Suchergebnisse

Environmental policy in centrally planned economies is nowadays based mainly on administrative measures, such as licences and standards. The realisation of environmental targets by physical planning, management, and regulation alone, however, is falling short of expectations. For that reason, economists in centrally planned economies have recently put forward various proposals for using economic mechanisms in environmental policy based on the economic valuation of natural resources and environmental degradation. Within these economic valuations three leading methodologies can be distinguished, based on Marx's labour theory of value, the notion of differential rent, and the notion of reproduction costs, respectively. Up till now, these proposals are only considered for use in perspective planning and they therefore bypass day-to-day economic practice. Besides that, the emphasis of most proposals is mainly on optimising economic behaviour rather than maintaining a certain level of environmental quality. If compared with the Western World's neoclassical methods of valuation some formal analogies in both approaches can be observed.

An analysis of the role of agriculture in the growth strategies of centrally planned (socialist) economies. Three basic models of this role are traced historically & identified in recent economic reforms: (1) putting urban interests before those of the agricultural sector; (2) the stabilizing, or passive, role of agriculture in the national economy; (3) a balanced treatment of agriculture in the national economy. A. Cole

Explains the Marxist economic view of the environment and the value put on environmental protection in socialist economies. Discusses the problem of conflicting interests in the environment, and describes the central regulation of environmental protection in Hungary. (CP)

The Marxist economic approach to the environment is examined, & practical implications of such an approach for environmental protection efforts are discussed. Environmental protection in socialist countries is dependent on the conditions of production; specific problems related to the satisfaction of mutual & conflicting interests of different economic sectors or individuals while still protecting the environment are explored. Emphasis is on the situation in moderately developed countries, with focus on Hungary & its economic situation & policies as they have related to environmental protection over the past two decades. 2 Photographs, 12 References. K. Hyatt