Changing priorities for industry and agriculture Flashcards
what happened to economic policy when Stalin died
Khrushchev moved towards a greater focus on light industry e.g consumer goods and chemicals and agriculture at a more realistic rate
what issues did Khrushchev face when trying to implement his economic policy?
local workers lacked the drive of innovation/ initiative due to terror and administrators in Moscow discouraged initiative.
the system was clumsy and wasteful, e.g once target set for demand if demand changed the system was to inflexible to respond
What policies did Khrushchev implement to deal with issues he faced when trying push ahead his economic policies?
1957 he set up 105 reginal economic councils to supervise enterprise (decentralisation)
harsh labour laws removed e.g. 48 hour week reduced to 41 by 1960
incentives introduced
managers were given more influence, allowed to keep 40% profits to reinvest into their enterprise
specialist technical schools set up and vocational training expanded
what were the successes of the 7th 5 year plan
discovery of new minerals in Volga-Urals fields and other places encouraged pushes in fuel and chemical industries shifting from coal to oil and gas
production on synthetic fibres increased from 166,000 tonnes in 1958 to 407 tonnes by 1965, increases in footwear, fabrics and housing from 71.2 million square meters in 1958 to 79.2 1965 (although advances many targets not met e.g. 666,000 for synthetic fibres
and regional development promoted, east of Urals received 40% of available investment
even if goals were not met, consumer goods were more available and it raised living standards for many
annual growth rate for 1950s was 7.1% compared to US at 2.9%
what were the failures of the 7th 5 year plan
quality was still poor example shoe factory met target but nailed heel to toe
annual growth rate for 1950s was 7.1% compared to US at 2.9% but soviet economy still lagged behind due to economic base being smaller
still problems in labour productivity inefficiency and waste
Gosplan become overwhelmed with work with less influence in decisions.
by 1964 economic growth slowed down, consumer goods spending reduced, housing programme cut back.
due to splits in the party by Stalin loyalists who wanted to focus on heavy industry Khrushchev reforms were watered down or ignored
conclusion of 7th 5 year plan
made more progress in consumer goods then any previous leader but still needs work
what did Khrushchev do to increase productivity in agriculture
1955 individual collectives were given greater power to make decisions at local level
MTS abolished, replaced by system were collectives bought own machinery (naïve)
collectives increased in size linking food production with food processing, creating greater economies of scale, investment and increased mechanisation and irrigation (unpopular with peasants)
prices for state procurements increased, seizing of food replaced by planned state purchases (to increase productivity)
peasants with private produce allowed to sell at private markers so they would grow more food, nearly all egg came from private plots
what was the virgin Land scheme
introduced in 1954, volunteers often from the communist league were put to work in areas like Siberia and Kazakhstan to open new areas of agricultural production , 6 million acres were cultivated and over 120,000 tractors provided
what was the most famous agricultural initiative Khrushchev introduced.
the virgin Land scheme
what success did Khrushchev achieve in agriculture
succeeded in raising status of agriculture
incomes of farmers doubled 1952 to 1958 but still lower than industrial
food production increased by over a half between 1953 and 1958
Hoe did Khrushchev fail during his agricultural reforms
productity remained low even though a lot of workers US still produced double what soviet did
virgin land scheme was failing as Kazakhstan grain production target wasn’t met as land was dry and not suitable for food crops so plants died
investment had increased but not by enough, poor roads and inadequate storage facilities meant food didn’t even get to consumers
millions of live stock slaughtered due to low crop harvests
USSR actually had to import grain from north America and Australia
What reforms did Alexei Kosygin introduce after Khrushchev was dismissed
launched a series of reforms which aimed to unleash creativity within the decision making process and improve productivity
by giving incentives to enterprise managers to use their resources more productively.
made central planning take more notice of cost and profit, rather than quantity to measure success
what happened to Khrushchev’s reforms after he was dismissed
most of his contentious policies were abandoned but otherwise it stayed the same
what was the result of Kosygin reforms
little was achieved, central planners disliked reforms that made them accountable for policies they had no/little control over.
reforms were watered down by Brezhnev so they were ineffective e.g. bonuses for output higher than innovation, profit incentivised enterprise to make fewer more expensive items
resulted in Kosygin being side-lined in 1968 by Brezhnev
what economic reforms did Brezhnev introduce?
1973 industrial complexes were joined with scientific research to ensure latest tech was applied to production
system of targets further centralised in 1974, new targets attempted to focus on profit and cost rather than output
what was the result of Brezhnev’s reforms
reforms were just a tinker to they system,
new technology adaptations were limited as mangers feared losing production while new machinery was installed
new equipment was just left to rust and factories just used old equipment
profit and cost indicators mislead as government set prices
what did Brezhnev emphasise in his ninth 5 year plan?
consumer goods
what did Brezhnev achieve in his ninth year 5 plan
consumer goods increased higher than industry
goals were not fulfilled but still impressive, living standards rose
by 1980 85% of families had Tv’s, 70% had washing machines
9% had cars but public transport was heavily funded
what did Brezhnev achieve in agriculture
re centralised to ministry of agriculture
virgin land scheme dropped
26% of all investment on agriculture
fertilisers were particularly invested in
allowed bigger role for production on private plots
steady rise in overall production
where did Brezhnev fail in agriculture
steady decline in productivity due to being large and unskilled
equipment prone to breaking down
roads were impassable so most of the food rotted
shortage of foodstuffs available due to production not keeping up with demand private plots had to take up the slack , 1% produced 25% of all food
in all little changed still high investment and inefficiency
what did Andropov’s economic policy focus on
not change but improve labour discipline ( cracking down on alcoholism and absenteeism)
removal of corruption as production figures were falsified, materials stolen by black market
what did Andropov’s reforms achieve
all achieved was resentment towards the government
