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De l’économie de la pénurie à l’économie politique du communisme. Sur l’évolution récente de la pensée économique de Janos Kornai : 1980-1996
[Economics of Shortage and Political Economy of Communism Evolution of the Economic Thought of Janos Kornai ( 1980- 1996)]

Author

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  • Vahabi, Mehrdad

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to analyse the genesis and the evolution of the econom­ ics of shortage in Janos Kornai's writings from 1980 (the date of publication of Economics of Shortage) up to 1996 (the date of publication of the trench edition of The Socialist System, the Political Economy of Communism [1992/). The formation and the evolution of Budapest school of economics in general and that of J. Kornai in particular reflect the successive stages of reform movement in the Soviet type societies. Thenceforth, the writings of Kornai ruminating upon a general swing spreading all over Poland, Hungary, and Checkoslovakia can be considered as the intellectual preparation to the recent revolutions in Eastern countries. The theory of shortage, explicating the shortage as the normal state of socialist system, is based on an institutional approach. In this framework, the shortage is captured, in the last analysis, as the outcome of deep institutional causes such as paternalism, the predominance of state property, the undivided power of communist party, and its official ideology. Thence, the end of shortage economy has to be viewed as the main achievement of the post-socialist transition.

Suggested Citation

  • Vahabi, Mehrdad, 1997. "De l’économie de la pénurie à l’économie politique du communisme. Sur l’évolution récente de la pensée économique de Janos Kornai : 1980-1996 [Economics of Shortage and Political Economy of Communi," MPRA Paper 80026, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 1997.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:80026
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. János Kornai, 1983. "The Health of Nations: Reflections on the Analogy Between the Medical Science and Economics," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(2), pages 191-212, May.
    2. Vahabi, Mehrdad, 1998. "The Relevance of the Marshallian Concept of Normality in Interior and Inertial Dynamics as Revisited by Shackle and Kornai," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 22(5), pages 547-572, September.
    3. Kornai, J, 1979. "Resource-Constrained versus Demand-Constrained Systems," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 47(4), pages 801-819, July.
    4. Kornai, Janos, 1992. "The Socialist System: The Political Economy of Communism," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198287766.
    5. Kornai, Janos, 1986. "The Hungarian Reform Process: Visions, Hopes, and Reality," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 24(4), pages 1687-1737, December.
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    9. Mehrdad Vahabi, 1998. "The Relevance of the Marshallian Concept of Normality in Interior and in Inertial Dynamics as Revisited by G. SHACKLE and J. KORNAI," Post-Print hal-00629181, HAL.
    10. Schumpeter, Joseph A., 1947. "The Creative Response in Economic History," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 7(2), pages 149-159, November.
    11. Weitzman, Martin L., 1993. "Economic transition: Can theory help?," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 37(2-3), pages 549-555, April.
    12. Qian, Yingyi & Xu, Cheng-Gang, 1993. "Why China's economic reforms differ: the m-form hierarchy and entry/expansion of the non-state sector," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 3755, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    13. Kornai, Janos, 1988. "Individual freedom and reform of the socialist economy," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 32(2-3), pages 233-267, March.
    14. Gomulka, S, 1985. "Kornai's Soft Budget Constraint and the Shortage Phenemenon: A Criticism and Restatement," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 19(1), pages 1-11.
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    Cited by:

    1. Mehrdad Vahabi, 1999. "From Walrasian General Equilibrium to Incomplete Contracts: Making Sense of Institutions," Post-Print halshs-03704424, HAL.
    2. Mehrdad Vahabi, 2001. "The Soft Budget Constraint: A Theoretical Clarification," Post-Print hal-00629160, HAL.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Economics of Shortage; Socialist system; Kornai thought; Economic reforms; Soft budget Constraints;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • B3 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought: Individuals
    • D5 - Microeconomics - - General Equilibrium and Disequilibrium
    • P2 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Socialist and Transition Economies
    • P3 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Socialist Institutions and Their Transitions

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