The Aftermath of the 19th Conference of the CPSU: A Soviet Economy Roundtable

The aftermath of the 19th Conference of the Communist Party, held in Moscow from June 28 to July 1, 1988, is analyzed by eight Western observers. The discussion covers impacts of the Conference on Soviet society and abroad, General Secretary Gorbachev's speech at the Central Committee Plenum on July 29, 1988, and reviews results of his policies since 1985. It proceeds to look at the current transitional period of Soviet reforms, including the formation of new enterprise forms and horizontal links in the economy. Finally, the discussants view prospects for political and economic development in the future. journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: 052, 124, 113.     

Budget Deficit,Market Disequilibrium and Soviet Economic Reforms

Problems within the present fiscal and monetary system of the USSR are examined (a) as a function of both past systemic shortcomings and of fiscal developments caused by economic reforms enacted to date and (b) as obstacles that must be overcome during the transition to a more market-oriented economy. Major sources of disequilibrium in the present economy are identified through analysis of Soviet budgets from both the reform and pre-reform periods, and a concluding section presents policy options for the period of transition to a more radical economic reform. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: 027, 124, 300.     

Reviews

R. W. Davies, The Industrialisation of Soviet Russia 1. The Soviet Offensive: The Collectivisation of Soviet Agriculture, 1929–1930. London: The Macmillan Press Ltd., 1980, xxi+491 pp., twenty tables. £20.00.

The Industrialisation of Soviet Russia 2. The Soviet Collective Farm, 1929–1930. London: The Macmillan Press Ltd., 1980. x + 216 pp., nine tables. £20.00.

Zdeně'k Mlynár, Night Frost in Prague. The End of Humane Socialism. London: C. Hurst & Co., 1980. 300 pp. £9.50.

Alistair McAuley, Economic Welfare in the Soviet Union: Poverty, Living Standards and Inequality. Hemel Hempstead: George Allen & Unwin Ltd., 1979 and Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin Press, 1979. xix + 389pp. £15.00.

Nicolas Spulber, Organizational Alternatives in Soviet‐type Economies. London: C.U.P., 1979, x + 290 pp, index. £15.00.

J. H. Moore, Growth with Self‐Management: Yugoslav Industrialization 1952–1975. Stanford, California: Hoover Institution Press, 1980. xvi + 334 pp. $17.95.

Richard K. Ashley, The Political Economy of War and Peace. The Sino‐Soviet‐American Triangle and the Modern Security Problematique. London: Frances Pinter (Publishers) Ltd., New York: Nichols Publishing Company, 1980. xv + 384 pp. £15.

Boris Komarov (pseud.), The Destruction of Nature in the Soviet Union. Foreword by Marshall I. Goldman. White Plains, New York: M. E. Sharpe,* 1980. x+150pp. $15.00.

George Katkov, The Kornilov Affair: Kerensky and the Break‐up of the Russian Army. London and New York: Longman, 1980. xiv + 210 pp. £4.95 paper.     

A Survey Analysis of University-Technology Transfer in Israel: Evaluation of Projects and Determinants of Success

The purpose of this study is to examine how technology transfer organizations (TTOs) at Israeli universities evaluate projects and how they perceive the success or failure of these projects once they are selected. We also analyze whether the criteria they use are similar to those employed by venture capitalists and MIT. We find that the decision criteria used by Israeli universities are similar to those employed by venture capitalists and by the relatively entrepreneurially-focused TTO at MIT. The perceived success of a technology transfer project is strongly related to the quality and motivation of the project team. Dimotech, an Israeli TTO that is focused on entrepreneurial startups, appears to place a stronger emphasis on the characteristics of the individuals involved in launching a new venture than the other Israeli TTOs, which are focused on licensing.     

Individual age determination using growth rings in the cementum of buried human teeth

Incremental lines of the dental cementum were used for individual age determination in 102 teeth. 66 of them come from different historic periods, 15 teeth were cremated. 36 modern teeth of known age were use as controls. The incremental lines were investigated by use of 100 microns thin cross-sections of the root. Age determination by this method was possible in every tooth, independent of incinaration of various burial conditions. The individual age was determined by adding the mean value of the repeatedly counted incremental lines to the sex-specific eruption age of the tooth in question. Since average deviation from known age is +/- 3.23 years only, counting the incremental lines represent a very advantageous, quantitative method for individual age determination.     

"Constrained" Constitutional Courts as Conduits for Democratic Consolidation

Many constitutional courts, particularly in Central and Eastern Europe, have more power than the "constrained court" model of judicial decisionmaking suggests because they operate in an increasingly international environment. By analyzing the Estonian Supreme Court's adjudication of minority linguistic rights, we show how even a new court can act as a "conduit" for democratic reform by identifying for legislators national constitutional paths along which domestically disliked but internationally defined democratic reforms can be pursued, preserving national integrity while acknowledging international reality. International pressures, while constraining courts, thus can free them from national constraints while allowing them to imprint their own vision.