ABSTRACT
About 1.6 billion of the world's population of 5.1 billion (mid-1988) reside in the 14 socialist countries studied and this is leaving aside others such as Nicaragua, Burma, Kampuchea, Laos, and Ethiopia, which could justifiably be included within the fold. The traditional Soviet economic model was initially imposed upon or adopted by them all regardless of circumstances, but today there is a perhaps surprising variety of economic systems to be found. The planning changes are not easy to summarize, but a crude ranking may be attempted. Czechoslovakia and Bulgaria are dragging their feet, while the GDR and Romania are the most reluctant to introduce radical reforms. Some of the reasons for the reforms have been spelled out in detail, such as the infamous micro-economic problems, the ‘scattering’ of investment resources, and declining rates of growth, but stress should also be laid on the exogenous pressure exerted by the achievements of the leading Western countries.
