Los efectos de las transformaciones agrícolas en los antiguos países socialistas: Algunas consideraciones para Cuba

This paper examines the principal agricultural transformations in a selected group of former socialist countries in Asia and Eastern and Central Europe, using commonly-accepted indicators such as physical output, labor productivity, and agricultural yields, and offers some relevant recommendations for Cuba. The countries included in this study are: China, Vietnam, Russia, Ukraine, Estonia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Bulgaria, Rumania and Slovenia. Section one presents a brief introduction. Section two analyzes the role of agriculture in the (post-socialist) transition countries included in the study. This is followed by a detailed analysis of general trends and indicators such as output, labor productivity, and agricultural yields in these countries during the first decade of agricultural transformations. Finally, section four discusses the relevance of these experiences in the case of Cuba within the context of the ongoing process of “updating” the country’s (socialist) economic model.