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The Soviet Economic System: An Archival Re-evaluation

In: The Palgrave Handbook of Comparative Economics

Author

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  • Paul R. Gregory

    (The Hoover Institution of Stanford University)

Abstract

This chapter surveys the Soviet economic system beginning with accounts of scientific planning by an enlightened Politburo. Contributions by Kornai, Berliner, and Granick from the 1950s provided the first accounts of the dysfunctionalities of enterprises. The opening of the Soviet archives offered the first insider accounts of planning in practice, of a leadership torn by vested interests, coordinated not by plans but by “resource mobility” and “petty tutelage.” Enterprise gross output targets had to be fulfilled “at any price.” Just about any superior could change the plan, which was never finalized. Managers and planners were loath to deviate from the “achieved level” irrespective of changes in tastes and technology. “Scientific planning” froze the economy in place, while market economies created new technologies and new products.

Suggested Citation

  • Paul R. Gregory, 2021. "The Soviet Economic System: An Archival Re-evaluation," Springer Books, in: Elodie Douarin & Oleh Havrylyshyn (ed.), The Palgrave Handbook of Comparative Economics, edition 1, chapter 3, pages 47-65, Springer.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:sprchp:978-3-030-50888-3_3
    DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-50888-3_3
    as

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