Central Planning System Research Articles

The Global Manufacturer in Local Contexts: Power Engineering and Manufacturing Survival in the Former USSR

Western accounts of the industrial infrastructure of the former USSR have been frequently couched in terms of outmoded product design, particularly in the consumer goods sector; technological backwardness in processes and procedures, which can give rise to quality problems and environmental catastrophe; and difficulties in the assimilation of Western technologies. In the recent conditions of a transition economy, output has fallen to crisis levels partly because of high inflation, but also because fragmentation of the former Soviet Union has led to difficulties in access to markets and supplies. Furthermore, the size and vertically integrated structures of many factories in the region, previously developed in the central planning system to gain economies of scale and to assure continuities of supply, are now regarded as inflexible and inefficient for a privatised system of supply. These technological and structural conditions consequently give rise to concerns over the future lack of international competitiveness of industrial organisations in the former USSR and their associated effects on output and employment, with consequent effects on restrictions of access to welfare facilities in the region's transition economy.

Irrigation in Bulgaria

Agriculture in Bulgaria entered a severe crisis in 1989 following the collapse of the central planning system. Since then it has been going through a transition towards market-based system and a structural transformation from large state cooperatives to smaller privately owned and operated farms and cooperatives. Irrigation, a major water use until recently, has been strongly affected by these processss, and has dropped to a point where less than 15% of the areas equipped for irrigation are actually irrigated. Heavy state investments in the irrigation subsector and its vital importance for the economy make it imperative to up-grade and restructure irrigated agriculture to reflect new forms of land ownership and farming, as well as the current and future organizational patterns of the

Reforming China's Coal Industry

In 1949 the Chinese adopted, almost in total, the former Soviet Union's system of central or command planning. Thirty years later, in 1979, the country embarked on a major economic reform programme aimed largely at correcting problems caused by central planning. The government now sought to create an economic system which would combine the best characteristics of socialist and market economies. Most analysts would agree that the non-grain agricultural and consumer goods sectors have been fully marketized, and quite successfully so, but that the economic reform of the state industrial sector has lagged far behind. Raising the profits and output and productivity levels of the state enterprises has proved extremely difficult, and the government has been reluctant to allow the unrestricted operation of market forces.

HOSPITAL RESOURCE PLANNING: CONCEPTS, FEASIBILITY, AND FRAMEWORK

The mantra of health care reform in hospitals in the United States and elsewhere, the spiralling costs of health care, and the development of diagnostic‐related groups (DRGS) that define health services as “products” are influencing the strategic role of operations planning and control in hospital delivery systems. We developed a new operations planning and control system that we call “Hospital Resource Planning” (HRP). This system is based on the concept of DRGS and the familiar concept of manufacturing resources planning (MRP‐II). TO determine the potential feasibility of HRP, we gathered longitudinal data from two hospitals, one 300‐bed community hospital and one 1,100‐bed teaching hospital. Our exploratory study indicated that while the concept of MRP‐II can be transferred to hospitals, the traditional MRP logic has shortcomings. HRP advances prior research in three ways: (1) consideration of DRGS as products with a bill of resources structure that simultaneously incorporates both capacity and materials resources, (2) implementation of a hospital‐wide (versus a functional) planning and control'system, and (3) gross‐to‐net requirements logic based on notions of treatment staging. Other feasibility issues that we addressed pertain to a stochastic bill of resources, trends toward hospital product standardization, and the coordination of a central planning system with decentralized decision making. The paper concludes with a description of areas for future research.

Observations on Regional Aspects of Food Availability in Russia

A senior CIA analyst surveys a broad range of factors that are affecting food availability in Russia's regions. These include diverse environmental conditions affecting agricultural production, regional economic specializations reflecting priorities imposed by the Soviet system of central planning, variable progress in agrarian reform and in the role of the private sector, pronounced spatial patterns of food processing, regional differences in food preference and consumption, local policies regarding food price subsidies, personal income, availability of imports, and interregional trade ties. Although the influence of these factors on Russia's progress toward a Western-style market for food products cannot always be documented precisely and completely, enough evidence is accumulating to indicate important directions of change. 2 figures, 3 tables, 13 references.

Rural to Urban Migration in the People's Republic of China

The history of modern economic development suggests that urbanization through migration is a result of industrialization. Despite different political, economic and technological conditions in today's developing countries, many studies have found that the patterns of urbanization in these countries are similar to those seen in today's industrialized countries at earlier stages of their development. China, as suggested by its rapid, post-reform urbanization through migration, is not an exception. Nevertheless, China's post-reform experience contrasted sharply with its slow and even stagnated urban population growth in the 1960s and 1970s, when it sought its industrialization goal under a central planning system. Perhaps because of its uniqueness of size and development experience, China's urbanization and rural to urban migration have remained a topic of great interest.

Characteristics of Agricultural Marketing in Hungary During the Formation of Market Economy

Although the central planning system of the Hungarian economy changed after 1968, there was not any considerable decrease of state interference nor was there any significant increase in the role of the market. It was the system of state interference which changed: instead of direct methods the emphasis was primarily put on indirect methods (price subsidies, taxes, loans). The role of the market continued to remain of secondary importance, which was mainly indicated by the low level of market competition. In addition, the economic system fundamentally affected agricultural marketing. The role of the market started to be valued significantly from 1989-1990. In this article I shall describe the initial situation of a market-oriented economy as well as the major trends and the steps of the new programme.

Decision‐making authority of former soviet and American managers: Not so different after all?

AbstractThe restricted decision‐making authority of industrial enterprise managers who functioned in the centralized planning system of the former Soviet Union is legendary. The distribution of authority among managerial levels within the enterprises, however, has received far less attention. The authors provide a profile of the decision‐making authority perceived by 90 managers at four hierarchical levels in Soviet manufacturing enterprises. Their responses to 15 decision items are compared with those of 140 American manufacturing managers. The authors evaluate the similarities and differences between the two national groups as well as among four managerial levels in each of the two groups. They conclude with implications of these findings for managers involved in business relationships between the United States and the countries of the former Soviet Union. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Public sector management and the transition to a more open economy: Cautious reform in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)

AbstractThe article assesses the efforts of the DPRK—a country which has experienced significant industrial development under central planning—to develop a more open economy, having probably reached the limits of inward‐looking growth ('Juche') and having recently experienced a dramatic change in its traditional trading partnerships. It describes the nature of the DPRK state management system and the growing dissatisfaction with its performance in recent years. From its relatively isolated position, the DPRK is taking advantage of UNDP technical assistance to implement its change strategy in three areas: diversification of international trade, foreign investment promotion through joint ventures with state enterprises and modernization of industrial management. Implementation of the UNDP programme has thrown into relief some of the institutional obstacles to the internationalization of the economy inherent in the central planning system. Against a background of relative lack of foreign investor interest—recent legislation notwithstanding—the article describes remedial efforts being undertaken. On the trade front, the government has made modest successes in diversification, but these will need to be reinforced by multilateral assistance with trade information, marketing and other skills needs of trade officials. The article concludes with a review of the DPRK's prospects in the context of the Korean unification issue, other regional cooperation such as the Tumen River Project and international debates over regime survival in the DPRK. Prospects for spreading management change through technical assistance in the DPRK are conditioned by a number of factors, including the extent to which a new management culture can be disseminated from pilot enterprises to the economy as a whole and whether the enclave approach to investment promotion in enterprise zones is also helpful in this regard. Though the DPRK political economy is robust and resourceful, the question that remains is whether the cautious or reluctant government strategy for change can bring results in time.

Anatomy of Local Protectionism

China's former economic system emerged at the end of the First Five-Year Plan. It was a highly centralized planning system characterized by administrative coordination. This system not only repressed local enthusiasm but also contradicted the objective demand for multilevel management by subsuming all activity into a gargantuan system. The central government, incapable of coping with it, unavoidably committed policy mistakes.

Recent Economic Policies of North Korea: Analysis and Recommendations

Research Article| September 01 1993 Recent Economic Policies of North Korea: Analysis and Recommendations Sungwoo Kim Sungwoo Kim Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Asian Survey (1993) 33 (9): 864–878. https://doi.org/10.2307/2645234 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Twitter LinkedIn Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Cite Icon Cite Search Site Citation Sungwoo Kim; Recent Economic Policies of North Korea: Analysis and Recommendations. Asian Survey 1 September 1993; 33 (9): 864–878. doi: https://doi.org/10.2307/2645234 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentAsian Survey Search This content is only available via PDF. Copyright 1993 The Regents of the University of California Article PDF first page preview Close Modal You do not currently have access to this content.

Urban planning in socialist China: Theory and practice

The People's Republic of China has a highly centralized planning system and claims some success in the elimination of slums and associated urban problems under conditions of fast urban growth. This article provides a broad view of urban planning in a socialist country. It attempts to delve into the ideological values of socialist urban planning through an examination of the principles, theories, institutions, characteristics, functions, and contents of socialist urban planning. It seeks to investigate the tangible effects of these planning doctrines and conventions by exploring urban planning and design practices in China. Finally it evaluates both successful and unsuccessful outcomes of Chinese urban planning practices.

Economic reform in Eastern Europe: Can theory help?

It has been three years now since Central and Eastern European countries have initiated transitional reforms aimed at replacing the old system of central command and planning by a market system. Yet, there is very little understanding among economists as to what the optional speed and sequencing of reforms should be, how the restructuring and/or privatisation of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) should be conducted, how the banking system should be redesigned and regulated, how and to what extent the state should intervene in the transition process. The purpose of this introductory paper is to show how simple theoretical models can shed further light on these questions and also provide some foundations for alternative (‘non-orthodox’) policy recommendations both on the macroeconomic and the structural sides of the transition process.

The re-emergence of Eastern European science and technology

Economic competitiveness, and with it the survical of democracy in Eastern Europe, depends in large part on the ability of the region to manage technology for manufacturing exports. Most East European products are now oriented toward civilian and military needs of the former Soviet Union, and cannot now be sold anywhere. The communist system of central planning and soft budgets provided no incentive to manage technology or any other resource. Innovation was hampered by isolation from changes in world markets and technology, and by the separation of teaching, research, and production. Teaching was carried out on schools and universities, research in government institutes, and production in state-owned enterprises. Eastern European scientific and technological infrastructure is oversized, under-equipped, and politicized, but includes a strong nucleus which could be reformed and reoriented towards world markets. This process is beginning in several countries. But public support is lacking, as are funds for long-range investments. Strategic alliances are urgently needed with western firms and researchers with an understanding of world markets.

Perestroika

The general systems approach has been used to study one of the most intriguing social phenomena in the process of Soviet perestroika. During the period from 1985 to 1991, a dramatic change in public opinion took place from approval of a centralized planning system to overwhelming support for a free-market system. To study the factors that caused this process as well as its performance, a nonlinear model was developed and verified on empirical data. The model has made it possible to trace and identify various stages of perestroika and to comprise different outcomes of a growing conflict between the central and the republican governments that reached its climax in August 1991, after a catastrophic change in public sentiment so impressively demonstrated in the Russian presidential elections in June of the same year.

The Baltic republics: Renaissance now?

O n June 1, 1991, I departed Bloomington, Indiana for a two-week trip to the notso-sunny Baltic destination of Riga, Latvia. While other academic brethren were departing for the likes of Hawaii and the Bahamas at their own expense, I was headed instead for a tiny spot in the northwest corner of the Soviet Union as part of the Hudson Institute's International Baltic Economic Commission (IBEC). The heads of the three Baltic republics-Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania--had asked the Hudson Institute to form a team ofinternational consultants to advise them on how best to transform their economic systems. Hudson has put together nine working groups to deal with issues from taxes to social policy. I was asked to be a member of Working Group 6, along with my Indiana University School of Business colleagues Michele Fratianni and Jtirgen von Hagen, Working Group 6 will make initial recommendations about monetary and fiscal policy by October 1991. The project is scheduled to conclude toward the end of 1992. A review of Francis Ford Coppola's movie Apocalypse Now described it as a bizarre plot in search of an ending. This depiction also fits the situation in the Baltic republics. They proclaim their independence and make plans accordingly. Yet even as they introduce and implement new legislation that moves them closer to nat ionhood and a market economy, they face swift and ugly physical and economic blackmail from the Soviet Union. The republics continuously stare into the insanity of Catch 22. They are allowed to plan to be independent and free of the ball and chain of the central planning system if they only try not to be free. But if they implement real freedoms, tanks will roll and the economic blockade will tighten. Though this might seem like a depressing situation to us in the West, the people we met are filled with hopes and plans. After 50 years or so under the firm grip of a socialist dictatorship, the peoples of the Baltic republics now clearly see the light of freedom at the end of the tunnel. While they are striving for economic improvement, the engine driving them forward is a deep desire for political freedom and independence. It will be apocalypse or renaissance for the Baltics; Western attitudes will help determine which.

The Planning of Rural Settlement in Romania

IF ROMANIA HAS SO FAR experienced no more than the beginning of the end of state socialism, the country has at least seen the prompt dismantling of various schemes which were closely associated with the former President Nicolae Ceausescu. Prominent among the casualties has been the physical planning programme of sistematizare applied to the rural areas. Romanian rural settlement is organized on the basis of some 13000 villages, many of which are small. In addition there is a tendency towards loose agglomeration in Moldavia and Wallachia in contrast to the greater concentration of the former Hapsburg territories, reflecting ethnic factors as well as past administrative measures. During the post-war period there has been increasing differentiation between villages according to the importance of administration (raion, i.e. district centres, commune centres and cooperative farm bases) along with services (education, medical facilities and cooperative craft workshops) and industry (light manufactures, mining and quarrying). Some villages experienced growth in the 1950s but the majority were neglected. The need for rural development is not open to question, and some aspects of Ceausescu's plan reflected the principles of modernization along Western lines: for example the channelling of investment into 'key villages' with the highest potential for growth. But the programme was geared to the realities of the socialist system, with virtually all investment allocated through the central planning system and related to the layout of cooperative and state farms. Potential which could have been exploited by private enterprise (such as local tourism and handicrafts) was not recognized. Moreover, the rural strategy was firmly directed by Ceausescu

The Soviet Economic Crisis

The article examines the weaknesses and inefficiencies of the Soviet centralised planning system, and the means by which Gorbachev and his colleagues sought to reform it. Along with the objective difficulties in the way of ‘marketisation’ (lack of practical experience and market infrastructure, lack of agreement about the final objective of reform, obstruction by vested interests, ideological pre-conceptions, popular distrust), grave policy errors were committed (unbalanced budget, inflation ary money-creation, loss of control over incomes, reluctance to increase prices). Meanwhile the rise of natioralism, and the de-legitimation of the regime and of the Party, created a power-vacuum, which by 1991 made impossible the implementation of any policy. Disruption of inter-republican and inter-regional supply links, and drastic cuts in imports, are causing serious declines in production. The failed coup accelerated the process of disintegration.

The Changing Romanian Countryside: The Ceauşescu Epoch and Prospects for Change following the Revolution

Adjustment to the ending of state socialism in Eastern Europe will create many difficulties. In this paper the author addresses one particular issue: Rural planning objectives in Romania following the dramatic end to the quarter-century Ceauşescu epoch in December 1989. After referring to the ideological thrust of rural planning under socialism in general and Ceauşescu's leadership in particular the author concentrates on the radical demographic changes arising from the decline of employment in agriculture with only limited priority for the provision of alternative work in the countryside. Rural–urban migration has arguably been increased by discouragement of small-scale private enterprise in favour of large urban-based projects preferred by the central planning system. Following the revolution a swing towards privatisation should focus greater attention on the potentials of the rural areas, and the abandonment of Ceauşescu's draconian scheme of consolidation for rural settlement should encourage greater investment in outlying communities.

Monetary policy in the transition to a market economy: The case of Hungary

In the centrally planned economies of Eastern Europe, monetary policy played a subordinate role, there were no capital-market institutions and the banking system was single-tier. All this has to be changed in the transition to a market economy. The example of Hungary, which abolished the traditional system of central planning as early as 1968, shows some of the pitfalls to be avoided.