IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/h/pal/palscp/978-981-19-0664-0_4.html
   My bibliography  Save this book chapter

Learning from the Soviet Union Means Learning to Win: Group Technology and the Mitrofanov Method

In: Socialism with a Human Face

Author

Listed:
  • Gary B. Magee

    (Monash University)

  • Wayne Geerling

    (Monash University)

Abstract

This chapter explores the GDR’s search for new and distinctly socialist sources of productivity growth in the l950s and 1960s. It examines the case of the Mitrofanov Method. This method, developed by the Soviet engineer, Sergei Mitrofanov, gave rise to the concept of group technology, a manufacturing technique in which parts having similar characteristics can be produced together on the same machines at significantly reduced costs. The method was embraced by the East German regime as evidence of the superiority of socialist production. The chapter details the successes and failings of the major state-wide campaign promoting its adoption and, deploying concepts from behavioural economics, discusses how the system was able, seemingly effectively, to mobilise itself in some arenas, regions or activities, but not others.

Suggested Citation

  • Gary B. Magee & Wayne Geerling, 2022. "Learning from the Soviet Union Means Learning to Win: Group Technology and the Mitrofanov Method," Palgrave Studies in Economic History, in: Socialism with a Human Face, chapter 0, pages 111-165, Palgrave Macmillan.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:palscp:978-981-19-0664-0_4
    DOI: 10.1007/978-981-19-0664-0_4
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    To our knowledge, this item is not available for download. To find whether it is available, there are three options:
    1. Check below whether another version of this item is available online.
    2. Check on the provider's web page whether it is in fact available.
    3. Perform a search for a similarly titled item that would be available.

    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:pal:palscp:978-981-19-0664-0_4. 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.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.palgrave.com .

    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.