Economic reform - the introduction of elements of the market into a planned economy - has been the central political problem for socialist states for at least three decades. This book seeks to elucidate the nature of the problem through a reconsideration of the general theoretical issues, and through a comparative analysis of the practice of economic reform in two countries - Czechoslovakia and Hungary.

Acknowledgements - Introduction - PART 1 PLANNING, MARKETS AND POLITICAL SYSTEMS - Economics - Politics - PART 2 THE POLITICS OF REFORM IN CZECHOSLOVAKIA AND HUNGARY - The Political Preconditions of Reform - The Decision to Reform - The Logic of Reform Thought: from Economics to Politics - Economic Reform and Political Crisis in Czechoslovakia 1963-68 - The Political Limits to Economic Reform in Hungary 1968-1978 - Conclusion - References - Bibliography - Index