The Hungarian alternative to soviet-type planning

The basic features of the post-1968 Hungarian economic system are compared with the traditional Soviet model. In practice the New Economic Mechanism has differed both from the model outlined in reform proposals and from the Soviet model as well. These latter differences include changes in planning behavior, instruments used to control resource allocation, and the evaluation of enterprises. The social constraints to system changes as revealed by the Hungarian experience are analyzed, and recent developments in the reform of the Hungarian economic system are evaluated.