Abstract

The question of the relation between the economic reforms introduced in or contemplated by the East European communist countries (including now a days the Soviet Union as well) and China, and the pattern of income distribution is obviously of great interest: how will the increased use of market mechanisms affect the degree of inequality? Strong views on the matter are frequently voiced both by proponents and opponents of market-oriented reforms, but there is surprisingly litde empirical evidence based on systematic research. To my knowledge the work under review is the first book with such an explicit objective