an economic geography of romaniaby david turnock

An Economic Geography of Romania by David TurnockReview by: F. W. CarterThe Slavonic and East European Review, Vol. 54, No. 4 (Oct., 1976), pp. 621-623Published by: the Modern Humanities Research Association and University College London, School ofSlavonic and East European StudiesStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4207351 .

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REVIEWS 621

balanced: 'The passionate pursuit of Western consumer goods by many young Russians suggests that one needs to live in a Western consumer society to see its defects and in Russia, perhaps, to see its charms' (p. 155). Indeed, he raises in his conclusion the further hope that without com- promising socialist principles, a market economy that encourages greater consumer choice may also open the way to more intangible freedoms for citizens in general.

Mr Hanson's thesis, thus restated, turns out to be more simple than he makes it appear. The fragility of his data has led him to record in confusing detail his methods of handling them, and though his speculations are skilful, the argument itself becomes entangled in material that lacks coherent arrangement. In two particular respects the interpretation suffers from needless complexity. It neglects to explore the fairly obvious concept of discretionary income as a way to explain the levels and growth of advertising in any economy, whether market-based or administered; and in the process of attempting to tie together fragments of material with a striking hypothesis, Mr Hanson tends to insist on an unconvincing distinction between socialism and market mechanisms that obscures what is, in effect, the most fundamental and tantalizing point of his study. New marketing forces, including advertising, are beginning to influence the basic economic arrangements of even the most ideologically com- mitted societies, and what neither the extreme critics nor the extreme defenders of advertising have completely understood is that the classic polarity of socialism and capitalism no longer explains the economic nature of the modern world. Seattle OTIs A. PEASE

Turnock, David. An Economic Geography of Romania. Bell's Advanced Economic Geographies, G. Bell and Sons Ltd., London, 1974. 3I9 pp. Maps, diagrams, tables. C6.25.

RUMANIA is now an important member of the Soviet bloc and the author traces various influences that have materially contributed to the formation of this socialist state. Interwoven into this theme is an examination of why Rumania is reluctant to become too deeply involved in Comecon com- bined with her increased importance in the international trade of the West and the Third World.

The book contains seven chapters based on Rumanian literature. The first chapter looks at the history of the state, the settlement pattern, population and a very instructive explanation of the peasant problem, a topic vital for a better understanding of Rumania's economic growth, namely the human resource base of the peasantry, for it was instrumental in changing the country's economic pattern. Chapter 2 is concerned with the physical resource base, naturally emphasizing the importance of oil, natural gas, besides the other energy resources. Chapter 3 studies the process of economic development from the nineteenth century until the end of the last five-year plan (I970). The next three chapters look at

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622 THE SLAVONIC REVIEW

industrial and agricultural geography, in depth, together with a separate discussion of the provision of transport facilities, power and their relative positions in the country's infrastructure. The final chapter examines international trade and the present policies of the Rumanian government.

Dr Turnock's book is indeed a comprehensive view of Rumania's econo- mic situation and one must congratulate him on his perspective and experience, for as he states 'it is not easy for a foreigner to convey a realistic impression' and continues that the 'discussion of many particular trends and developments must be regarded as tentative though silence is preferred to undue speculation' (p. xiii). But geography is just as much concerned with predicting the future as in analysing the present and past. Dr Turnock's book may therefore disappoint those interested in socialist economic development, for the author fails to exercise his insight with regard to his knowledge of the Rumanian economy. His book therefore becomes a useful catalogue of order, type, location and the course of historical development but little more. This often leads to too many details, dealing with certain aspects exhaustively, and sometimes to the point of tedium, leading in some cases to a dry enumeration of the facts, as in Chapter 4 on industry.

Specific points demand further criticism. For example he suggests that socialist and capitalist locational priorities are practically the same. Unfortunately he covers this controversial topic in one paragraph (page 143) and only cites one related work (F. E. I. Hamilton, 'Decision-Making and Industrial Location in Eastern Europe', Institute of British Geographers: Transactions, Vol. 52, London, March 1971, p. 77-94). Secondly, through- out the various sections on labour 'force, labour efficiency and production, he implies that something is 'amiss' with regard to worker output. However, apart from referring briefly to occasional incentive schemes, no insights are advanced into the work ethic as it is generated by the socio-economic mechanism, which is probably largely re- sponsible for the low per capita output. Thirdly, one may criticize Dr Turnock's failure to discuss the decision-making and planning processes in order to give the reader an idea of how and why the results are produced. This is probably because the author concentrates on the 'statics' rather than the 'dynamics' of Rumanian economic development.

On the positive side one must compliment the author's refreshing and very fair approach to his subject and this book will be a valuable addition to work done by J. M. Montias on the Economic Development in Communist Romania, M.I.T. Press, London, I967, 327 pp., and S. Fischer-Galati's book on Twentieth Century Romania, London, 1970, 248 pp., which discusses the contemporary history and politics of the country. One main achieve- ment of Dr Turnock's must be his ability to rise above the I950S language of the dust jacket itself. He does give credit to the policy makers, which is deserved, and he successfully conveys Rumanian economic and political optimism. He also empathizes with the Rumanians' development of their resources and economic potential, all of which augurs well for the needed academic detente with respect to the socialist world.

Presentation techniques may have been improved by additional

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REVIEWS 623

diagrams, e.g. settlement patterns, which could have relieved the tedium of necessary listings and foreign words. On the other hand Figure 2 on certain aspects of population geography (page 15), is a very good attempt at summarizing diverse information on one map. Even so, throughout the book the utilization of Rumanian statistics could have been dealt with more critically and thoroughly by the author than has perhaps been attempted.

In spite of these few criticisms one must congratulate Dr Turnock on the completion of this book. His familiarity with the material, the well- balanced approach, full index and illustrative presentation, make it essential reading for any serious student of Eastern Europe. London F. W. CARTER

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