Gregory Grossman

Sub-Rosa Privatization and Marketization in the USSR

In the USSR, conditions for private underground activity have been highly propitious, given the barring, until recently, of nearly all lawful private business, chronic excess demand with fixed prices, high excise taxes, and both pervasive bureaucratic regulation and widespread corruption. State property is vastly misappropriated and exploited, particularly by camouflaged cryptoprivate firms. The underground, generally employing money as the main medium of exchange and functioning through markets, touches very many and on average provides large supplements of goods and - together with bribes, theft, and fraud - income to the public. In the larger operations, illicit money flows up informal structures, often to very high officials. Underground money and aboveground political and administrative power tend to fuse and to spawn, or exploit, organized crime. Vested interests so created are a significant aspect of conservative opposition to perestroika. Under Gorbachev, the underground economy has increased markedly, despite measures both to suppress and to legalize it.

Basic Directions of Perestroyka

Three basic directions of the economys perestroyka (social orientation, uskoreniye of technological readjustment, and restructuring of management in enterprises) are outlined by its leading architect and advisor to General Secretary Gorbachev. The presentation, commencing the first joint Soviet Economy round-table, is followed by questions and comments by American participants relating to sequence, momentum, transition, anticipated consequences and contradictions in the reform. A rejoinder covering such issues as priorities, price formation, adaptation to change, allocation of resources and comparison with the Hungarian and other models, is followed by a concluding exchange of views on competition. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: 027, 052, 124.

The New Model of Economic Management

One of General Secretary Gorbachevs key economic advisors outlines the basic components of a new “model” of economic management in the USSR (e.g., new forms of private and cooperative activity, increased flexibility in production, relationships in state enterprises, election of directors), to be in place by the early 1990s. Also presented is the rationale for the current timetable of the reform. American participants in the first joint Soviet Economy roundtable then discuss with the Academician the role of collectives and local Party officials in the new system of management. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: 027, 052, 124.

Panel on Growth and Technology in Perestroyka

A part of the proceedings of the first joint Soviet Economy roundtable, focused on the pivotal role of modern technology in perestroyka, is presented in the form of questions and answers reflecting a lively debate between distinguished Soviet and American economists. Adaptation to new technologies is analyzed in light of uskoreniye, plan priorities, and a variety of factors influencing economic growth. Also debated are issues relating to enterprises and industries, particularly within the context of contrasts between the civilian and military economies. Specific issues such as the tradeoffs between centralization and autonomy are discussed in some detail. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: 052, 124, 621.

Reflections on Technology in Postwar Reconstruction

A debate on the pattern of technological advance in the Soviet economy after World War II reflects some differences between a distinguished American specialist and two eminent Soviet economists participating in the first joint Soviet Economy roundtable. The discussion covers observations on obsolescence in Soviet consumer goods industries, technology transfers to China, a former emphasis on new construction at the expense of existing capacity, and contradictory aspects and tangible advances in Soviet technology during postwar reconstruction. Also included is Academician Abalkins comment on technological progress in the context of economic history from the 1920s through the postwar period and perestroyka. journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: 052, 124, 621.

Soviet Statistics of Physical Output of Industrial Commodities: Their Compilation and Quality.

This study inquires into the reliability and general usability of Soviet statistics of the physical output of industrial commodities, with particular reference to the period beginning with the Five-Year Plans.

Soviet Agriculture Since Stalin

failed so far to keep food production abreast of the rapidly growing population, and through its repressions has incurred the hostility of the peasantry.’ Any system of farming on the territory of the USSR would have to contend with the unfavorable ratio of population to resources, as the enormous area belies the country’s agricultural potential. The poor correspondence between moisture, soil quality, and warmth is particularly marked. But in the short run, nature would represent a much less