Discuss the factors that contributed to the collapse of centrally planned economies
What will be an ideal response?
Centrally planned economies collapsed due to the following reasons. First, they failed to create economic value. They failed to see that commercial activities succeed when they create economic value for customers. Along the way, scarce resources were wasted in the pursuit of commercial activities that were not self-sustaining.
Second, they failed to provide incentives for economic success. Government ownership of economic resources drastically reduced incentives for businesses to maximize the output obtained from those resources. Except for aerospace, nuclear power, and other sciences (in which government scientists excelled), there were few incentives to create new technologies, new products, and new production methods. The result was little or no economic growth and consistently low standards of living.
Third, they failed to achieve rapid growth. Leaders in communist nations took note of the high rates of economic growth in countries such as Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan–called Asia's four tigers. That a once-poor region of the world had so rapidly achieved such astounding growth awakened central planners to the possibilities. They realized that an economic system based on private ownership fosters growth much better than one hampered by central planning.
Finally, centrally planned economies failed to satisfy consumer needs. People in centrally planned economies were tired of a standard of living that had slipped far below that found in market economies. Ironically, although central planning was conceived as a means to create a more equitable system of distributing wealth, too many central planners failed to provide even basic necessities such as adequate food, housing, and medical care.
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