Using a multidimensional classification of economic systems, this article explores the possibility that the former Soviet Union is undergoing a transition from centrally planned socialism to a new system unlike any that currently exists. The legacy of the former system impedes the transition to capitalism, which suggests that the transition will be a very long one or will result in an entirely new system. Policy recommendations will be naive or irrelevant if they assume that banking, labor, housing, and other markets will function like known capitalist markets.
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