COWLES FOUNDATION FOR RESEARCH IN ECONOMICS
AT YALE UNIVERSITY

Box 208281
New Haven, CT 06520-8281

COWLES FOUNDATION DISCUSSION PAPER NO. 982

"Stabilizing the Soviet Economy"

William D. Nordhaus

June 1991

The proposals in our policy memorandum on economic stabilization — a restrictive monetary policy and a fiscal policy that eliminates the government deficit — are shaped by our view that the Soviet Union today faces a mounting economic crisis. As we emphasized in our discussion in the policy memorandum, problems include issues of inefficient economic structures, distorted prices, large macroeconomic imbalances, divided government, and lack of popular support for steps to stabilize and restructure the economy.

Keywords: Government spending, budget deficit, Soviet Union

JEL Classification: E61, E63, P21, P27