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.
