Farm to factory : a reinterpretation of the Soviet industrial revolution / Robert C. Allen.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Allen, Robert C., 1947- author.

Series:

Princeton economic history of the Western world.

The Princeton Economic History of the Western World

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Industrialization--Soviet Union.

Industrialization.

Soviet Union--Economic policy.

Soviet Union.

Soviet Union--Economic conditions.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (324 pages)

Place of Publication:

Princeton, New Jersey : Princeton University Press, [2003]

Summary:

To say that history's greatest economic experiment--Soviet communism--was also its greatest economic failure is to say what many consider obvious. Here, in a startling reinterpretation, Robert Allen argues that the USSR was one of the most successful developing economies of the twentieth century. He reaches this provocative conclusion by recalculating national consumption and using economic, demographic, and computer simulation models to address the "what if" questions central to Soviet history. Moreover, by comparing Soviet performance not only with advanced but with less developed countries, he provides a meaningful context for its evaluation.Although the Russian economy began to develop in the late nineteenth century based on wheat exports, modern economic growth proved elusive. But growth was rapid from 1928 to the 1970s--due to successful Five Year Plans. Notwithstanding the horrors of Stalinism, the building of heavy industry accelerated growth during the 1930s and raised living standards, especially for the many peasants who moved to cities. A sudden drop in fertility due to the education of women and their employment outside the home also facilitated growth.While highlighting the previously underemphasized achievements of Soviet planning, Farm to Factory also shows, through methodical analysis set in fluid prose, that Stalin's worst excesses--such as the bloody collectivization of agriculture--did little to spur growth. Economic development stagnated after 1970, as vital resources were diverted to the military and as a Soviet leadership lacking in original thought pursued wasteful investments.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

List of Figures

List of Tables

Acknowledgments

CHAPTER ONE Soviet Development in World-Historical Perspective

PART ONE The Economy before Stalin

CHAPTER TWO Economic Growth before 1917

CHAPTER THREE The Development Problem in the 1920s

CHAPTER FOUR NEP Agriculture and Economic Development

PART TWO Stalin's Industrial Revolution

CHAPTER FIVE Planning, Collectivization, and Rapid Growth

CHAPTER SIX The Population History of the USSR

CHAPTER SEVEN The Standard of Living

CHAPTER EIGHT The Causes of Rapid Industrialization

CHAPTER NINE Preobrazhensky in Action

PART THREE After Stalin

CHAPTER TEN The Soviet Climacteric

APPENDIX A Soviet National Income

APPENDIX B The Simulation Model of the Soviet Economy

APPENDIX C Data Sources

APPENDIX D The Demographic Databases and Simulation Model Used in Chapter 6

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (p. [271]-293) and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9780691144313

0691144311

OCLC:

1257084027