Harrison, Mark, 1949-. (2003) Post-war Russian economic growth : not a riddle. Europe-Asia Studies, Vol.55 (No.8). pp. 1323-1329. ISSN 0966-8136

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Abstract

In a recent article Steven Rosefielde (2003) has advanced three propositions. He suggests that according to the best available statistics the post-war growth of the Russian economy under the command system was surprisingly good; in fact, he argues that it was too good. The standard for this judgement is economic theory, which holds that non-market systems must fail by comparison with market economies; Rosefielde associates specifically this view with the 'Washington consensus'. He concludes that it is the statistics that are at fault: they 'lied and were misconstrued' by Western 'statistically oriented comparativists' in a way that was unduly favourable to the command system. In this comment I argue that Rosefielde has misread both the facts and the theory. There is no riddle in the statistics. His conclusion, therefore, must fall.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HC Economic History and Conditions D History General and Old World > DK Russia. Soviet Union. Former Soviet Republics
Divisions:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Economics
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Soviet Union -- Economic conditions -- 20th century, Economic development -- Soviet Union
Journal or Publication Title:	Europe-Asia Studies
Publisher:	Routledge
ISSN:	0966-8136
Date:	5 June 2003
Volume:	Vol.55
Number:	No.8
Page Range:	pp. 1323-1329
Identification Number:	10.1080/0966813032000141132
Status:	Peer Reviewed
Access rights to Published version:	Open Access
References:	Bergson, Abram (1961). The Real National Income of Soviet Russia Since 1928. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Broadberry, S.N., and Sayantan Ghosal (2003). “Technology, Organisation and Productivity Performance in Services: Lessons from Britain and the United States Since 1870.” University of Warwick, Department of Economics. Central Intelligence Agency (1982). USSR: Measures of Economic Growth and Development, 1950-1980. Studies Prepared for the Use of the Joint Economic Committee, Congress of the United States. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. Central Intelligence Agency (1990). Measures of Soviet Gross National Product in 1982 Prices. A Study Prepared for the Use of the Joint Economic Committee, Congress of the United States. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. Goskomstat (1998). Naselenie Rossii za 100 let (1897-1997). Statisticheskii sbornik. Moscow: Goskomstat Rossii. Harrison, Mark (1998). “Trends in Soviet Labour Productivity, 1928-1985: War, Postwar Recovery, and Slowdown.” European Review of Economic History. Vol. 2(2), 171–200. Harrison, Mark (2000). “Soviet Industrial Production, 1928 to 1955: Real Growth and Hidden Inflation.” Journal of Comparative Economics. Vol. 28(1), 134-55. Harrison, Mark (forthcoming). “Economic Information in the Life and Death of the Command System.” In Federico Romero, ed., Forty Years of the Cold War. London: Frank Cass. Harrison, Mark, and Byung-Yeon Kim (2002). “Corruption and Growth in a Partially Centralized Economy.” University of Warwick, Department of Economics Kornai, Janos (1992). The Socialist System: the Political Economy of Communism. Oxford: Blackwell. Maddison, Angus (1995). Monitoring the World Economy, 1820-1992. Paris: OECD. Naim, Moises (2000). “Washington Consensus or Washington Confusion?” Foreign Policy. No. 118 (Spring), 87-103. Noland, Marcus, and Howard Pack (2003). Industrial Policy in an Era of Globalization: Lessons from Asia. Washington, DC: Institute for International Economics, forthcoming. Rosefielde, Steven (1974). “Factor Proportions and Economic Rationality in Soviet International Trade, 1955-1968.” American Economic Review. Vol. 64(4), 670- 81. Rosefielde, Steven (2003). “The Riddle of Post-war Russian Economic Growth: Statistics Lied and Were Misconstrued.” Europe-Asia Studies. Vol. 55(3), 469- 81. Williamson, John (1989). “What Washington Means by Policy Reform.” In John Williamson, ed., Latin American Adjustment: How Much Has Happened? 5-38. Washington, DC: Institute for International Economics. Williamson, John (2002). “Did the Washington Consensus Fail?” Outline of Remarks at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, 6 November. Available at http://www.iie.com/publications/papers/williamson1102.htm.
URI:	http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/id/eprint/224

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