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This article examines the ways and means used to set priorities in the late Soviet economic policy. Referring to the analysis of documents and existing historiography, the author substantiates the conclusion about the fact that their choice was made outside of the routine national economic planning framework. They were structured as projects (megaprojects, programmes) of national significance. Their implementation had a tremendous effect on the country's economic development. It would suffice to mention the creation of the nuclear weapons complex and the aerospace industry, the establishment of the Siberian branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences, the economic development of the West Siberian oil and gas province, the formation of the territorial production conglomerations in the Angara-Yenisei region, the construction of the Baikal-Amur highway, etc. Decisions on launching these programmes were made in the form of "resolutions of the Communist Party and Government". However, it was necessary to conform to them in the process of both long-term and operational planning (adjustment). In this way, the national scale economic goals were set apparently without any prior discussion. Moreover, the tougher the administrative regulation methods, the closer were the results achieved to the initial intentions. A very good example of this was the nuclear project. At the same time, the liberalisation of the regulation mode and the transformation of the "command" economy into the economy of "coordinated approvals" resulted in the loss of administrative regulation efficiency. In the absence of market signals or sanctions, this inevitably led to a misalignment of the economic development plans and results. By the end of the Soviet period, the prevailing opinion was that the only way to improve the balance would be a move of the economy to a "market-based track". However, there was no clarity on how to do this. Hence, a series of ill-conceived actions, resulting in a complete loss of centralised planning and management. Not being guided by any commands "from above" or the market, the economy was in a state of "free fall".

"Im Rahmen der aktuellen europäischen Verfassungsdiskussion hat sich auch eine Debatte um das sogenannte 'Verfahren der offenen Koordinierung' entwickelt, das zu einer größeren Kohärenz von Politiken auf verschiedenen staatlichen Ebenen führen soll und sich dabei zwischen intergouvernmentaler Kooperation und supranationaler Gesetzgebung einordnet. In diesem Beitrag argumentieren die Autoren, dass 'offene Koordinierung' als ein neues Konzept zur Vertiefung der europäische Integration verstanden werden kann, wenn es innerhalb bestimmter Grenzen und unter spezifischen Voraussetzungen angewendet wird. Sie entwickeln diese Argumentation am Beispiel des Europäischen Forschungsraums, der das neue Rahmenkonzept für die Forschungs- und Innovationspolitik der Europäischen Union darstellt." (Autorenreferat)

The article analyzes theoretical and methodological approaches to assessing national economic policy in terms of the digital transformation of social production, digital transformation trends that have emerged in modern social development, the principles of organizing and managing the digital space. Since digital transformation is currently acquiring a fundamental mass character and covers all spheres and sectors of the national economy, the limits and methods of state regulation of digital processes are becoming the most important aspect of national economic policy.

A model of production and exchange is proposed as an alternative to both market-oriented policy and social welfare policy. New patterns of social coordination at work form the basis for a new form of production output value: conducive value. This value is developed in both workers and consumers, activates skills and capabilities, and transforms customers from passive recipients to active users. It broadens the definition of economically valid social activity and it will help to resolve the unemployment dilemma arising with globalization. The article observes that the flexibility demanded by neoliberal, market-oriented policy is antithetical to the flexibility of creative production, which builds on horizontal interaction at work and in exchange, thereby facilitating the creation of social relationships and social capital. In that, it constructs bridges between the new policy and models of social policy which form its platform and enhances the chances for effective democracy in society.

AbstractThe world has been struck by a mutating systemic financial crisis that is unprecedented in terms of financial losses and fiscal costs, geographic reach, and speed and synchronization. The crisis from August 2007 to date can be divided into three main phases: the financial turmoil from August 2007 to the collapse of Lehman Brothers; the global financial crisis from September 2008 until spring 2010; and the eurozone sovereign debt crisis from spring 2010 to the current period. While each phase has brought significant challenges, the current sovereign debt crisis has been the most critical stage for the eurozone. It has brought unprecedented challenges for the monetary union and triggered extraordinary adjustments in both monetary policy and institutional arrangements at the eurozone level. The purpose of this article is to outline the features of each crisis phase, to describe the actions taken by the European Central Bank (ECB) during each phase and to explain the rationale for such measures. It also discusses the need to strengthen further the economic union in order to guarantee the sustainability of the monetary union of the eurozone. In this respect, it is argued that the recent institutional adjustments made at the European Union level would have been necessary independently of the financial crisis.

It is not hard to find the complaint that a group of policies are incoherent, operate in silos or are unintegrated. The aspiration to coherence is widespread across all political systems: it is today's idea in good currency. Scholarship has identified conditions that support coherence: a strong constituency with a shared policy image. This article confirms that these are vital sources of more or less coherence, but explores the question of whether more coherence in one area comes at the cost of incoherence elsewhere.Case study detail contrasts the Scottish Executive's projection of a unified rural policy, with the reality of a persistent Scottish agricultural sector, with contending (multiple) publics with separate and often conflicting agendas: the case study found no unified policy community with shared perceptions. While a lack of coordination may simply be the manifestation of poor policymaking, this piece argues that in other cases the practical limitations on policy harmonization have to be acknowledged. Imperfectly coordinated rural policy may be inevitable as coordination in particular niches is often a casualty of competing priorities. This article argues against over ambitious expectations about the feasibility of integration. Accordingly it suggests that the project to rid policy practice of incoherence is too heroic: instead this article rediscovers the virtues of bargaining among informed and relevant participants, and incremental politics.

This paper discusses industrial and economic adjustment in France in the 1980s. Itargues that French industry followed a path of adjustment throughout the decade,which was fundamentally different from both the German-Japanese style organisedcapitalism, and the US-UK type of deregulated capitalism. The analysis attributesthis to the structure and integration of the French political, financial andadministrative élite. Combining historical institutional analysis and insights from thenew economics of organisation, the paper also elaborates elements of amethodological alternative to traditional neo-classical and institutionalist arguments. ; Diese Arbeit analysiert den Wirtschaftswandel in Frankreich in den 80er Jahren. Die Autoren argumentieren, daß die Industrie in Frankreich in dieser Dekade einem Anpassungspfad folgte, der sich sowohl von dem organisierten Kapitalismus nach deutsch-japanischem Muster als auch von dem des deregulierten angelsächsischen Kapitalismus grundsätzlich unterscheidet. Die Analyse kommt zu dem Schluß, daß dies auf die Funktion und die Rolle der politischen, ökonomischen und administrativen Eliten in Frankreich zurückzuführen ist. Durch die Verknüpfung von Argumenten des historischen Institutionalismus und der neuen Organisationsökonmie werden in diesem Papier auch Elemente einer methodologischen Alternative zu den traditionellen neoklassischen und institutionalistischen Ansätzen bearbeitet.

Asks to what extent the dramatic differences in social policy efforts in rich and poor countries be accounted for by genuinely political explanations. Advances a hypothesis that rests upon the combination of 2 schools of thought in comparative social policy analysis: socioeconomic models which focus attention on levels of economic wealth, need and demand for social security, and models of a comparative-historiographic and political-institutionalist nature. (Abstract amended)

In Reunion Island, the dynamism of the livestock farming sector together with a policy of support from the extremely remote regions and the development of the "Hauts" (heights) led to the appearance and expansion of the dairy and suckler cattle industries structured over a time span of 20 to 30 years. With two 500 strong livestock cooperatives developing the production of milk and meat of respectively 21.8 million litres and 1500 tonnes. They declare that their targets are to approximately double the production by the end of the decade. Combined with those of the sugar cane industry, these targets appear difficult to reach, in the present situation of land speculation and town and country planning. We put forward the hypothesis that the farming industries must seek new forms of territorial coordination, for the continuation of their development. We present some examples of the research work undertaken by the Cirad cattle farming centre in partnership with the production and processing networks, for the purpose of providing references and decision support tools.