| Revision as of 01:34, 24 December 2006 editRuadh (talk | contribs)44 editsm →Economic growth: the above numbers are not from Soviet sources← Previous edit | Revision as of 01:58, 27 January 2007 edit undo172 (talk | contribs)24,875 edits redirecting, the sections on economic development and social develpment in criticisms of Communist party rule are almost identicalNext edit → | ||
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| #Redirect ] | |||
| {{NPOV}} | |||
| ==History== | |||
| ] (1917-1921) was the harsh economic policy adopted during the ] with the aim of keeping towns and the ] supplied with weapons and food. It was later claimed that it had only a superficial relation to ] and a forced measure. However, the historian ] has argued that it was actually an attempt to immediately implement communist economics and that the Bolshevik leaders expected an immediate and large scale increase in economic output. | |||
| This was followed by the ] (1921-28). It restored some private ownership to small parts of the economy and succeeded in creating an economic recovery. In 1928 ] replaced this with full ] and the first ]. Somewhat later he started the ] of agriculture. Stalin's economic model spread to the other ] created after ]. In ] ] introduced economic reforms during the ]. | |||
| ==Economic growth== | |||
| {| class="wikitable" ALIGN="left" | |||
| |+ '''Yearly economic growth record'''<br>'''of the Soviet Union''' (source: {{ref|SovGrowthTable1}}) | |||
| | || ] || ]<br>] | |||
| |- | |||
| | Annual rate for<br>the period 1928-1980 || 4.4% || 3.1% | |||
| |- | |||
| | Annual rate for<br>the period 1950-1980|| 4.7% || 3.3% | |||
| |- | |||
| | Annual rate for<br>the period 1960-1980|| 4.2% || 3.1% | |||
| |- | |||
| | Annual rate for<br>the period 1970-1980|| 3.1% || 2.1% | |||
| |- | |||
| |} | |||
| {| class="wikitable" ALIGN="right" | |||
| |+ '''Estimates of national income (GNP) growth in the Soviet Union, 1928 - 1985''' (source: {{ref|SovGrowthMultipleTable}}) | |||
| | || Khanin || Bergeson/CIA || TsSu | |||
| |- | |||
| | 1928-1980 || 3.3 || 4.3 || 8.8 | |||
| |- | |||
| | 1928-1941 || 2.9 || 5.8 || 13.9 | |||
| |- | |||
| | 1950s || 6.9 || 6.0 || 10.1 | |||
| |- | |||
| | 1960s || 4.2 || 5.2 || 7.1 | |||
| |- | |||
| | 1970s || 2.0 || 3.7 || 5.3 | |||
| |- | |||
| | 1980-85 || 0.6 || 2.0 || 3.2 | |||
| |- | |||
| |} | |||
| Advocates of central economic planning claim that the Communist states has in certain instances produced dramatic advances, including rapid industrialization of the Soviet Union, especially during the 1930s. Another example is the development of the pharmaceutical industry in ]. They argue that from 1928 to 1985, the ] grew by a factor of 10, and ] ] grew more than fivefold.{{ref|SovGrowth1}} The Soviet economy started out at roughly 25% the size of the ]. By 1955, it climbed to 40%. In 1965 the Soviet economy reached 50% of the contemporary US economy, and in 1977 it passed the 60% threshold.{{ref|SovGrowth2}} For the first half of the Cold War, most economists were asking ''when'', not ''if'', the Soviet economy would overtake the US economy.{{ref|SovGrowth3}} Starting in the ], however, and particularly during the ], growth rates slowed down in the Soviet Union and throughout the Communist world. The reasons for this downturn are still a matter of debate among economists. Some argue that they had reached the limit of the extensive growth model they were pursuing, and the downturn was at least in part caused by their refusal or inability to switch to intensive growth.{{ref|SovGrowth4}} | |||
| Growth was impressive in 1950s and 1960s but later declined and according to some estimates became negative in the late eighties.{{ref|SovGDP1}}{{ref|SovGDP2}} Before the ], Russia had been the "breadbasket of Europe," supplying 40% of the world’s wheat exports in the bumper years ] and ]. The Soviet Union became a net importer of grain, unable to produce enough food to feed its own population.{{ref|Bumper}} | |||
| {| class="wikitable" ALIGN="left" | |||
| |+ '''Yearly economic growth compared'''<br>(source: {{ref|SovGrowthTable2}}) | |||
| | || ]<br>] || ]<br>] || ]<br>] | |||
| |- | |||
| | Annual ]<br>growth rate: 1950-1980|| 4.7% || 4.2% || 3.3% | |||
| |- | |||
| | Annual ]<br>growth rate: 1970-1980|| 3.1% || 3.0% || 3.0% | |||
| |- | |||
| | Annual ] ]<br>growth rate: 1950-1980|| 3.3% || 3.3% || 1.9% | |||
| |- | |||
| | Annual ] ]<br>growth rate: 1970-1980|| 2.1% || 2.3% || 2.0% | |||
| |- | |||
| |} | |||
| China and Vietnam achieved much higher rates of growth after introducing capitalist economic reforms and the higher growth rates was accompanied by declining poverty.{{ref|ChinaCap}}{{ref|VietnamCap}} The Communist states do not compare favorable when looking at divided nations with similar culture before the Communist takeovers: ] vs. ]; ] vs. ] and ]; and ] vs. ]. East German ] was around 90% of that of West Germany in 1936{{ref|1936}} but down to around 60-65% by 1954.{{ref|1954}} East German productivity declined from 67% of that of the European Union in 1950 to 50% before reunification in 1989. All the Eastern European nations had productivity far below the EU average.{{ref|1989}} Unlike the slow transition in China and Vietnam, the abrupt end to central planning was followed by a ] in many of the states of the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. ], all of them have positive economic growth and almost all have a higher GDP/capita than before the transition.{{ref|Transition}} | |||
| ] | |||
| == Living standards == | |||
| Supporters of the Communist states note the social and cultural programs, sometimes administered by labor organizations. They included in theory guaranteed ], subsidized food and clothing, free ], free ], and free ]. Early advances in the status of women were also notable, especially in ] areas of the Soviet Union.{{ref|MoslemWomen}} They point out to the claimed high levels of literacy enjoyed by Eastern Europeans (in comparison, for instance, with Southern Europe), Cubans or Chinese. | |||
| However, again the Communist parts of the divided nations do not compare favorably. Millions died in famines in Communist China and North Korea.{{ref|FamChina}}{{ref|FamNorthKor}} East Germans were shorter than West Germans and this difference increased with time, probably due to differences in factors such as nutrition and medical services.{{ref|Height}} Life satisfaction increased in East Germany after the reunification.{{ref|Happiness}} (other former communist nations in Eastern Europe didn't recieve massive investment and aid like East Germany did from West Germany). The Soviet Union spent far less on health care than the Western nations and in the 1970s and 1980s the quality was deteriorating. The pension and welfare programs failed to provide adequate protection.{{ref|EduHealth}} | |||
| In the Soviet Union in 1989 there was rationing of meat and sugar, but rationing was done at high consumption levels, rationing did not mean lack of food. The average intake of ] for a Soviet citizen was half of what it had been for a subject of the Czar in ](although this was during a time of economic and productive collapse and was still higher then many nations in Western Europe). Blacks in ] ] owned more cars per capita (although they didn't enjoy a cheap and efficient public transportation system, like that of the Soviet Union). Two-thirds of the households had no hot water, and a third had no running water at all. According to the government paper, ], a typical working class family of four was forced to live for 8 years in a single 8x8 foot room, before marginally better accommodation became available (years needed). The housing shortage was so acute that at all times 17% of Soviet families had to be physically separated for want of adequate space. A third of the hospitals had no running water and the bribery of doctors and nurses to get decent medical attention and even amenities like blankets in Soviet hospitals was not only common, but routine. Only 15 percent of Soviet youth were able to attend institutions of higher learning compared to 34 percent in the U.S. The average welfare mother in the United States received more income in a month, than the average Soviet worker could earn in a year (although this doesn't take into account cost of living in the USA is substantially higher.){{ref|LivingStand}} | |||
| After 1965, ] began to plateau or even decreased, especially for males, in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe while it continued to increase in Western Europe. This divergence between two parts of Europe went on during three decades leading to a profound gap in the mid 90s. The life expectancy sharply declined after the change to market economy in several of the states of the former Soviet Union but may now have started to increase in the ]. In several Eastern European nations life expectancy started to increase immediately after the fall of Communism. The previous decline for males continued for a time in some, like ], before starting to increase.{{ref|LifeExp}} | |||
| ], once one of the most powerful leaders in Communist ], in his book '']'' argued that a new powerful class of party bureaucrats emerged which exploited the rest of the population. In the Soviet Union this group was known as the ]. | |||
| Cuba is often cited as a successful example by communists. However, Cuba was one of most developed nations in ] before Castro. Other Latin American nations have seen greater increases in literacy than Cuba. Calories per person have declined in Cuba while it has increased in most other Latin American nations. Cubans eat less cereals and meat than before Castro.{{ref|Cuba}} On the other hand, there is a ]. | |||
| Supporters argue that most Communist states chose to concentrate their economic resources on heavy industry and defense while largely neglecting consumer goods. As a result, standards of living in the majority of Communist states were consistently below those experienced in the industrialized West, even when their economic strength was comparable or higher. | |||
| == References == | |||
| #{{note|SovGrowthTable1}} Ofer, Gur. ''Soviet Economic Growth: 1928-1985'', RAND/UCLA Center for the Study of Soviet International Behavior, 1988. ISBN 0-8330-0894-3. page 15.}} | |||
| #{{note|SovGrowthMultipleTable}} {{cite journal | author= Elizabeth Brainerd| title= Reassessing the Standard of Living in the Soviet Union| journal= Centre for Economic Policy Research| year=2002 | volume= | pages= | url= http://www.cepr.org/meets/wkcn/7/753/papers/brainerd.pdf}} | |||
| #{{note|SovGrowth1}} Ofer, Gur. ''Soviet Economic Growth: 1928-1985'', RAND/UCLA Center for the Study of Soviet International Behavior, 1988. ISBN 0-8330-0894-3. Introduction. | |||
| #{{note|SovGrowth2}} Ofer, Gur. ''Soviet Economic Growth: 1928-1985'', RAND/UCLA Center for the Study of Soviet International Behavior, 1988. ISBN 0-8330-0894-3. Summary. | |||
| #{{note|SovGrowth3}} Ofer, Gur. ''Soviet Economic Growth: 1928-1985'', RAND/UCLA Center for the Study of Soviet International Behavior, 1988. ISBN 0-8330-0894-3. Summary. | |||
| #{{note|SovGrowth4}} Ofer, Gur. ''Soviet Economic Growth: 1928-1985'', RAND/UCLA Center for the Study of Soviet International Behavior, 1988. ISBN 0-8330-0894-3. Summary. | |||
| #{{note|SovGDP1}}{{cite paper | author= Steele, Charles N| title=The Soviet Experiment: Lessons for Development | date=2002 | version= in Morris, J.(ed.), Sustainable Development. Promoting Progress or Perpetuating Poverty? (London, Profile Book| url=http://ipn.lexi.net/images/uploaded/12-402934626c558--charles_steele_chapter6.pdf}} | |||
| #{{note|SovGDP2}}{{cite paper | author= Brainerd, Elizabeth| title= Reassessing The standard of living in the Soviet Union: an analysis using archival and anthropometric data| date=2002 | version=Abram Bergson Memorial Conference, Harvard University, Davis Center, November 23–24| url=http://www.cepr.org/meets/wkcn/7/753/papers/brainerd.pdf}} | |||
| #{{note|Bumper}} {{cite book | author=Horowitz, David | title=The Politics of Bad Faith | publisher =Touchstone Books | year=2000 | id=ISBN 0-684-85023-0 | url=http://www.discoverthenetwork.org/Articles/The%20Road%20to%20Nowhere.htm }} | |||
| #{{note|SovGrowthTable2}} Ofer, Gur. ''Soviet Economic Growth: 1928-1985'', RAND/UCLA Center for the Study of Soviet International Behavior, 1988. ISBN 0-8330-0894-3. page 18 | |||
| #{{note|ChinaCap}} {{cite journal | author=Wand, Xiaolu, and Lian Meng| title=A Reevaluation of China's Economic Growth| journal= China Economic Review| year=2001 | volume=12(4) | pages= 338–346 | url=http://apseg.anu.edu.au/staff/pub_highlights/XiaoluW_03.pdf}} | |||
| #{{note|VietnamCap}} {{cite paper | author=Dollar, David| title=Reform, growth, and poverty in Vietnam, Volume 1| publisher=Development Research Group, World Bank | date=2002 | version=: Policy, Research working paper series ; no. WPS 2837| url=http://econ.worldbank.org/external/default/main?pagePK=64165259&piPK=64165421&menuPK=64166093&theSitePK=469372&entityID=000094946_02051604452864}} | |||
| #{{note|1936}} {{cite paper | author=Sleifer, Japp| title=Separated Unity: The East and West German Industrial Sector in 1936 | publisher=Groningen Growth and Development Centre| date=1999 | version=Research Memorandum GD-46| url=http://www.ggdc.net/pub/gd46.pdf}} | |||
| #{{note|1954}} {{cite paper | author=Sleifer, Japp| title=A Benchmark Comparison of East and West German Industrial Labour Productivity in 1954 | publisher=Groningen Growth and Development Centre| date=2002 | version=Research Memorandum GD-57| url=http://www.eco.rug.nl/ggdc/pub/gd57.pdf}} | |||
| #{{note|1989}} {{cite paper | author=Ark, Bart van| title=Economic Growth and Labour Productivity In Europe: Half a Century of East-West Comparisons | publisher=Groningen Growth and Development Centre| date=1999 | version=Research Memorandum GD-41| url=http://www.ggdc.net/pub/gd41.pdf}} | |||
| #{{note|Transition}} {{cite web | title= 2004. World Development Indicators 2004 online | work=Development Data Group, The World Bank. From the World Resources Institute| url=http://earthtrends.wri.org/searchable_db/results.cfm?years=1989-1989,1990-1990,1991-1991,1992-1992,1993-1993,1994-1994,1995-1995,1996-1996,1997-1997,1998-1998,1999-1999,2000-2000,2001-2001,2002-2002,2003-2003&variable_ID=225&theme=5&cID=2,7,11,16,24,28,45,48,59,68,83,95,101,103,108,111,124,125,146,151,152,161,162,177,185,187,192&ccID= | accessdate=October 7 | accessyear=2005}} | |||
| #{{note|MoslemWomen}} {{cite book | author=Massell, Gregory J. | title=The Surrogate Proletariat: Moslem Women and Revolutionary Strategies in Soviet Central Asia, 1919-1929 | publisher= Princeton University Press | year=1974 | id=ISBN 0-691-07562-X}} | |||
| #{{note|FamChina}} Bibliography: Chang, 2005 | |||
| #{{note|FamNorthKor}} Bibliography: Natsios, 2002 | |||
| #{{note|Height}} {{cite paper | author=Komlos, John, and Peter Kriwy | title=The Biological Standard of Living in the Two Germanies | publisher=Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute for Economic Research | date=2001 | version=Working Paper Series No. 560| url=http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=283736}} | |||
| #{{note|Happiness}} {{cite journal | author=Frijters, Paul, John P. Haisken-DeNew, and Michael A. Shields | title=Money Does Matter! Evidence from Increasing Real Income and Life Satisfaction in East Germany Following Reunification| journal= American Economic Review| year=2004 | volume=94 | pages= 730–740 | url=http://www.socialpolitik.de/tagungshps/2004/Papers/Haisken.pdf }} | |||
| #{{note|EduHealth}} {{cite web | title= A Country Study: Soviet Union (Former). Chapter 6 - Education, Health, and Welfare | work=The Library of Congress. Country Studies | url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/cshome.html| accessdate=October 4 | accessyear=2005}} | |||
| #{{note|LivingStand}} Horowitz, 2000. | |||
| #{{note|LifeExp}} {{cite paper | author=Meslé, France| title=Mortality in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union long-term trends and recent upturns | publisher=Institut national d’études démographiques, Paris | date=2002 | version=Paper presented at IUSSP/MPIDR Workshop "Determinants of Diverging Trends in Mortality" Rostock, June 19-21 2002| url=http://www.demogr.mpg.de/Papers/workshops/020619_paper27.pdf}} | |||
| #{{note|Cuba}} {{cite web | title=Zenith and Eclipse: A Comparative Look at Socio-Economic Conditions in Pre-Castro and Present Day Cuba | work=Released by the Bureau of Inter-American Affairs, February 9, 1998. Revised June 2002 | url=http://www.state.gov/p/wha/ci/14776.htm | accessdate=October 2 | accessyear=2005}} | |||
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