 212 to 232, graphs, map, references and statistical tables.

Analysts attempting to assess economic growth in revolutionary Cuba are faced with two formidable obstacles: (1) official macroeconomic indicators published by the government are scarce and sometimes inconsistent because of frequent changes in the method of calculation; and (2) these indicators are not compatible with those produced by market economies because of differences in national income concepts. Because of these obstacles, it is difficult to analyze the performance of Cuba’s economy over time and to compare its economic performance directly with that of other nations. Using a variant of the method developed by Abram Bergson to estimate the growth rates of the Soviet Union and subsequently applied to centrally planned economies in Eastern Europe, Jorge Perez-López has estimated the growth rate of the Cuban economy in real terms for the 1965–1982 period. His estimated indexes suggest that the Cuban economy expanded at a considerably slower pace than would be implied by official data. By constructing yardsticks of economic performance for revolutionary Cuba that are compatible with those used by Western nations, Perez-López provides for the first time a basis for analyzing the real growth of the Cuban economy during the revolutionary period.

This book is a study of Cuba's economic development under communism over the last fifty-five years. The authors find that Cuba's socioeconomic development has gone backward since the Cuban Revolution in 1959. The authors conclude that Fidel Castro's revolution has been an economic disaster for Cuba. The book first outlines Cuba's economic position prior to the revolution. It reviews Cuba's rankings with respect to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita in the 1950s and examines the strength of pre-Castro Cuba's foreign reserves and the health of its monetary system. It also presents pre-Castro Cuba's investments in health care and education and documents the island's development potential in the 1950s. The last few chapters describe the precipitous decline in all of these areas of Cuba's economy under Castro. Despite the socioeconomic catastrophe of the Castro years, the authors envision a post-Castro Cuba, where this book can provide a benchmark to measure the developmental success that the Cuban work-ethic and entrepreneurial spirit can generate in a free-market system.

“Frequent insights, stimulating historical comparisons, and command of the data relating to Cuba’s economic and social performance.” —Foreign Affairs Uncritically lauded by the left and impulsively denounced by the right, the Cuban Revolution is almost universally viewed one dimensionally. In this book, Samuel Farber, one of its most informed left-wing critics, provides a much-needed critical assessment of the Revolution’s impact and legacy. “The Cuban story twists and turns as we speak, so thank goodness for scholars such as Samuel Farber, an unapologetic Marxist whose knowledge of Cuban affairs is unrivalled . . . In this excellent, necessary book, Farber takes stock of fifty years of revolutionary control by recognizing achievements but lambasting authoritarianism.” —Latin American Review of Books “A courageous and formidable balance-sheet of the Cuban Revolution, including a sobering analysis of a draconian ‘reform’ program that will only deepen the gulf between revolutionary slogans and the actual life of the people.” —Mike Davis, author of Planet of Slums

Analysis of economic and social development trends in Cuba and the impact of the socialist revolution on economic growth, employment, consumption, income distribution and socio-economic conditions - examines the historical background, production indexes, economic indicators and estimates of gross domestic product, 1946-1981; studies dependence, structural change, basic needs, labour force and unemployment; includes statistical tables on foreign investment, industrial production, wages, growth rate, etc. Graphs.

This work addresses the whole spectrum of analyses of the Cuban experience and covers the entire period from the Revolutionary victory of 1959 to the present day. It attempts to anticipate future development of Cuban society.