Previous Minicourses and Workshops

Spring 2001

The Cuban Economy: Present and Future Perspectives
Evaldo A. Cabarrouy
Professor of Economics and Finance, University of Puerto Rico
Visiting Professor at the Bildner Center
CUNY/University of Puerto Rico
Academic Exchange Program

In 1989, Cuba had the most collectivized, centralized, egalitarian, externally dependent and Soviet-subsidized economy within the socialist camp. The collapse of the latter prompted a severe economic crisis on the island in the 1990s, forcing a process of reforms aimed at achieving macroeconomic stabilization, stimulating domestic production, and attracting inflows of foreign resources. Among the most significant concrete economic reform measures taken since mid-1993 have been the legalization of the holding and use of foreign currency; the enactment of a foreign investment law; implementation of a tax code; and liberalization of certain sectors of the economy. These partial but significant reforms have led to a noticeable increase in the role of the private sector in goods and labor markets, and in the role of prices in resource allocation. At the same time, these liberalization measures may have contributed to an appreciable increase in productivity, and therefore to an increase in output.

This seminar will examine the performance of the Cuban economy and analyze the country’s prospects for economic stability and greater involvement in the international economy. More specifically, the main objective of the seminar is to explore some of the main economic issues and problem-areas of the economy in the 1990s. The course is divided into five mayor topics beginning with an introductory general background to the Cuban economy, society and government. This is followed by a topic, which focuses on the structure and performance of the economy in the 1990s. The economic reforms and institutional changes experienced in the 1993-1999 period are examined next followed by an analysis of some specific key economic sectors. The possibilities of business opportunities in Cuba are considered in the last topic.

Evaldo A. Cabarrouy is professor of economics and finance at the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus, where he has been in the faculty since 1985. He previously served as faculty and director of the MBA Program at the Universidad del Turabo. From 1990 to 1991 he was Program Economic Advisor for the USAID in El Salvador and in 1992 adviser to the governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico on economic development. Dr. Cabarrouy has been a Latin American Teaching Fellow, a Fulbright Scholar in Colombia and has participated in the USIA Overseas Speakers Program. He received a B.A. (1967) and M.A. (1969) in Economics from the University of New Mexico and his Ph. D. (1981) from The University of Texas at Austin.

Five sessions on Tuesdays 6:00 - 8:00 PM
March 6, 20 - April 3, 17 - May 1, 2001

Fall 2001

Introduction to the Cuban Economy
Evaldo A. Cabarrouy
Professor of Economics and Finance, University of Puerto Rico
Visiting Professor at the Bildner Center
CUNY/University of Puerto Rico
Academic Exchange Program

For three decades Cuba's economic policy gave the State a leading role in the production of goods and services, with a marked predominance of planning over the market mechanism in the regulation of economic activity. In 1989, the sudden dissolution of its very special linkages with the Socialist countries forced Cuba to make profound reforms in its economy and to change the rules previously governing its social life. Though the State continues to play an important role in production and resource allocation, a “second economy” has risen and gradually become more consolidated with the formation of mixed-capital enterprises, and the increase in the number of actors in the liberalized markets. These departures from the system of centralized planning has given rise to a “mixed socialist economy” (economía mixta de carácter socialista) in which both the State and the market coexist, with no clear delineation in resource allocation or the coordination of economic activity.

This seminar will examine the country's economic performance during the last decade and analyze the major problems that affect the evolution of the Cuban economy and society. More specifically, the main objective of the seminar is to explore some of the main economic issues and problem-areas of the economy in the 1990s. The Friday session begins with an introductory general background to the Cuban economy followed by an examination of the economic reforms experienced in the 1993-1999 period. The Saturday sessions will focus on specific key economic sectors, the economic impact of U.S. economic sanctions, and the possibilities of business opportunities in Cuba.