EC 430, Post-Communist Economic Transition

Instructor:	Will Pyle
Office:	Warner 305B
Office Hours:	Tuesday and Wednesdays 3:30 - 5:00 and by appointment
Office Phone:	x-3240
Email Address:	wpyle@middlebury.edu
Home Phone:	453-4902

Oral final (please see "Schedule" for times when I can meet: May 8-16).

The actual exam will last roughly 30 minutes. You will make a blind choice of two of the five questions and will then have 15 minutes to prepare or go over your answers on your own; you will be allowed to write down notes / talking points at this time (but you cannot rely upon notes prepared in advance of picking your questions). We will then meet for the remaining 15 minutes.

Questions:

(1) Why was there a need for a transition away from socialist central planning? What were the systemic flaws that lead to its ultimate demise?

(2) How would you define partial reforms? Where have they been tried? What sort of results did it bring and why?

(3) In the 1990s, what seem to have been the costs and benefits associated with rapid market liberalization and stabilization in transition countries?

(4) What seems to have been the relationship between the formal transfer of property rights from the state (privatization) and re-structuring at the enterprise level? Why?

(5) What are the important economic roles for the state to fulfill during the transition? To what extent have states' abilities to fulfill these roles varied across countries?

You will have a great deal of latitude in determining how you answer the questions that you draw. These questions are complex. They do not have a single right or wrong answer. Feel free to acknowledge these complexities and ambiguities in your responsess.

During the exam, I will ask questions either to seek clarification as to a point you've made or to help move things along if you happen to run into a dead end.

Please contact me if you have any questions about the format.