Growth and Inflation in the Soviet Economy

While growth figures are high for Soviet industry in general, they are especially impressive for the MBMW sector which has far outperformed other sectors of the economy. The question widely debated in the U.S.S.R. now is whether these impressive figures actually reflect the growth of physical output. To put it differently, did the Soviet economy receive more machines and equipment as a result of this growth, and, if so, was the rate of real growth the same as the growth in value terms? But why would one raise such a question in the first place? To answer this and similar questions, the procedures of Soviet measurement of output, productivity, costs and prices have been analyzed in this study. Special attention is given to the processes of planning quality improvements and pricing new technological items. An analysis of procedures and methodological instructions used in planning and pricing MBMW products may be helpful in revealing possible discrepancies between prices of new goods and their quality characteristics.