Overcentralization in Economic Administration A Critical Analysis Based on Experience in Hungarian Light Industry

Overcentralization in Economic Administration (Oxford, 1959) was the first book written by an Eastern European and published in the West that openly criticized socialist central planning. In this work the distinguished economist János Kornai begins a lifelong study of the economic organization of centrally planned economies.

Professor Kornai's aim in this book was to observe the reality of the working socialist system, and to draw conclusions that were not distorted by the laws of Marxist political economy. He provided a lucid and coherent account of conditions, along with normative recommendations which influenced the Hungarian reform process, culminating in the economic changes of 1968. Professor Kornai identified several systematic failures of the centrally planned economy and gave a prescient account of weak economic performance and eventual disintegration. His argument for radical rather than partial change makes this book essential reading for those interested in the economics of transition in Eastern Europe.

J?nos Kornai, Professor of Economics Emeritus, Harvard University

J?nos Kornai is Professor of Economics Emeritus at Harvard University and Corvinus University of Budapest.

List of tables
I. THE SYSTEM OF INSTRUCTIONS
II. INCENTIVES FOR TOP MANAGEMENTS
III. SOME USEFUL AND HARMFUL TENDENCIES WHICH RESULT FROM THE JOINT EFFECTS OF PLAN INSTRUCTIONS AND INCENTIVES
IV. RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN ENTERPRISES. THE ROLE OF ENTERPRISES AS BUYERS AND SELLERS
V. EXCESSIVE CENTRALIZATION AS A SOCIO POLITICAL PROBLEM
VI. ATTEMPTS TO DEVELOP LOCAL INITIATIVE AND AUTONOMY FOR ENTERPRISES
Notes on the Book's Previous and Subsequent History