As part of its ongoing Cuba Initiative, CLALS has launched a two-year project, “Catalyzing a New Generation of Cuban Researchers.” Led by CLALS Research Fellow Ricardo Torres, this initiative will convene a network of Cuban scholars living and working abroad.
Currently, there exist no institutional mechanisms for coordinating the scholars’ work or for disseminating their ideas to stakeholders both on and off the island. This network will provide such a mechanism, allowing for participants to exchange and cross-fertilize ideas about topics of shared concern and produce nuanced understandings of Cuban realities and prospects.
Ricardo Maria Mantero | Flickr
During an initial two-year period, emphasis will be devoted to Cuba’s economy and society, and particularly to three thematic clusters: The private sector, economic institutions, and markets, focusing on enterprise reform; Family, aging, and the care economy as critical for social policy; Migration, human capital, and engagement of the diaspora.
Publications
- Removing Soft Budget Constraints in Cuba: Towards True Productive Reform
- Removiendo Restricciones Presupuestarias Blandas en Cuba: Hacia una Reforma Productiva Real
In the Spanish and English versions of this publication, authors Ricardo González and Ricardo Torres discuss how reforms in centrally planned economies (CPEs) face challenges that stem from the nature of the economic model, one of such being Soft Budgetary Constraints (SBR). The authors utilize Cuba as a case study to analyze SBR, its manifestation in the Cuban model, and its relevance to current broader discussions.