This volume contains selected papers and commentaries presented at the Fifth Annual Meeting of the Association for the Study of the Cuban Economy (ASCE). The Fifth ASCE Annual Meeting was co-sponsored by the North-South Center, University of Miami, and held at the James L. Knight Center, Miami, Florida, on August 10-12,  1995.

The papers and commetaries contained in this volume cover a wide range of subjects related to Cuba’s transition to a free-market economy, among them: recent economic reforms; trade; investment and financial markets; markets in the Cuba of today and of the future; macroeconomic and legal issues; expropriation and privatization; the environment; citrus and sugar markets; sociological issues; banking; and United States policy toward Cuba.

Preparation of the papers and commentaries for publication has been done by a group of ASCE members: José Alonso, Armando M. Lago, Lorenzo Pérez and Jorge Pérez-López. Lorenzo Pérez also chaired the Program Committee for the Fifth Annual Meeting. To these generous colleagues and friends, our heartfelt thanks.

Armando M. Lago

President