| Abstract: | The emergence of four essentially new social groups within the Soviet Union is examined in terms of its potential impacts on economic restructuring. The argument is advanced that groups of predominantly urban, professional or paraprofessional, and well educated workers will be more favorably disposed than the population as a whole to increases in material incentives, to glasnost', and to heightened participation in workplace decision making embodied in Gorbachev's reforms. It is suggested that the growing importance of these new groups in an economy undergoing structural change may strengthen the base of political support for perestroyka. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: 052, 113. |
