What is the relationship between central planning, pervasive shortages, and soft budget constraints under socialism? In this paper, we address this question by exploring the evolution of János Kornai’s work on the operation of real-world socialism. In doing so, our goal is to reframe...

1 Introduction -- 2 The Meaning of the First Decade of Soviet Socialism -- 3 The Political Economy of Utopia: Communism in Soviet Russia, 1918–1921 -- 4 The Political Economy of NEP: Market Relations and Interventionism in Soviet Russia, 1921–1928 -- 5 The Political Economy of Development...