The environment for technological change in centrally planned economies
Poznanski, K.
This survey looks at the relationship between economic performance and the environment for technological change in centrally planned economies to draw some lessons about what is needed for successful development. The lessons are drawn from the experience of the Soviet Union and the countries of Eastern Europe, countries with the most experience in trying to manage technological change under a centrally planned system. The lessons are important for developing countries that have either centrally planned economies or mixed economies that combine aspects of central planning and market allocation. The main lesson is that reforms limited to changes in the organization and admininstration of research -- accompanied by minor improvements in such things as diffusion targets, bonus sytems in enterprises, and procedures for technology imports -- are not enough to bring about big improvements in technological performance. What these economies seem to need to accelerate the pace of technological progress is a reform of the fundamental principles governing the allocation and use of productive resources.
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