Planning and market in Soviet and east European thought, 1960's-1992

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. 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 1992, when the countries became engaged in a transformation of their economies from 'socialist' to market economies. It also discusses the common and contrasting features of the debates in the countries mentioned. In the second half of the 1980s a revolutionary change occurred in economic thinking about the socialist system in the countries under review. Up to that time the vast majority of economists still believed in the reformability of the socialist system, but this belief was slowly replaced by a belief in a market economy. This book captures not only this dramatic turnaround in thinking, but also tries to explain the reasons behind it. The transition to a market economy, which is beset with formidable problems, has split the economic community, mainly into two groups: followers of shock treatment; and supporters of a gradual solution of the transformation problem. This study examines the diverse views on the transformation, and how the transformation itself is proceeding. Front Matter....Pages i-xviii Front Matter....Pages 1-1 Common and Contrasting Features of the Debates in the 1960s....Pages 3-24 The USSR....Pages 25-44 Czechoslovakia....Pages 45-63 Hungary....Pages 64-80 Poland....Pages 81-99 Front Matter....Pages 101-101 Common and Contrasting Features of the Debates in the 1980s and 1990–1992....Pages 103-121 Hungary....Pages 122-156 Poland....Pages 157-192 The USSR....Pages 193-230 Czechoslovakia....Pages 231-263 Front Matter....Pages 265-265 Observations....Pages 267-295 Back Matter....Pages 296-320 Discusses the evolution of ideas about the desirable combination of planning and market in the former USSR, Poland, Czechoslovakia and Hungary since the 1960s, when major economic reforms started, up to 1991 when the countries were engaged in a transformation of the economies into market economies