But new businesses continue to open, suggesting that the longer term trend may be upward. In the government sector as well, the link between pay and output is being rebuilt as the government now uses incentive payments as a tool to spur production. Not every workplace can afford to pay them, but their use is spreading. The official press trumpets the productivity of cigar workers who receive incentive payments in both pesos and U.S. dollars. Near the resort center of Varadero, state construction laborers explained to me how they boost their income by exceeding production targets and avoiding absenteeism.
Farm cooperatives pay monthly productivity bonuses.
Once taboo, foreign capital is fueling joint ventures with the Cuban government, and foreign practices are changing the workplace. Tourism, Cuba's new top foreign-exchange earner, benefits from foreign investment as does mining, energy, telecommunications, and some other sectors. He no longer worries about feeding his family. These workers also learn capitalism. Soviet-style state planning is dying.