Theme 2 - Reasons for Economic Decline

Question 1

What evidence is there to suggest the Soviet economy was in decline after 1950s?

Answer 1

1950s = economic growth of 7%
1960s = economic growth of 5%
1970s = economic growth of 3%
- production was now heavily influenced by government. Decided values of products

Question 2

Why did the ‘fixation on output’ mask the underlying problems?

Answer 2

• Continued push for quantity over quality. Many rotted in storage

Question 3

What productivity issues were there by the 1980s?

Answer 3

• Low productivity.
  Agriculture used 25% of workforce and 26% of investment in a larger area than the US but Only 1/6th of USA output

Question 4

How did The legacy of the Stalinist system contribute to the decline of the economy?

Answer 4

• The focus on heavily developed industrial output after the 2nd world war meant it was more difficult to switch to a more efficient and quality focus.

Question 5

How did Problems inherent in a command economy contribute to the decline of the economy?

Answer 5

Central control did not encourage innovation and creativity inside of the system.
Experimentation was seen as a threat to the power of central planners. Brezhnev particularly wanted to please the party officials rather than encourage growth

Question 6

How did The ‘social contract’ contribute to the decline of the economy?

Answer 6

Government and workforce failed to understand severity of inefficiency.
Ended up with workers doing very little real work yet government unwilling to face unemployment by punishing this

Question 7

How did Lack of investment contribute to the decline of the economy?

Answer 7

Although there was funding for agriculture, it was not enough to make up for the underfunding under Stalin. Machinery, transport and facilities remained in short supply

Question 8

How did Outdated technology contribute to the decline of the economy?

Answer 8

USSR struggled to keep up with western technology.
Brezhnev attempted to fix this by combining industry with science yet old methods persisted

Question 9

How did The dominance of the military-industrial complex contribute to the decline of the economy?

Answer 9

Military equipment made up for 18% of Soviet resources.
Brezhnev doctrine for foreign intervening further increased the focus on the military. This funding could be used elsewhere.