Govenrment and Business Environment Case Study

Fidel Castro's Cuba: Waiting for an Economic Miracle?

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Abstract:
Fidel Castro announced handing over Cuba to his younger brother Raul Castro, in 2008. This evoked mixed responses from the economic and political fraternity across the globe. One school professes the change in leadership would prove to be a new dawn for the Cuban economy, which was long curtailed by centralised resource allocation. This outlook was backed by the hope that Raul Castro, now at helm, could convert his murmurs of economic liberalisation into a strong voice. But there's another school that doubts if the younger Castro can come out of his big brother's shadow and act independently. This case study helps debate the potential political and economic obstacles to Raul - for changing the course of Cuban economy, should he wish to. The bigger question is would he want to depart from the existing policies. After all, many economic pundits say, he grew up in Fidel Castro's shadow. Can he break his elder sibling's iron curtain? Does Raul have that stature? Will Cuban economy adjust to the change? Why did Fidel Castro primarily side with the socialist society? How did his individual interests ruin Cuba's economic prospects?

Pedagogical Objectives:

• To understand Rostow's economic analysis of countries
• To discuss growth possibilities using Production Possibility Frontier (PPF)
• To estimate Potential GDP of a nation
• To debate over relevant fiscal and monetary policies to be adopted at various times
• To debate on the economic options available to Raul Castro.

Keywords : ocialistic pattern of Society, Fidel Castro, Cuban revolution, US embargo on Cuba, Rostow's Growth Theory, Production Possibility Frontier, Cuban Economy, Centralised Economy, Dependency Theory, Resource Allocation and Planning, Economic Cost of Centralized Resource Planning, Macroeconomics Case Studies, Cuba's Trade Relationship with Venezuela, Raul Castron