Transition economics
| Learning Objectives: Understand the socialist calculation debate. Consider the empirical record of different transition economies. |
| Lecture handout: Transition Calculation* |
The training scene from Rocky IV demonstrates the difference between the USSR (technologically sophisticated but lacking in heart) and the US (backward but free).
https://youtu.be/1oDTNEEu3Rw
- Audio: Planet Money, “Peanuts and Cracker Jack”
- What are the main factors that determine the earnings of a vendor?
- Why is it better to have the vendors decide on who does what, rather than senior management?
- How much entrepreneurial profit comes from working harder than others?
One of my favourite ruminations on the differences in economic systems.
- Further reading: “Havana or Prague” in Hitchens, Christopher, (2010) Hitch-22: A Memoir, New York: Twelve
| Lecture handout: Transition Shock* |
There’s a big difference between queuing for basic necessities, and queuing in excitement about the first McDonalds in Moscow:
| These resources form part of my Managerial Economics course map. You can watch the full YouTube playlist here. This page ties into Chapter 12 of ‘Economics: A Complete Guide for Business‘. |