This essay surveys the seminal contribution of Gregory Grossman to comparative economics contained in his analysis of the Soviet economic system. The paper focusses on his theory of the ‘command economy,’ its nature and logic, and its inherent weaknesses, which spawned the ‘second...

The effects on the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe of the decline in the world market price of oil (and the subsequent likely decline in international prices of natural gas and coal) can be divided into three groups: direct, or first-round effects-the impact of the decline in net hard-currency...