Holland Hunter

1987 Panel on the Soviet Economic Outlook: Perceptions on a Confusing Set of Statistics

Results of the second meeting of a panel of distinguished specialists who review annually Soviet economic performance are presented in the form of proceedings interwoven with tabular material, references, and occasional abstracts. Because of serious inconsistences and discrepancies in official Soviet statistical data for the year 1986, a debate on the quality of Soviet economic statistics is included in the review of performance. PlanEcon estimates are compared with those of the CIA. Also discussed are perspectives on agriculture and industry and prospects for 1987. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: 052, 124, 221.

Gorbachev's Economic Reform: A Soviet Economy Roundtable

The proceedings of a panel of American specialists devoted to the recent economic reform are summarized. The panelists noted that the most substantial changes to date have accompanied efforts to restructure the decisionmaking hierarchy—in particular, a recentralization of authority through the creation of biuros and state committees and legislation on individual economic activity. Changes in the systems of economic planning and incentives, on the other hand, have been minor, suggesting a continuing debate over the extent to which price reform and various economic incentives should be implemented. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: 052, 113, 124.

Tracking Economic Change with Ambiguous Tools: Soviet Planning, 1928–1991

The articles by Harrison and Allen that follow deal with a major episode in economic history, one that offers both rich empirical evidence and challenging theoretic problems. It is now possible to conduct an economic post mortem on seven turbulent decades in the experience of the very large economy that made up the Soviet Union, and these articles examine some key operational issues lying at the heart of that experience. Readers will find the best introduction to these issues in Paul Gregorys masterly monograph, Before Command . My task here is limited to identifying the context for the intellectual action on the stage.

Modeling structural change using early Soviet data

Abstract This paper describes a multi-sector, multi-period, economy-wide model constructed by applying linear programming techniques to an input-output system. The model is designed to provide a flexible, cost-effective tool for testing the impact of alternative development policies on consumption levels, capital stocks, output growth rates, and rate of technological change. Early Soviet data are used to show how the model can generate a problem-free expansion path as a reference. The model and reference solution are then used to decompose historical experience, measuring the intersectoral and intertemporal impact of major historical events on the economys performance.

JERRY F. HOUGH. Soviet Leadership in Transition. Pp. xi, 175, Washington, DC. The Brookings Institution, 1980.

Soviet Union was to industrialize and to create its own elite by promoting and educating workers, peasants, and their children. She discusses the formulation of educational policy, the institutional rivalries, and the positions of different bureaucratic interest groups. The educational strategy during the First Five-Year Plan, she says, was &dquo;to educate&dquo; as many peasants as possible in the shortest time in order to produce a proletarian intelligentsia. For this purpose, educational opportunities for the peasant were greatly expanded. In a brief introductory chapter (3-17) on &dquo;Education and Soviet Society,&dquo; Fitzpatrick comments on the initial educational objectives of the Bolsheviks, the Marxist legacy, Stalin’s position on education, and conflict with the &dquo;Right Opposition.&dquo; This is followed by discussion of the &dquo;new Soviet School,&dquo; the problem of ideology and political consciousness, the teaching cadres, the pedagogical method, and the conflict between the exponents of the &dquo;new&dquo; and the &dquo;old&dquo; school. Fitzpatrick provides us with a brief account of the variety of educational institutions and of the problems of access to higher education and employment. Of special interest is the chapter entitled &dquo;Professors and Soviet Power&dquo;

11.95. Paper bound,

in cooperation with eight American multinational corporations. The set will finally cover six European countries. The thirty chapters in this volume provide a crosssectional description of collective bargaining law and procedure, forms and methods of compensation and management control. The laws and the practices in three Belgium and five American plants operated by these companies offer the substance out of which the report is built. Therefore, there is little evaluation except for quotations from a few existing articles. Little is offered in the way of independent evaluations, and there is no study in depth of the operation and effects of any part of the system. The state of the law rather than industrial relations is the primary concern of this analysis. Because of this restriction of the presentation to formal provisions, the reader must build his own image of the unique collective bargaining system evolved in this country. It combines industry and plant bargaining together with agreements with the government on legislative changes in lieu of private agreements. The authors leave one with the impression that unions are relatively ineffective at the plant and job levels, and management is generally free to proceed without serious intervention in the direction and utilization of the personnel. But this conclusion is more often posited than illustrated or proven. The trade unions in Belgium have shown considerable ingenuity and power to control the work councils and the committees on health and safety. The influence of the geographical rather than plant trade-union structure common in the United States is not examined and the question appears not to have arisen in the minds of the investi-

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be produced for peaceful purposes. Among the many difficulties involved in controlling existing inventories, current production, and research and development in these fields, this paper singles out some problems connected with incomplete disclosure. Obviously arms disclosure would be a ticklish matter between any two military opponents. At present, however, special features of Soviet society intensify the difficulties of arranging jointly with the U.S.S.R. for arms limitation and reduction. It therefore seems

JOZEF WILCZYNSKI. The Economics and Politics of East-West Trade. Pp. 416. New York: Frederick A. Praeger, 1969.

lation of an ancient Chinese classic although &dquo;the materialistic point of view lacks thoroughness&dquo; and to a report by the Institute of Philosophy on the nature of class contradiction; that La Prensa is as devoted to sport as any North American newspaper; and that however the press reflects the political and cultural character of its own country, one universal remains -the trivia in each of the newspapers. The information given about the communications, radio, television, film, and books, as well as newspapers, in each country is invaluable, and the questions and summations are admirable.

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The economic historians concern with the changing institutions and processes of economic activity currently takes on added relevance in connection with world-wide interest in economic growth. Plans and programs for rapid industrialization abound, especially in economically underdeveloped areas. In this context, the example of Soviet industrialization, mysterious in its contours and awesome in its results, has attracted increasing scholarly attention.