A new institutional approach to the study of the Soviet-type economy

Tamara Todorova () and Aleksandar Vasilev

Eastern Journal of European Studies, 2022, vol. 13(1), 290-308

Abstract: The paper analyses the transaction cost of economizing and efficiency-enhancing effects of the Soviet-type economy. The last 30 years of transition have seen the failure of market reforms in many industries in what are traditionally non-market economies. We argue that centralized, command-and-control systems are wealth maximizing in the conditions of persistent transactional and behavioural failures. With its centralism, strict hierarchy, and monopoly over information, the Soviet-type economy was able to produce significant output. We emphasize the role of centralism in coordinating economic activities, curbing opportunism, and facilitating information flow. In highly opportunistic societies where the transaction costs of market operation are significant, centralized systems are more efficient than decentralized, democratic systems based on free-market rules.

Keywords: Soviet-type economies; transaction costs; opportunism; coordination; welfare (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://ejes.uaic.ro/articles/EJES2022_1301_TOD.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:jes:journl:y:2022:v:13:p:290-308

DOI: 10.47743/ejes-2022-0114

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Eastern Journal of European Studies from Centre for European Studies, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Alupului Ciprian ().