Cuba’s Economic Future: a Dozen Comparative Lessons

In January 2004, the regime that President Fidel Castro founded in Cuba marked its 45 anniversary. As the only surviving communist regime outside East Asia, the Cuban system has withstood the collapse of the Soviet Union and resisted the sweeping transition from socialism experienced by the countries of Eastern Europe. In the future, however, Cuba will continue to grapple with the challenges posed by market-oriented reform. The essays in this book have reviewed the various paths to economic reform undertaken by a range of socialist and post-communist countries. The aim has been to develop lessons about economic organization and policy that may be useful for countries in transition generally, and for Cuba in particular. Although there is much debate about Cuba’s potential democratic transformation, we have deliberately avoided prescribing what form Cuba’s political system should take in the years to come. This conclusion serves to draw broad lessons on economic policy that will serve any future Cuban political regime.