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The USSR before the Fall: How Poor and Why

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  • Abram Bergson

Abstract

This essay appraises the scholarly findings on the level of consumption and output in the USSR, compared with that in the West. Such aggregative calculations are onerous for any country, and not very surprisingly have encountered particular difficulty where such a strange society as Soviet communism has been in question. Predictably, the results have been controversial, but properly viewed they still provide illuminating perspective on the extraordinary events that have lately transpired in the USSR.

Suggested Citation

  • Abram Bergson, 1991. "The USSR before the Fall: How Poor and Why," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 5(4), pages 29-44, Fall.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:jecper:v:5:y:1991:i:4:p:29-44
    Note: DOI: 10.1257/jep.5.4.29
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    File URL: http://www.aeaweb.org/articles.php?doi=10.1257/jep.5.4.29
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Bergson, Abram, 1987. "Comparative Productivity: The USSR, Eastern Europe, and the West," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 77(3), pages 342-357, June.
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    Cited by:

    1. Etienne Farvaque & Alexander Mihailov & Alireza Naghavi, 2018. "The Grand Experiment of Communism: Discovering the Trade-Off between Equality and Efficiency," Journal of Institutional and Theoretical Economics (JITE), Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, vol. 174(4), pages 707-742, December.
    2. Elizabeth Brainerd & Olga Malkova, 2023. "Maternity benefits and marital stability after birth: evidence from the Soviet Baltic republics," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 36(4), pages 2309-2345, October.
    3. d'Artis, Kancs & Persyn, Damiaan, 2010. "Variety Gains from Trade Integration in Europe," Conference papers 332032, Purdue University, Center for Global Trade Analysis, Global Trade Analysis Project.
    4. Herbert Brücker & Wolfram Schrettl, 1996. "Transformation, Investitionen und Wachstum: eine theoretische Perspektive," Vierteljahrshefte zur Wirtschaftsforschung / Quarterly Journal of Economic Research, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research, vol. 65(1), pages 5-13.
    5. Nauro F. Campos & Abrizio Coricelli, 2002. "Growth in Transition: What We Know, What We Don't, and What We Should," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 40(3), pages 793-836, September.
    6. Brainerd, Elizabeth, 2010. "Reassessing the Standard of Living in the Soviet Union: An Analysis Using Archival and Anthropometric Data," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 70(1), pages 83-117, March.
    7. repec:rdg:wpaper:em-dp2011-02 is not listed on IDEAS
    8. Geoffrey Wyatt, 2003. "Corruption, Productivity and Socialism," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 56(2), pages 223-244, May.
    9. Paul Cantor, 1996. "To Privatize or Not to Privatize: That is the Question; What is the Answer?," Review of Radical Political Economics, Union for Radical Political Economics, vol. 28(1), pages 96-111, March.
    10. Lee C. Adkins & Ronald L. Moomaw & Andreas Savvides, 2002. "Institutions, Freedom, and Technical Efficiency," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 69(1), pages 92-108, July.
    11. Broadberry, Stephen & Klein, Alexander, 2011. "When and why did eastern European economies begin to fail? Lessons from a Czechoslovak/UK productivity comparison, 1921-1991," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 48(1), pages 37-52, January.
    12. Iman Khajepour & Geoffrey Pritchard & Danny Ralph & Golbon Zakeri, 2025. "On monotone completion of risk markets: Limit results for incomplete risk markets," Papers 2504.18436, arXiv.org.
    13. Stephan, Paul III, 1996. "Toward a positive theory of privatization--lessons from soviet-type economies," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 16(2), pages 173-193, June.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • P27 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Socialist and Transition Economies - - - Performance and Prospects

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