Comparative economics in a transforming world economy

Review Comparative Economics in a Transforming World Economy By J. Barkley Rosser, Jr. and Marina V. Rosser, Irwin, 1996,468 pages Reviewed by John Byrd, University of Colorado at Denver The authors have taken on a daunting task: writing an innovative and richly detailed comparative economics text in the midst of enormous economic transformation, and attempting to do so in just over 450 pages. Overall, they are quite successful and anyone teaching comparative economics should certainly consider this text. The book begins in fairly standard fashion by discussing the dimensions along which economies are compared, then provides overviews of market capitalism, Marxism and socialism, and the old and new traditional economies. The last category-new traditional economies-is an innovation the authors apply to the economic systems of several Islamic countries. These chapters are relatively short but densely packed with material, including cultural insights and brief histories of the religions that give structure to some of the traditional economies. The average undergraduate student could find these chapters very challenging, though upper-level economics majors will generally find the material accessible, if not entirely familiar. The next 13 chapters provide country case studies with the emphasis being on Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union. This emphasis reflects one of the authors having been an economist and citizen in the Soviet Union, and that persona1 experience gives these chapters a more human feel than some of the other country profiles (e.g., see “The Puzzle of the Soviet Economy,” p. 244). There were a few topics that I would have liked the authors to expand on or add to the text. For example, Schumpeter’s theory of creative destruction is mentioned in the introduction of the market capitalism chapter but never actually discussed in the body of the chapter. Given the corporate restructuring and downsizing occurring in the United States at this time, this topic seems particularly relevant. The China chapter mentions StateOwned Enterprises (SOEs) only in passing, and provides no discussion of the incentive problems associated with these organizations or the Chinese government’s attempts to privatize or increase the efficiency of SOEs. In their overview of Chinese history the authors suggest that new Chinese dynasties emerged to fight decay and corruption in the incumbent dynasty. I would have liked the authors to apply this notion to SOEs which apparently, in almost dynastic fashion, have enriched the families of many Communist party members. An interesting question I had hoped the authors would address was why China and the Former Soviet Union are having such different levels of success as they shift toward more market-based economies. Did China have better developed village markets than the FSU, the underpinnings of a price system, or more appropriate institutions in place? Such a discussion could inform us about the elements that are most important in establishing and maintaining markets.

John Byrd

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North American Journal of Economics & Finance S( 1): 8 l-82 Copyright 0 1997 by JAI Press Inc. ISSN 1062.9408 All rights of reproduction in any form reserved

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BYRD

These omissions are slight compared to the overall excellent quality of the book, and can be easily remedied with supplemental material. Given the speed of change in the world, instructors will want to supplement the text with more recent information, and may want to add material that provides a different balance of geo-political coverage. But the text provides an excellent platform from which to begin such excursions. It is an interesting and innovative text, full of fascinating material from economics, political science, religion, and anthropology, and may provide the model for comparative economics texts in the future.