Changing Role of Services in the Socialist Countries of Eastern Europe

Abstract

Development of the service sector in the socialist countries of Eastern Europe has up to now been substantially affected by the domination of a so-called Smith-Marx-Lenin theorem under which a large part of the service sector is considered to be ‘non-productive’. It has resulted in a clear under-development of the service sector in the national economies of these countries. This is well illustrated by the figures on sectoral structure of GDP, distribution of fixed capital assets, investment outlays and employment. Recently, however, the perception of services seems to have undergone considerable change and there is a growing concern in most of the said countries about the further development of services. It has its grounds in both internal and external factors.