
Socialist Planning
Michael Ellman(Author)
Cambridge University Press
3rd Edition
Published on 23. October 2014
Book
Hardback
440 pages
978-1-107-07473-6 (ISBN)
Description
Socialist planning played an enormous role in the economic and political history of the twentieth century. Beginning in the USSR it spread round the world. It influenced economic institutions and economic policy in countries as varied as Bulgaria, USA, China, Japan, India, Poland and France. How did it work? What were its weaknesses and strengths? What is its legacy for the twenty-first century? Now in its third edition, this textbook is fully updated to cover the findings of the period since the collapse of the USSR. It provides an overview of socialist planning, explains the underlying theory and its limitations, looks at its implementation in various sectors of the economy, and places developments in their historical context. A new chapter analyses how planning worked in the defence-industrial complex. This book is an ideal text for undergraduate and graduate students taking courses in comparative economic systems and twentieth-century economic history.
Reviews / Votes
'Michael Ellman's book is a true classic, erudite, exhaustive and meticulously researched. Written by one of the leading authorities in the field, it remains the ultimate source on the theory and experience of socialist economic planning. Both students and fellow scholars will be pleased to see it brought up to date, incorporating what has been learned since the collapse of the USSR.' Stefan Hedlund, Research Director at the Centre for Russian and Eurasian Studies, Uppsala University, Sweden 'In the Great Depression of the 1930s many people concluded that socialist planning must be a better way to run the economy. But how did it really work - and how well did it work? No one has wider or deeper knowledge of its history than Michael Ellman. This revised edition of his classic Socialist Planning draws new archival revelations from Russia and Eastern Europe and recent lessons from China.' Mark Harrison, University of Warwick 'If there was one professor from whom I learned a lot in my undergraduate, then it was Michael Ellman. He had deep knowledge about how the Soviet system actually worked. He taught me about its successes in eliminating illiteracy and reducing poverty, but above all about its failures. In some sense, learning about the problems of planned economy is the best way to understand the accomplishment of a market economy. This book takes stock of a lifelong scholarship analyzing the rise and collapse of the Soviet planning system. It is a must for anyone who is seriously interested in comparative economic systems in the twentieth century.' Coen Teulings, Montagu Burton Professor of Industrial Relations and Labour Economics, University of Cambridge 'Clear, concise, and remarkably comprehensive, the book is written in a style that makes the complexity of the information accessible to inexperienced readers.' S. J. Linz, ChoiceMore details
Edition
3rd Revised edition
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Edition type
Revised edition
Illustrations
40 Tables, black and white; 14 Line drawings, unspecified
Dimensions
Height: 235 mm
Width: 157 mm
Thickness: 28 mm
Weight
781 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-107-07473-6 (9781107074736)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Michael Ellman
Socialist Planning
E-Book
10/2014
Cambridge University Press
€20.99
Available for download

Michael Ellman
Socialist Planning
E-Book
09/2014
3rd Edition
Cambridge University Press
€23.49
Available for download
Previous edition

Michael Ellman
Socialist Planning
Book
03/1989
2nd Edition
Cambridge University Press
€37.14
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Person
Michael Ellman is Emeritus Professor in the Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands. He is the author, co-author and editor of numerous books and articles on the Soviet and Russian economies, on transition economics, and on Soviet economic and political history. In 1998, he was awarded the Kondratieff prize for his 'contributions to the development of the social sciences'.
Content
Preface to third edition; Abbreviations and glossary; Important dates; 1. The rise and fall of socialist planning; 2. The traditional model; 3. The reform process; 4. Planning the defence-industrial complex; 5. Investment planning; 6. Planning agriculture; 7. Planning labour and incomes; 8. Planning consumption; 9. Planning international trade; 10. An evaluation of socialist planning; Bibliography; Index.