Economic effects of the Cuban Revolution

Question

What were the economic effects of the Cuban Revolution? Were living conditions improved for the average Cuban? I'm looking for objective criteria like average income, wealth distribution, life expectancy, literacy and similar.

Answer 1

The economic effects of the Cuban Revolution were somewhat of a mixed bag, and depending on the timeline you are interested in the immediate impact was negative, whereas on a longer timeline it was more positive.

The following paraphrases, and quotes relevant parts from Jose Pérez's work Cuba: Between Reform & Revolution

Initially the revolution resulted in a mass exodus of skilled labor. Out of an estimated 85,000 professionals in Cuba some 20,000 fled the island. Approximately 3000 doctors out of 6000, 270 argonomists out of 300, 700 dentists out of 2000, and half of all teachers emigrated right after the revolution. Generally speaking, from September 1965 to April 1973 nearly 300,000 people fled the island.

The loss of so much skilled labor led to a serious decline in services because of the shortage of expertise that could aid in the central planning undertaken by Castro's government. Additionally, the US trade embargo against Cuba that began in February 1962 did not help the situation.

The Cuban economy was hit terribly hard by the revolution. The following paraphrases and quotes relevant parts from Jan Rogozinski's work A Brief History of the Caribbean

By 1961, the state owned 9/10 of all industry in Cuba. Sugar production was hardest hit by the revolution falling almost by half from 7.4 million tons in 1961, to 4.2 million tons in 1963. Along these lines food production fell to the lowest levels since the 1940s, and rationing became a permanent fixture in the country in March 1962.

The Cuban economy would at first shun sugar and tobacco production as they were seen as relics of the country's colonial past. This led to a huge rise in Cuba's trade deficit, mostly with the USSR and Soviet Bloc nations. Cuba would go back to tobacco and sugar in 1965 out of need. The dismal state of the economy was not good, but as Pérez points out there were some positive outcomes eventually:

The per capita income for the poorest 40% of the population increased from $182 to $865 during the time period 1958 to 1978. However, that was in large part at the expense of the richest 5% of the population who saw their per capita income drop over the same time period from $5,947 to $3,068 dollars. Additionally, infant mortality dropped from 39.6 per 1,000 live births in 1963 to 16 per 1,000 live births in 1984. Life expectancy increased from 57 years during the 1950's to 74 by the mid-1980's.

The caloric intake of the average Cuban increased after the revolution, but since this was due to rationing there was little to no diversity in the diet. Pérez makes the claim that by the 1970's malnutrition had been all but wiped out.

Similarly, education increased so that the percentage of the population completing sixth grade increased from 20% in 1953 to 32% in 1970.

So all in all, there was a large impact. The immediate impact was very negative on the country. This was a combination of the exodus of people, and the hit to the economy. After time the impact became more positive, but is somewhat of a mixed bag. People's life expectancy went up, caloric intake increased, per capita income was redistributed, and literacy went up. These increases were not without cost.

For further reading see:

• Cuba: Between Reform & Revolution
• A Brief History of the Caribbean: From the Arawak and Carib to the Present