Why Perestroika Failed: The Politics and Economics of Socialist Transformation

by Peter J. Boettke

Perestroika was acclaimed in the west but brought empty shelves in the east. Why Perestroika Failed argues that this was inevitable because it was not based on a sound understanding of market and political processes. Even if the perestroika programme had been carried out to the full it would have failed to bring about the structural changes necessary to transform what was the Soviet economy.

Genres: History, Economics

199 pages, Hardcover

First published January 14, 1993

About the author

Peter Joseph Boettke is an American economist of the Austrian School. He is currently a University Professor of Economics and Philosophy at George Mason University; the BB&T Professor for the Study of Capitalism, Vice President for Research, and Director of the F.A. Hayek Program for Advanced Study in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at the Mercatus Center at GMU.