Cattle is (or was) the oldest and most representative industry in Cuba. At least it can be considered the forgotten one. For a period of over thirty-five years the information about the cattle industry has always been incomplete, casual, incorrect, and in general, lacking the importance that it deserves within the total framework of the […]

When the Cuban economy begins its ultimate transition from a centralized system to a market-oriented system, the experience will be both prolonged and disruptive of normal economic activity. Policymakers must confront the need for extensive structural changes, while having to deal with equally significant political and economic stresses. The institutional arrangements chosen by the transitional […]

Notes[ref]The author would like to thank Marcelo Figuerola and Andrew Tweedie for useful comments, and José Alonso, Jorge Pérez-López, and Joaquín Pujol for providing useful references. The views expressed here are those of the author and in no way represent the official views of the International Monetary Fund.[/ref] I. Introduction This paper assesses the experience […]

Introduction Law #24 on Social Security is the main piece of legislation defining the benefits that are covered under Social Security in Cuba. This Law, which was approved on August 28, 1979, and the subsequently adopted Social Security regulations provide the legal framework to provide old age retirement, disability, and survivor’s pensions to Cuban workers […]

I. Recent Developments The urban transportation problems in Cuba have taken a turn for the worse in recent years as the main source of fossil fuel imports has rapidly dried down. Russia and its newly formed independent sister states are having their own internal problems to deal with and, as a consequence, the flow of […]