The economics of rouble convertibility. New scenarios for the Soviet monetary economy

Abstract

The work seeks to outline a possible transition process to external convertibility (EC) for the Soviet rouble, an issue that has recently attracted the attention of Soviet economists and policy makers in light of the discussion on perestroika. The analysis goes beyond the strict dichotomy of EC as an instrument vs EC as a target. In particular, the author singles out the possible sages in the Soviet economy’s transition process to EC and multilateralism. The theoretical framework is drawn from the experience of those Western European countries which were able to shift from a condition of currency inconvertibility and widespread bilateralism to a system of currency EC and multilateralism in the late 1940s and 1950s.

JEL: P21, P34, E42