Bulletin Autumn‧Winter 1993

30th Anni versary Celebrat ions Act ivi t ies f rom September to December 1993 Anniversary Lectures Economic Transition: Speed and Scope The sixth 30th anniversary lecture was presented by the Faculty of Social Science on 4th October w i t h Prof. Kenneth J. Ar r ow as speaker. Prof. Arrow, Joan Kenney Emeritus Professor of Economics and Emeritus Professor of Operations Research at Stanford University, USA, is a giant i n the field of modem economics. His exposition of the general equilibrium systems, his analysis of collective and social choice based on individual preferences, and his theories on production functions, optimal public investments and inventory policies have all won h im international acclaim. He was awarded the Nobel Prize i n Economic Science i n 1972 and his influence is far-reaching. In his lecture entitled 'Economic Transition: Speed and Scope', Prof. Ar r ow analysed the transition of the economies of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union along two major themes, the role of time and the role of state direction. He pointed out that even given the ultimate goal of a free market economy, there were a range of alternative immediate steps in the transition and many possibilities for the structure of the free market economy when it finally emerged. The speed and modalities of change in different places might be very different. He discussed the alternatives in the light of general economic theory, explained new developments in the theory of organization, and stressed that movement to a free economy must take time for very elementary reasons of economics. 30th Anniversary Celebrations 2