Reactions to the market : small farmers in the economic reshaping of Nicaragua, Cuba, Russia, and China
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
Reactions to the market : small farmers in the economic reshaping of Nicaragua, Cuba, Russia, and China
(Rural studies series)
Pennsylvania State University Press, c2010
Available at 2 libraries
  Aomori
  Iwate
  Miyagi
  Akita
  Yamagata
  Fukushima
  Ibaraki
  Tochigi
  Gunma
  Saitama
  Chiba
  Tokyo
  Kanagawa
  Niigata
  Toyama
  Ishikawa
  Fukui
  Yamanashi
  Nagano
  Gifu
  Shizuoka
  Aichi
  Mie
  Shiga
  Kyoto
  Osaka
  Hyogo
  Nara
  Wakayama
  Tottori
  Shimane
  Okayama
  Hiroshima
  Yamaguchi
  Tokushima
  Kagawa
  Ehime
  Kochi
  Fukuoka
  Saga
  Nagasaki
  Kumamoto
  Oita
  Miyazaki
  Kagoshima
  Okinawa
  Korea
  China
  Thailand
  United Kingdom
  Germany
  Switzerland
  France
  Belgium
  Netherlands
  Sweden
  Norway
  United States of America
Note
Includes bibliographical references (p. [221]-236) and index
Description and Table of Contents
Description
It is manifest in developing countries around the world that the "shock" therapy administered to their economies by the neoliberal model of structural adjustment has failed, leaving much social and economic destruction in its wake. In Latin America this failure has led to a resurgence of interest in alternative models, some of them deploying various versions of socialism, as in Bolivia, Chile, and Venezuela, which has given rise to talk about the new "pink tide" enveloping the region. In this comparative study of four economies that have been making a transition to the market from their orthodox socialist pasts, Laura Enriquez focuses our attention on the plight of the small farmer in particular and on the importance of this sector for the overall socioeconomic success of the transition.
Through this comparison, we see the similarities between Nicaragua and Russia in their rapid retreat from socialism and their adoption of reforms that have placed small agriculture, especially that focused on food crops, at a distinct disadvantage relative to export-oriented production. By contrast, Cuba has been more like China in adopting aspects of market reform while emphasizing small-scale cooperative and private farming in an effort to achieve food self-sufficiency.
Drawing insights from Karl Polanyi's study of the social and economic effects of the expansion of market relations in the nineteenth century, Enriquez highlights the role of the state in each of these countries in driving change in a certain direction: toward de-emphasis of small-scale farming and the eventual assumed demise of the peasantry in Nicaragua and Russia, which has led to countermovements of peasants struggling to survive, and toward the reconfirmation of the value of small farming in contributing to balanced economic development in Cuba and China.
Table of Contents
Contents
List of Figures, Tables, and Maps
Acknowledgments
List of Abbreviations and Key Terms
Introduction
Part 1: Transitions from Socialism and Their Social Consequences
1. The Theoretical Backdrop
2.: Small Farmers in a Contrasting Light
Part 2: Nicaragua's Rapid Retreat from Socialism
3. The Economic Strategy of the Post-1990 State
4. The Economic Strategy's Varying Impact on Nicaragua's Small Farmers
Part 3: The Reconfiguration of Cuban Socialism
5. Cuba's Post-1990 Economic Strategy
6. The Reconfiguration's Varying Impact on Cuba's Small Farmers
Conclusion: Transitions Toward the Market and Their Theoretical Implications
Postscript
Appendixes
Bibliography
Index
by "Nielsen BookData"