Export instability, expansion and market concentration: A methodological interpretation

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Economic Aid as an Instrument of Soviet Foreign Policy: The Case of Ghana 1957-1966

O UR knowledge of the operations of the centrally planned East European economies has become increasingly detailed; unfortunately, this accumulating scholarship has led to a certain disregard for some of the larger issues, especially concerning long-term developmental trends The adverse results of this loss of focus have become quite apparent from the discussions about Soviet and East European economic problems-occasioned by the deaths of Leonid Brezhnev and Yuri Andropov-in the popular and semi-popular press Most of the sweeping generalizations presented to the public were at considerable variance with scholarly assessments tucked away in publications for specialists Further, many of the important empirical lessons in earlier comparative studies of long-term growth in East and West (for example, the remarkable survey by Bergson)' appear to have been forgotten; and US governmental policy statements often appear to be based on false assumptions about what actually happened The purpose of this essay is to summarize the best available information about economic growth in Eastern Europe between I950 and

Growth and fluctuations of production in o.e.c.d. and east european countries

This paper surveys some of the outstanding issues and changes in the economic dimension of Soviet involvement in the non-communist Third World over the last 30 years. It attempts to identify and integrate salient features of current knowledge about Soviet economic policy toward the less developed countries. After a survey of the evolution of Soviet arms transfers and economic aid and trade relations, the paper concludes with some reflections on the effectiveness of Soviet policy and prospects for future change. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: 124, 420.

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Soviet Union and the Third World: The Economic Dimension

This study investigates the likely impacts of export instability on the economic growth of the Sudan. However, before considering that, it was necessary to examine the factors which can lead to instability and the theoretical arguments linking instability with growth. Our analysis suggested that instability in Sudan, has been high by international standards. In investigating the causes of this instability the contribution of major commodities and countries to the overall instability was calculated. Commodity concentration did not seem to be an important cause, while geographic concentration showed a marginal effect on instability. The analysis also showed that most of the variability in export earnings was attributable to quantity fluctuations which in turn was caused by fluctuations in yield. On studying the impact of this export instability on the internal economy, it was found that it had resulted in more than proportional fluctuations in critical economic variables, within the Sudan. There was evidence that this had adversely affected the rate of growth of both investment and GDP. To deal with this instability both national and international policies are possible. At the national level fiscal devices such as export taxes and counter cyclical expenditure policy seem to have reasonable chances of reducing instability in Sudan. Internationally, both bilateralism and foreign borrowing can achieve similar results. However, it is emphasized that the costs and benefits of such policies should be examined carefully before they are introduced.

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Export instability and its impact on economic growth of the Sudan

Soviet spokesmen have claimed repeatedly that the USSR is an ideal market for primaryproduct exports of underdeveloped countries. The markets of leading western industrial countries, on the other hand, are said by the Soviets to be extremely unsatisfactory due to the chaos and stagnation allegedly inherent in the capitalist system. The purpose of this paper is to assess the validity of these Soviet claims by comparing the relative performance of the USSR and leading western industrial countries as markets for primary products in the period 1955 to 1961. The method used is one which tests whether Soviet primary product imports were larger, more rapidly growing, and more stable than western imports. This comparison is based entirely on available official foreign trade statistics of each country.

Egon Neuberger

Papers

Is the ussr superior to the west as a market for primary products