Economic development under socialism: A Bulgarian village on the eve of transition.
Item
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Title
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Economic development under socialism: A Bulgarian village on the eve of transition.
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Identifier
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AAI9224801
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identifier
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9224801
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Creator
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Creed, Gerald Wayne.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Jane Schneider
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Date
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1992
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Anthropology, Cultural | Sociology, General | Economics, Agricultural
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Abstract
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This dissertation examines the distinctive aspects of socialist economic development from a local-level perspective. A nuanced appreciation of these distinctions improves both our understanding of east European socialism and our ability to make sense of the post-socialist period. These objectives are pursued through a case study of a village in northwest Bulgaria, based on 21 months of participant observation in 1987 and 1988.;The study focuses on agricultural disengagement--a dimension of rural development evident in both socialist and capitalist cases. It begins with a discussion of the agricultural changes central to this process, notably collectivization, mechanization, and an increasing economy of scale. The analysis then takes up three related processes: demographic shifts resulting from fertility decline and rural out-migration; rural industrialization; and the proliferation of informal economic arrangements. All of the above changes are examined in an historical perspective comparing socialist developments to the situation prior to World War II.;While these same dimensions of change are well known from studies of capitalist development, the consequences under socialism were in many ways quite distinct. The dissertation suggests that these differences resulted from socialism's constitution as a system of "conflicting complementarity," in which the totalizing state found itself constantly balancing potentially contradictory demands.;One of the distinctive outgrowths of this conflict was the perpetual cycle of economic reform. The analysis considers these various reforms, suggesting that the process of reform itself accounts in large part for the ultimate dissolution of the socialist system and the contemporary nature of transition.;The dissertation concludes that the interaction of the aforementioned factors is most evident in the context of households, and advocates a methodological focus at that level. The household, however, is treated not as a unit of analysis, but as a social space where the various forces of development interact. This interaction shapes people's behavior, which in turn influences wider forces of change. Such a perspective allows us to see how Bulgarian villagers both responded to and shaped the political economy of socialism.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
