Alternative strategies of economic development have received little attention in the literature. Academics rarely compare certain strategic features or assess the performance of different strategies in terms of outcomes. This book seeks to address that gap and to provide a theoretical background to the shift from industry to human capital-intensive services as the engine of economic growth. Pioneering studies reveal interesting trends and patterns that point to the growing importance of intangible capital for the level of GDP. They also indicate a much greater role of economic freedom in bringing about this second great structural change than was the case with industrialization. With this perspective on structural change and the role of freedom, Shortcut or Piecemeal also provides an extensive assessment of four key developing countries: Brazil, Russia, India, and China. ÿ
This thought-provoking book considers the global challenges and challengers to the economic supremacy of the West. Jan Winiecki explores the various problems that the West must deal with in order to remain an efficient competitor in the world economy. These, he argues, are primarily consequences of the ever-expanding welfare state; consequences that are not only economic but also socio-psychological and, therefore, political. The author also considers the evolution of Western Europe and the USA from a new perspective, noting the ÔEuropeanizationÕ of US economic policies and regulation and of ÔAmericanizationÕ of polices and regulation in some European countries. The book concludes that the main challengers to the West Ð Brazil, Russia, India and China (the so-called BRIC group of countries) Ð are unlikely to gain economic supremacy over the West any time soon given that they have their own difficulties to contend with. Economic Futures of the West will prove a stimulating and challenging read for academics, researchers and students in the fields of economics, heterodox economics and development.
First published in 1987, this is an analysis of the contemporary breakdown of political and economic systems within the Eastern European communist countries. Rather than passively following the developments of this crisis, the author seeks instead to identify the reasons for failure and to examine alternative policies that offer solutions to these problems. Jan Winiecki’s work offers a comparative study of the Soviet-type economies of the East with the market economies of the West; providing a cause and effect analysis of each model, with possible scenarios for their future prospects.
First published in 1991, this book uses a property rights perspective to analyse why there is such widespread resistance to change in the Soviet Economic System. Many within the ruling stratum benefit considerably from their positions, particularly in terms of access to goods and services. In an original conclusion Jan Winiecki argues that a cost-effective way of removing the resistance of the parasitic ruling stratum would be a system of compensatory payments.
First published in 1997, this collection of articles and essays analyses the political economy of reform and change in Eastern Europe during the years of Gorbachev’s perestroika and the years immediately following the fall of the Berlin wall and the collapse of the Soviet Union. Written by Polish economist Jan Winiecki, between 1984 and 1996, this work explores the issue of the feasibility of reform and change during the period of decline and collapse of communist economic order and, later, the emergence of the capitalist economic order in the post-communist Eastern Europe. Split into three parts, the work considers firstly the failures of Gorbachev’s political economy of reform, secondly the determining factors in the collapse of the Soviet system, and finally the feasibility of the systematic change which began in the wake of its collapse.
The Soviet Union and Eastern Europe provide unique examples of large-scale relatively highly developed centrally planned economies. In the 1980s economists in both the East and West began to focus with increasingly critical attention on the economies of the Soviet Bloc, in an attempt to explain why they were performing so poorly in comparison with the economies of the Western powers and the capitalist countries of South-East Asia. First published in 1988 this substantial and innovative contribution to the critical literature on the economies of the former Soviet bloc is unusual in that its author is equally familiar with both Western and Eastern sources. It highlights, in particular, a discrepancy between the behaviour of individuals in Soviet-style economies and that expected of agents in a market system. It proceeds to outline how the consequent discordance between microeconomic practice and macroeconomic planning generates fundamental economic distortions.
How successful has the transition to market economies proved in East-Central Europe? The decision by the East European countries to move to market economies was accompanied by much hypothesising and expounding of economic theories. However, now that the initial euphoria has passed it is time for a rational assessment of this transition and the success of those theories in practice. Since the more economically advanced countries are situated in East Central Europe, Jan Winiecki and Andrzej Kondratowicz have focused their study on Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland and (former) Yugoslavia. The authors present a systematic account of macroeconomic developments and institutional changes. They assess progress, dealing with the determinants of output, macro policies, wage, price and employment issues and the external balance.
Most books on transition economies concentrate on their internal fortunes. Few have analysed the effect that the change in the system has had on foreign trade and export performance - this new book redresses that balance.
First published in 1987, this is an analysis of the contemporary breakdown of political and economic systems within the Eastern European communist countries. Rather than passively following the developments of this crisis, the author seeks instead to identify the reasons for failure and to examine alternative policies that offer solutions to these problems. Jan Winiecki’s work offers a comparative study of the Soviet-type economies of the East with the market economies of the West; providing a cause and effect analysis of each model, with possible scenarios for their future prospects.
Most books on transition economies concentrate on their internal fortunes. Few have analysed the effect that the change in the system has had on foreign trade and export performance - this new book redresses that balance.
How successful has the transition to market economies proved in East-Central Europe? The decision by the East European countries to move to market economies was accompanied by much hypothesising and expounding of economic theories. However, now that the initial euphoria has passed it is time for a rational assessment of this transition and the success of those theories in practice. Since the more economically advanced countries are situated in East Central Europe, Jan Winiecki and Andrzej Kondratowicz have focused their study on Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland and (former) Yugoslavia. The authors present a systematic account of macroeconomic developments and institutional changes. They assess progress, dealing with the determinants of output, macro policies, wage, price and employment issues and the external balance.
The Soviet Union and Eastern Europe provide unique examples of large-scale relatively highly developed centrally planned economies. In the 1980s economists in both the East and West began to focus with increasingly critical attention on the economies of the Soviet Bloc, in an attempt to explain why they were performing so poorly in comparison with the economies of the Western powers and the capitalist countries of South-East Asia. First published in 1988 this substantial and innovative contribution to the critical literature on the economies of the former Soviet bloc is unusual in that its author is equally familiar with both Western and Eastern sources. It highlights, in particular, a discrepancy between the behaviour of individuals in Soviet-style economies and that expected of agents in a market system. It proceeds to outline how the consequent discordance between microeconomic practice and macroeconomic planning generates fundamental economic distortions.
Alternative strategies of economic development have received little attention in the literature. Academics rarely compare certain strategic features or assess the performance of different strategies in terms of outcomes. This book seeks to address that gap and to provide a theoretical background to the shift from industry to human capital-intensive services as the engine of economic growth. Pioneering studies reveal interesting trends and patterns that point to the growing importance of intangible capital for the level of GDP. They also indicate a much greater role of economic freedom in bringing about this second great structural change than was the case with industrialization. With this perspective on structural change and the role of freedom, Shortcut or Piecemeal also provides an extensive assessment of four key developing countries: Brazil, Russia, India, and China. Subjects: 1. Central planning—History. 2. Economic development—History
This thought-provoking book considers the global challenges and challengers to the economic supremacy of the West. Jan Winiecki explores the various problems that the West must deal with in order to remain an efficient competitor in the world economy. These, he argues, are primarily consequences of the ever-expanding welfare state; consequences that are not only economic but also socio-psychological and, therefore, political. The author also considers the evolution of Western Europe and the USA from a new perspective, noting the ÔEuropeanizationÕ of US economic policies and regulation and of ÔAmericanizationÕ of polices and regulation in some European countries. The book concludes that the main challengers to the West Ð Brazil, Russia, India and China (the so-called BRIC group of countries) Ð are unlikely to gain economic supremacy over the West any time soon given that they have their own difficulties to contend with. Economic Futures of the West will prove a stimulating and challenging read for academics, researchers and students in the fields of economics, heterodox economics and development.
First published in 1991, this book uses a property rights perspective to analyse why there is such widespread resistance to change in the Soviet Economic System. Many within the ruling stratum benefit considerably from their positions, particularly in terms of access to goods and services. In an original conclusion Jan Winiecki argues that a cost-effective way of removing the resistance of the parasitic ruling stratum would be a system of compensatory payments.
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