ABSTRACT
Hungary did not stop compiling annual or five-year plans when its reform—also known as the New Economic Mechanism (NEM)—was originally launched on January 1, 1968. During the first years of NEM, a bonus system went into effect that tried to link managerial, and to a lesser extent, worker incomes to enterprise profitability. Hungary has taken steps to liberalize foreign trade and has introduced uniform exchange rates between the forint and each convertible currency. Among young professionals in Hungary, the proportion who want to become managers and entrepreneurs has been growing. Sales in Hungary by joint ventures will normally require clearance, and along with purchases from Hungarian firms, must generally be made in convertible currencies. A principal goal of China's reforms is to raise enterprise independence, while reestablishing or strengthening customer-supplier relations between firms. China's reformers can get just as incensed about bureaucratic suppression of initiative, although they seek more room for individual, as opposed to collective initiative.
