Soviet Economic Reforms Since Stalin: Ideology,Politics, and Learning

An American political scientist reinterprets the politics of economic reform in the USSR from 1953 to 1991. The paper offers an integrated explanation for three features of reform policies: their reappearance during periods of political succession; their persistent partiality; and their radicalization over time. The explanation focuses on the interaction over time among political competition, ideology, and collective learning. Reasoning leads to conclusions that a consensus on the superiority of a market economy finally emerged within the Soviet leadership in 1990, but that the learning process has not resulted in a consensus on strategies and costs of transition, journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: 040, 052.     

Soviet Assessments of Economic Reforms in Other Socialist Countries

A prominent American economist pieces together and analyzes Soviet assessments of economic reforms in other socialist countries. Included in the author's analysis are studies of Soviet specialists investigating changes in the administrative organization of the state sector, planning, pricing, banking, labor, agriculture, nonstate activity, and foreign economic relations, within the framework of a socialist planned economy. Also covered are more recent Soviet studies focusing on privatization, marketization, and government regulation in the transition to a capitalist market economy—work that influenced decisions about economic reforms in the Soviet Union. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: P21, B20.     

东亚-北美经济失衡与再平衡分析

本文从国别结构和产品结构分析了20世纪90年代以来东亚—北美经济失衡的变化,认为美国贸易逆差不断扩大是其对外产业转移的结果,东亚地区贸易顺差与日俱增是其承接产业转移的结果。其中,东亚内部再次产业转移导致中国顺差迅速膨胀。为了实现东亚—北美经济再平衡,美国需要采取一些措施扩大出口,控制过度的信贷消费,并对美元采取更加负责的政策;东亚地区需要努力实现由外需驱动型向内需驱动型增长方式的转变,加快产业调整与升级,并把产业链向其他地区延伸。     

The Economic Consequences of Soviet Disintegration

A noted British economist and specialist in the affairs of the former USSR discusses the economic consequences of the disintegration that followed the coup d'etat in August 1991. The assessment begins with a look at inter-republican economic flows in an attempt to indicate the benefits, if any, derived by the individual republics from membership in a unified state. It follows with a brief overview of the “invisible” components of the balance of payments, deals with the gains and losses traced to the so-called common economic space, and sketches implications for the rest of the world. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: P20, F3, O1.     

Economic and Strategic Position Of the Soviet Far East

The role of the Soviet Far East in the Soviet regional system is conditioned by its remoteness from the country's commanding center, its harsh physical environment, and strategic importance. The region is weakly integrated into the mainstream of the Soviet economy. At the same time, its most powerful economic links are with the distant metropolis—a strongly dependent, parasitic relationship made more dominant by the cost of the massive military build-up. Huge Soviet efforts to accelerate the growth of the Far East are proving largely unsuccessful, despite the construction of the BAM. Economic priorities are shifting to West Siberia, while Far Eastern resource projects are proving increasingly unattractive to Japan. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: 052, 124, 731.     

Gorbachev at Two Years: Perspectives on Economic Reforms

This article examines how the Putin leadership, inspired by the example of Yuriy Andropov, has carried out a comprehensive "sovietization" of the Russian political system by systematically eliminating all alternative sources of power (governors, competitive elections, the media, and private business). Drawing on legislation, the press, and data about the backgrounds and career paths of the post-Soviet elite, the central institutions are compared with their Soviet predecessors and the implementation of this strategy is examined. The roles of military, security and other backgrounds are analyzed. The degree of influence likely to be wielded by the siloviki is also considered.     

Gorbachev's Economic Reform: A Soviet Economy Roundtable

The proceedings of a panel of American specialists devoted to the recent economic reform are summarized. The panelists noted that the most substantial changes to date have accompanied efforts to restructure the decisionmaking hierarchy—in particular, a recentralization of authority through the creation of biuros and state committees and legislation on individual economic activity. Changes in the systems of economic planning and incentives, on the other hand, have been minor, suggesting a continuing debate over the extent to which price reform and various economic incentives should be implemented. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: 052, 113, 124.     

Soviet Electric Power After Chernobyl': Economic Consequences and Options

A review of the role of nuclear power in Soviet electricity production and of economic and design factors that may have contributed to the accident at the Chernobyl' Atomic Power Station sets the stage for analysis of its economic and other impacts on the USSR and Eastern Europe. The paper outlines methods for estimating direct costs stemming from lost generating capacity, agricultural output, and plant infrastructure; clean-up and relocation; and medical care. Longer-term costs in the form of environmental and public health problems, reexamination of energy development strategies, and effects on international trade will be greater but more difficult to determine. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: 027, 124, 723.     

Soviet Union and the Third World: The Economic Dimension

This paper surveys some of the outstanding issues and changes in the economic dimension of Soviet involvement in the non-communist Third World over the last 30 years. It attempts to identify and integrate salient features of current knowledge about Soviet economic policy toward the less developed countries. After a survey of the evolution of Soviet arms transfers and economic aid and trade relations, the paper concludes with some reflections on the effectiveness of Soviet policy and prospects for future change. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: 124, 420.     

The Soviet Periphery: Economic Development of Belorussia

This paper analyzes the development of Belorussia, focusing upon its industrialization in the post-war period. Belorussia has changed from a lesserdeveloped part of the Soviet periphery to one of the USSR's more developed regions. This has been the result of a number of locational advantages for certain types of industry, particularly machine-building and chemicals. Its experience is similar to the U.S. periphery, and in conformity with Western regional development models, but apparently a typical of most of the Soviet periphery. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: 052, 124, 940.     

An Empirical Analysis of Soviet Economic Relations with Developing Countries

Soviet trade with the developing countries is analyzed using formal statistical techniques. Soviet imports of primary products are found to grow more rapidly but to be no more stable than imports of these products by market economies. Evidence is found of Soviet price discrimination in trade in favor of LDC members of the CMEA and against LDCs with which it has bilateral clearing agreements (BCAs). BCAs are correlated with greater trade volumes, relatively diverse export structures and more stable LDC exports to the Soviet Union. No evidence exists that Soviet aid deliveries are linked systematically with later Soviet imports. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: 124, 421, 443     

The Gender Deficit: Everyday Practices of Differentiation in the Chilean Labour Market

We focus on the reproduction of gender inequality in the labour market, analysing everyday practices of social boundary demarcation that exclude women from accessing resources at work. We argue that women's diminished position in the labour market – or gender deficit – is a result of taken‐for‐granted, day‐to‐day practices, conditioning the distribution of resources. Taking Chilean professional women as a case study, we focus on labour market practices that uphold gendered evaluation criteria, reproduce social classifications, and engender exclusion through social boundary work that limits women's access to labour market benefits and rewards.     

Comment on the Economic Dimension of Soviet Interaction With the Third World

This article looks at collective memory formation—the study of monuments, memory, and public space—through a political science lens. An explicit theoretical focus on power relations in "monumental politics" and a methodological approach featuring large-N comparative analysis are combined to examine the process of monument creation, destruction, and alteration. Using a new database on monuments in 26 post-communist states over a 25-year period, patterns of monument transformation are identified, and official and private efforts to transform monuments are systematically compared across different regime types. The complex implications of private provision and alteration of monuments is also discussed.     

Approaches to the Politics of Systemic Economic Reform in the Soviet Union

Political support for economic reform in the USSR is evaluated at five different levels of Soviet society, or more properly, of the political-administrative hierarchy: the top leader (Gorbachev himself), the collective leadership (Politburo), the bureaucracy, knowledge specialists (intelligentsia), and the population at large. Attitudes and motivations within each group are examined in order to demonstrate how interest group relations in the Soviet Union have made and will continue to make basic economic change a protracted, complex, and unpredictable process. journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: 052, 113.     

苏联对战后经济重建的思考——迈斯基关于战后英、美经济政策的报告

二战后期和战后初期,在构建关于战后世界政治安排的同时,苏联领导人也非常关注在战后同美英发展经济关系的问题.迈斯基向莫洛托夫提交的关于战后美英经济政策的报告正是在这种情况下制订出来的.在这两份报告中,迈斯基对战后美英的经济政策以及苏美和苏英经济关系进行了深刻的分析,他提出的关于苏联与美英发展经济关系的构想,对当时苏联领导人在战后与美英发展经济关系等问题上的认识产生了影响,并且这种构想与苏联领导人在战后初期奉行的大国合作战略以及关于国内经济重建问题的一些思考是一致的.     

Democratic Deficit, the Global Trade System and 11 September

This short paper examines the Howard government's engagement with the World Trade Organization through the prism of two events: the S11 anti-globalisation protests and the 11 September terrorist attacks against the United States. Several policy dilemmas are highlighted including: concerns about the accountability and legitimacy of global political institutions (democratic deficit); the government's reluctance to expand public participation in trade policy-making; and the preference for bilateral rather than multilateral trade agreements. Together these developments have undermined Australia's commitment to multilateralism and a "rules-based" system for international trade, and have subjected Australia to the asymmetries of power that were traditionally mitigated by global political institutions.     

World Bank, Governance Reforms and Democracy in Argentina

The World Bank's endorsement in the 1990s of institutional reforms as a constitutive dimension of economic development led to the adoption of a governance agenda. The paper analyses the role the Bank exercised in Argentina and explains its influence in the adoption of a new state model, of new state civil society relations and on particular key components of democracy. This paper argues that while the Bank has helped to set up an agenda of reform regarding governance problems, the push for particular policies and practices has also produced partial and contradictory results on the consolidation of democracy.     

新经济政策时期苏联社会组织管理体制的初创与确立

新经济政策时期是苏俄社会组织发展的“黄金时代”,苏维埃国家在这一时期探索建立社会组织管理体制.1921年3月-1924年5月,社会组织管理体制初创,建立了宪法框架下社会组织部分自治的管理体制.从1924年5月至1928年2月,随着在经济领域运用市场经济机制措施的收缩,开始构建苏共主导型的社会组织管理体制.1930年8月通过了关于社会组织的新的条例,明确地将社会组织的宗旨与苏联社会主义的战略目标联系在一起.该条例的颁布和实行,标志着宪法框架下部分自治的管理体制终结,苏共主导型的社会组织管理体制确立.新经济政策时期社会组织管理体制的初创与确立,是年轻的苏维埃国家摸索和建立治理国家模式,从相对分权到中央集权的一个缩影和组成部分.