ABSTRACT

The Cuban economy from the period 1972 to 2002 went through four distinct periods, each of which is considered separately below. The accounting system used by the Cuban government has changed over the 1972 to 2002 period in ways that sometimes make direct year-on-year comparisons difficult. Namely, Cuba used the materials product system utilized by the Soviet Bloc in the early years, and in the later years it switched to the national accounting system used in the West. Some statistics were not produced for a period of time, or were produced on a different basis to previous years. In addition, an economy where prices are set by fiat, and not by scarcity and value, does not represent markets accurately. After years of operating under a command economic system, in 1972 Cuba took the incremental step of becoming a member of Council of Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA).