Edward Elgar Publishing post-socialist political economy: Selected Essays

Product Description This book presents a critical assessment of the political and social order in the post-revolutionary decade of the 1990s in both the transitional economies and Western welfare states confronting fiscal crises. As we enter the new post-socialist century, James M. Buchanan argues that we need to think and act on the premise that the future is uncertain. James M. Buchanan examines the political economy of the post-socialist era, analysing the events of 1989-91 and some of their predicted consequences. In addition he reflects upon the influence of those revolutionary years and the reactions to the changes, as well as the role of economists in the new socio-political environment. The political economy of the post-socialist era will be determined by the forces of historical development, social and cultural evolution, directed political change and exogenous shocks. To a large extent, many of these forces cannot be planned for, except directed political change. This insightful new book will be welcomed by political economists, legal and political philosophers, political scientists and public choice economists. Review '. . . this is a thought-provoking book written by one of the most eminent economists of our time on a subject that follows from some of the most momentous events of this century. . . . a book that pays reading.' -- Vani Borooah, The Economic Journal'. . . excellent collection of essays . . . Buchanan has written an important book that will spark debates over the direction of post communist transitions for years to come.'– Beverly Crawford and Nick Biziouras, Slavic Review About the Author The late James M. Buchanan, former Distinguished Professor Emeritus, George Mason University and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and Advisory General Director, Center for Study of Public Choice, George Mason University, US Recipient of the 1986 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences.