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The Planned Economies And International Economic Organizations

Jozef M. Van Brabant
Reviewed by By William Diebold, Jr.
Winter 1991/92
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Jozef M. Van Brabant
Cambridge University Press
1991
314 pp.
$57.50

This is the most comprehensive study yet of the difficulties of fitting centrally planned economies into the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and, especially, GATT. A longtime student of the issues, Van Brabant examines broad principles, analyzes the experience of the U.S.S.R. as well as the socialist countries of eastern Europe and suggests ways in which the institutions could be made truly universal. It is unfortunate that the exigencies of publication kept the author from giving more than a few hints as to how the events of the past two years have altered the issues, removed some difficulties and created others.

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