Property Relations

The dramatic implosions of the centrally administered, non-democratic political systems in central and eastern Europe in the late 1980s have generated a body of research concerning the transition from public ownership, and the role of the market and other institutions in engendering good incentives for economic actors. The essays collected in this volume study property relations, their associated incentives and the consequent effects on welfare: the ubiquitous theme is that efficiency cannot be divorced from the distribution of productive assets.

The dramatic implosions of the centrally administered, non-democratic political systems in central and eastern Europe in the late 1980s have generated a body of research concerning the transition from public ownership, and the role of the market and other institutions in engendering good incentives for economic actors. The essays collected in this volume study property relations, their associated incentives and the consequent effects on welfare: the ubiquitous theme is that efficiency cannot be divorced from the distribution of productive assets.

Booknews

The proceedings of the June 1994 symposium study property relations in central and eastern Europe in the late 1980s, their associated incentives, and the consequent effects on welfare. A ubiquitous theme in the 13 papers and following discussions is that the question of efficiency cannot be divorced from the distribution of productive assets. Topics include welfare and property relations, finance and control, distribution and the type of firm, transition to the market, and democracy and distribution. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

John E. Roemer is Professor of Economics at the University of California, Davis, where he is also Director of the Program on Economy, Justice and Society. He is the author of over 90 academic articles and eight books including Egalitarian Perspectives: Essays in Philosphical Economics and A Future for Socialism. Roemer is on the board of several academic journals, and is associate editor of the Journal of Economic Perspectives, the Journal of Economic Literature and Economic Design. He has been a Fellow of the Econometric Society since 1986.