The Nature of Socialist Economics : Lessons From Eastern European Foreign Trade

What are the sources of the well-known differences in the performance of capitalist and socialist economic systems? Peter Murrell argues that the Schumpeterian model has far more power to answer this question than does the neoclassical theory generally used for that purpose. The neoclassical theory focuses on the absence of a price system and the inability of a centralized system to allocate resources efficiently, while the Schumpeterian model emphasizes the rigidity of institutions and policies in socialist economies and their lack of mechanisms either to create new institutions or to identify and to foster the growth of the most efficient organizations (including multinational corporations). In a work that will have profound consequences for the analysis of economic reform in socialist economies, Murrell compares the predictions of these two models against data summarizing foreign trade performance and finds the Schumpeterian model clearly superior. Combining international trade theory and econometric techniques, the author develops new methods of comparative economic analysis. These methods provide new information on the values of eleven resource endowments implicit in trade, the degree to which the socialist countries fit standard models of trade, the effect of multinational corporations on trade, and myriad other features of economic performance. Originally published in 1990. The **Princeton Legacy Library** uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905. What are the sources of the well-known differences in the performance of capitalist and socialist economic systems? Peter Murrell argues that the Schumpeterian model has far more power to answer this question than does the neoclassical theory generally used for that purpose. The neoclassical theory focuses on the absence of a price system and the inability of a centralized system to allocate resources efficiently, while the Schumpeterian model emphasizes the rigidity of institutions and policies in socialist economies and their lack of mechanisms either to create new institutions or to identify and to foster the growth of the most efficient organizations (including multinational corporations). In a work that will have profound consequences for the analysis of economic reform in socialist economies, Murrell compares the predictions of these two models against data summarizing foreign trade performance and finds the Schumpeterian model clearly superior. Combining international trade theory and econometric techniques, the author develops new methods of comparative economic analysis. These methods provide new information on the values of eleven resource endowments implicit in trade, the degree to which the socialist countries fit standard models of trade, the effect of multinational corporations on trade, and myriad other features of economic performance. Originally published in 1990. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These paperback editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905 Contents List of Figures List of Tables Acknowledgments CHAPTER 1. An Overview of the Research, the Theories Underlying the Interpretation of the Results, and the Conclusions CHAPTER 2. The Variables Used in the Analysis: Their Properties and Sources of Data CHAPTER 3. International Trade Theory and the Centrally Planned Economies CHAPTER 4. Qualitative Information on Nonstandard Trade Determinants: Summary Statistics from Trade Data CHAPTER 5. The Econometrics of Estimating Endowments Implicit in Trade Decisions and Measuring Country Conformity to Trade Models CHAPTER 6. The Levels of Resource Endowments Implicit in Eastern European Trade Patterns: Estimates for Eleven Endowments CHAPTER 7. Measuring How Closely the Trade Patterns of Socialist and Capitalist Economies Fit Standard Trade Models EPILOGUE: The Results and Some Questions They Raise APPENDIX A: Do RCAs Reveal Comparative Advantage? APPENDIX B: Derivation of Equations Representing Trade Models APPENDIX C: Interpreting the Values of RCAs in the Presence of Intraindustry Trade APPENDIX D: Interpreting the Estimates in the Presence of Missing Data References Index