Le processus économique de reconversion et le rôle de l'État

Abstract

The economic process of conversion and the role of State. In a shortage economy, as in a decentralized economy, the specific nature of the defence sector is governed by the particular constraints faced by defence enterprises. Conversion can then be defined as a change of the institutional environment facing defence firms, from an environment characterized by bargaining over priorities into a competitive environment. However, in the case of Russia, conversion is taking place as the economic institutions of a decentralized economy are themselves still in the making. The specific defence institutional environment has a repercussion on the types of assets developed by defence firms. Competitive assets, especially technologies are over-developed. But technology is not the only determining factor of the conversion process. Entreprises have to develop their efficiency assets and get rid of their complementary assets. The role of the State is then to help firms in the process of conversion to overcome these difficulties. But State-action cannot only be defined in terms of the specific nature of the defence sector. Indeed, conversion is only an extreme case of any economic activity in a decentralized economy where decision-making is based on uncertain information. The role of the State is then to create the institutional and macro- economic environment facilitating appropriate decision-making. This involves establishing the rules of a decentralized economy and implementing economic and industrial policies. However, rule-making is problematical in Russia when the legitimacy of the State itself is in question.