The Proceedings from the Sixth Annual Meeting of the Association for the Study of the Cuban Economy contain a large selection of essays and commentaries presented in Miami, on August 8-10, 1996. We are very grateful for the co-sponsorship and support ASCE received from the North-South Center of the University of Miami and for the financial contributions to the meeting by several corporate sponsors.
As in the past, the essays contained herein represent a valiant effort at understanding current Cuban economic and legal reality. They also explore the possibilities and obstacles which exist for a rapid transition to economic and political democracy in Cuba. In particular, these studies identify many key parameters that a Cuban leadership seeking transition should consider in making important policy decisions for the future. The authors have focused on macro economic and legal framework issues, agricultural development, expropriation and privatization, foreign investment, sociological factors currently at play, United States policy toward Cuba, tourism, and the environment.
The Association is deeply in debt to those members who contributed to make the Sixth Annual meetings successful. I want to be particularly thankful to Armando Lago, our past president, for the continuous efforts and personal sacrifice that characterized his tenure. Special thanks are due to Jorge Pérez-López and José F. Alonso for the enormous volume of work they undertook to make these Proceedings possible. The high quality of this publication is due, largely, to their commitment to the Association.
Antonio Gayoso
President
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