Online ISSN 2286-0266
Print ISSN 1223-0685
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Hezi SHAYB
Academia de Studii Economice din Bucureşti
Radu-Cristian MUŞETESCU
Academia de Studii Economice din Bucureşti
While the discussion related to political behaviour and decisions during emergency situations has already generated significant debates in political science, the economic implications of government decisions in the midst of such harsh times have been less researched. Crises seem to offer public decision-makers contexts where the allocation of resources become centralized and similar to the functioning of a socialist system. Meanwhile, the ability of society to participate in such a process seems to be significantly reduced because of the specificity of the decision-making process. However, the merits of the resource allocation pertaining to the market system do not vanish even during emergencies. The choice for centralized allocation, while politically viable, does not solve the inescapable scarcity challenge. Also, viable politics needs functional economics, perhaps all the more in extreme situations, hence the normal legal framework and the usual mix of public policies should be allowed to operate and prove their resilience and not be sabotaged through dysfunctional approaches. Therefore, the point made here is that a capitalist system should maintain its core institutions and mechanisms even (more) during abnormal circumstances.

ŒCONOMICA no. 3-4/2022
Keywords: crisis, planning, socialism, market, resource allocation
JEL: E30, H12, H44, P21
Emergency Economics and the Prospects of the Institutionalization of Crisis Socialism [Economia politică a situaţiilor de urgenţă şi perspectivele instituţionalizării socialismului de criză]