IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jeborg/v78y2011i1-2p110-125.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Soviet growth and American textbooks: An endogenous past

Author

Listed:
  • Levy, David M.
  • Peart, Sandra J.

Abstract

Between 1960 and 1980 American economics textbooks overestimated Soviet growth. They held that the Soviet economy was growing faster than the US economy and yet they kept the ratio of Soviet-US output constant over two decades. The textbooks downplayed any uncertainty associated with such growth estimates. We offer evidence that the optimistic portrait of the Soviet economy in the textbooks was in part driven by an assumption of efficiency and abstraction from institutional concerns.

Suggested Citation

  • Levy, David M. & Peart, Sandra J., 2011. "Soviet growth and American textbooks: An endogenous past," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 78(1-2), pages 110-125, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jeborg:v:78:y:2011:i:1-2:p:110-125
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167-2681(11)00011-4
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. anonymous, 1966. "The labor market in an expanding economy," Federal Reserve Bulletin, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.), issue Oct, pages 1437-1448.
    2. Mark Skousen, 1997. "The Perseverance of Paul Samuelson's Economics," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 11(2), pages 137-152, Spring.
    3. N/A, 1966. "The Economic Situation: the Home Economy," National Institute Economic Review, National Institute of Economic and Social Research, vol. 36(1), pages 4-20, May.
    4. G. Warren Nutter & Israel Borenstein & Adam Kaufman, 1962. "Introduction to "Growth of Industrial Production in the Soviet Union"," NBER Chapters, in: Growth of Industrial Production in the Soviet Union, pages 3-10, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Paul A. Samuelson, 1997. "Credo of a Lucky Textbook Author," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 11(2), pages 153-160, Spring.
    6. David Levy & Sandra Peart, 2006. "The fragility of a discipline when a model has monopoly status," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 19(2), pages 125-136, June.
    7. G. Warren Nutter & Israel Borenstein & Adam Kaufman, 1962. "Growth of Industrial Production in the Soviet Union," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number nutt62-1, March.
    8. N/A, 1966. "Chapter I. the Home Economy," National Institute Economic Review, National Institute of Economic and Social Research, vol. 38(1), pages 4-22, November.
    9. N/A, 1966. "India and China : Towards Self-Reliant Economies," China Report, , vol. 2(1), pages 11-15, January.
    10. -, 1966. "La economía siderúrgica de América Latina," Sede de la CEPAL en Santiago (Estudios e Investigaciones) 18214, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL).
    11. N/A, 1966. "Chinese Economy," China Report, , vol. 2(6), pages 8-12, November.
    12. D. V. T. Bear, 1966. "Distributed Lags and Economic Theory," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 33(3), pages 235-243.
    13. Omar F. Hamouda & Betsey B. Price (ed.), 1998. "Keynesianism and the Keynesian Revolution in America," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 1227.
    14. G. C. Harcourt, 2001. "Lorie Tarshis, 1911–1993: In Appreciation," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: 50 Years a Keynesian and Other Essays, chapter 7, pages 114-130, Palgrave Macmillan.
    15. G. Warren Nutter, 1957. "Some Observations on Soviet Industrial Growth," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number nutt57-1, March.
    16. R. G. Lipsey & Kelvin Lancaster, 1956. "The General Theory of Second Best," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 24(1), pages 11-32.
    17. Samuelson, Paul A, 1972. "Jacob Viner, 1892-1970," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 80(1), pages 5-11, Jan.-Feb..
    18. N/A, 1966. "Calendar of Economic Events: 1965," National Institute Economic Review, National Institute of Economic and Social Research, vol. 35(1), pages 85-91, February.
    19. repec:ecr:col093:29104 is not listed on IDEAS
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Blog mentions

    As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
    1. Quotation of the Day…
      by Don Boudreaux in Cafe Hayek on 2012-09-20 16:38:08
    2. Paul Samuelson, the Gullible and Unrepentant Socialist
      by Pedro H. Albuquerque in Incentives Matter on 2012-09-20 17:02:00

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Arye L. Hillman & Heinrich W. Ursprung, 2016. "Academic exclusion: some experiences," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 167(1), pages 1-20, April.
    2. Adomas Klimantas & Aras Zirgulis, 2020. "A new estimate of Lithuanian GDP for 1937: How does interwar Lithuania compare?," Cliometrica, Springer;Cliometric Society (Association Francaise de Cliométrie), vol. 14(2), pages 227-281, May.
    3. Paul Dragos Aligica & Vlad Tarko, 2014. "Crony Capitalism: Rent Seeking, Institutions and Ideology," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 67(2), pages 156-176, May.
    4. Brian Kent Strow & Claudia Wood Strow, 2013. "Gross Actual Product: Why GDP Fosters Increased Government Spending and Should Be Replaced," Journal of Private Enterprise, The Association of Private Enterprise Education, vol. 29(Fall 2013), pages 53-71.
    5. Anthony J. Evans & Vlad Tarko, 2014. "Contemporary Work in Austrian Economics," Journal of Private Enterprise, The Association of Private Enterprise Education, vol. 29(Fall 2014), pages 135-157.
    6. Vlad Tarko, 2020. "Understanding post-communist transitions: the relevance of Austrian economics," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 33(1), pages 163-186, March.
    7. Grafström, Jonas, 2020. "An Austrian economic perspective on failed Chinese wind power development," Ratio Working Papers 336, The Ratio Institute.
    8. Deirdre Nansen McCloskey, 2017. "Writing The ‘Bourgeois Era’ Trilogy: A Reply To Eric Jones," Economic Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(2), pages 303-309, June.
    9. David M. Levy & Sandra J. Peart, 2015. "Learning from Failure: A Review of Peter Schuck's Why Government Fails So Often: And How It Can Do Better," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 53(3), pages 667-674, September.
    10. Crafts, Nicholas & O’Rourke, Kevin Hjortshøj, 2014. "Twentieth Century Growth*This research has received funding from the European Research Council under the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) / ERC grant agreement no. 249546.," Handbook of Economic Growth, in: Philippe Aghion & Steven Durlauf (ed.), Handbook of Economic Growth, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 6, pages 263-346, Elsevier.
    11. David Levy & Sandra Peart, 2012. "Tullock on motivated inquiry: expert-induced uncertainty disguised as risk," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 152(1), pages 163-180, July.
    12. Dalibor Roháč, 2013. "What Are the Lessons from Post-Communist Transitions?," Economic Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(1), pages 65-77, February.
    13. Davidson, Sinclair, 2023. "Blockchain and the information – calculation problem," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 213(C), pages 142-150.
    14. Lindov, Dalila, 2020. "Teachers and politics," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    15. David Levy & Sandra Peart, 2015. "G. Warren Nutter’s “Traveler’s tale of the Soviet economy”: A witness to the actual world," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 28(4), pages 397-404, December.
    16. Petrik Runst, 2016. "Giacomo Corneo, Bessere Welt. Berlin, Germany: Goldegg Verlag, 2014. 368 Pages. 24,90 € (hardcover)," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 29(1), pages 99-102, March.
    17. Petrik Runst & Steven Horwitz, 2015. "Alienation and rationality—The retreat of postwar socialism," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 28(2), pages 123-137, June.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Hirschberg, Joseph G., 1993. "An International Comparison of Concentration and Diversity in the Food Processing Industry," Occasional Papers 233097, Regional Research Project NC-194: Organization and Performance of World Food Systems.
    2. Afolabi Luqman.O & Nor Aznin Abu Bakar & Mukhriz Izraf Azman Aziz, 2015. "Regionalism and ECOWAS Trade Performance: A Gravity Model Approach," Bogazici Journal, Review of Social, Economic and Administrative Studies, Bogazici University, Department of Economics, vol. 29(2), pages 59-71.
    3. Sergey V. Smirnov & Nikolay V. Kondrashov & Anna V. Petronevich, 2017. "Dating Cyclical Turning Points for Russia: Formal Methods and Informal Choices," Journal of Business Cycle Research, Springer;Centre for International Research on Economic Tendency Surveys (CIRET), vol. 13(1), pages 53-73, May.
    4. repec:dgr:rugggd:199729 is not listed on IDEAS
    5. Allen, Robert C. & Khaustova, Ekaterina, 2019. "Russian real wages before and after 1917," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 23-37.
    6. Gehring, Kai, 2013. "Who Benefits from Economic Freedom? Unraveling the Effect of Economic Freedom on Subjective Well-Being," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 74-90.
    7. G. Manish & Benjamin Powell, 2014. "Capital Theory and the Process of Inter-Temporal Coordination: The Austrian Contribution to the Theory of Economic Growth," Atlantic Economic Journal, Springer;International Atlantic Economic Society, vol. 42(2), pages 133-142, June.
    8. Peter Boettke & John Kroencke, 2020. "The real purpose of the program: a case study in James M. Buchanan’s efforts at academic entrepreneurship to “save the books” in economics," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 183(3), pages 227-245, June.
    9. Lein-Lein Chen & John Devereux, 2017. "The Iron Rice Bowl: Chinese Living Standards 1952–1978," Comparative Economic Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Association for Comparative Economic Studies, vol. 59(3), pages 261-310, September.
    10. Yann Giraud, 2011. "The Political Economy of Textbook Writing: Paul Samuelson and the making of the first ten Editions of Economics (1945-1976)," THEMA Working Papers 2011-18, THEMA (THéorie Economique, Modélisation et Applications), Université de Cergy-Pontoise.
    11. Haxsen, G., 1976. "Der Einfluss gesamtwirtschaftlicher Konjunkturschwankungen auf die Preisbildung auf einzelnen Produkt- und Faktormärkten des Agrarsektors," Proceedings “Schriften der Gesellschaft für Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaften des Landbaues e.V.”, German Association of Agricultural Economists (GEWISOLA), vol. 13.
    12. Peter J. Boettke & Rosolino A. Candela, 2021. "János Kornai, the Austrians, and the political and economic analysis of socialism," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 187(1), pages 85-97, April.
    13. Suhara, Manabu, 2017. "Russian Industrial Statistics," RRC Working Paper Series 66, Russian Research Center, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University.
    14. Paul R. Gregory, 2021. "Kornai’s Overcentralization and naïve empiricism," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 187(1), pages 55-62, April.
    15. T. P. Barbiero & A. A. Brown, 1991. "The Role of Agriculture in Industrial Development Symbiotic vs. Parasitic Relationship," The American Economist, Sage Publications, vol. 35(1), pages 21-29, March.
    16. R. W. Davies, 1993. "Soviet military expenditure and the armaments industry, 1929–33: A reconsideration," Europe-Asia Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(4), pages 577-608.
    17. Thomas L. Hogan & G. P. Manish, 2016. "Banking Regulation and Knowledge Problems," Advances in Austrian Economics, in: Studies in Austrian Macroeconomics, volume 20, pages 213-234, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
    18. Peter Boettke & Alain Marciano, 2015. "The past, present and future of Virginia Political Economy," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 163(1), pages 53-65, April.
    19. Richard Wagner, 2015. "Virginia political economy: a rational reconstruction," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 163(1), pages 15-29, April.
    20. Kouwenhoven, Remco, 1997. "A Comparison of Soviet and US Industrial Performance: 1928-90," GGDC Research Memorandum 199729, Groningen Growth and Development Centre, University of Groningen.
    21. Emmanuel Petrakis & Panagiotis Skartados, 2022. "Vertical Opportunism, Bargaining, and Share-Based Agreements," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 60(4), pages 549-565, June.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Soviet growth Textbooks Samuelson Tarshis Nutter PPF Ideology Second-best;

    JEL classification:

    • A20 - General Economics and Teaching - - Economic Education and Teaching of Economics - - - General
    • P17 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Capitalist Economies - - - Performance and Prospects
    • P27 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Socialist and Transition Economies - - - Performance and Prospects

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jeborg:v:78:y:2011:i:1-2:p:110-125. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jebo .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.