Documents / FOIA release

USSR: Measures of Economic Growth and Development, 1950-80

Central Intelligence Agency · 1982-12-08 · 399 pages · text from the file's own layer

This Joint Committee Print, dated December 8, 1982, gathers studies that the Central Intelligence Agency's Directorate of Intelligence prepared for the Joint Economic Committee of the US Congress. It gives estimates of Soviet gross national product for 1950 to 1980, with indexes of industrial production, agricultural production and consumption, and explains the methods and data behind them. The foreword says official Soviet statistics inflate growth and that the CIA measures offer a more accurate picture. The document contains no UFO material.

  • p. 18 …Power, United Nations International Comparisons Project, Phase I (Baltimore, The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1975) ICP…
  • p. 19 …Oleg 1-Ioeffding, Soviet National Income and Product in 1928, Columbia University Press, New York, 1954…
  • p. 21 …In theory, the Soviets " Basic Principles of the System of Balances of the National Economy, United…
  • p. 50 …Lawrence Grose, Real Output Measurement in the United States National Income and Product Accounts, US Department…
  • p. 166 …The subsidies on housing, recreation, and the press were allocated to the housing, recreation, and other…
  • p. 181 …Duke University Press, 1972), pp. 155-194; with Wade Robertson, “Industrial Production in the USSR," Soviet…
  • p. 183 …tons, square meters, units of production, or some other convention- al measure. Examples of this type…
  • p. 210 …For example, the production of commodities pub- lished in physical units includes intraplant turnover, but the…
  • p. 222 …bulbs Units Narkhoz Machine tools sector ml Meta? cutting machine tools Rubles Narkhoz Forge presses sector…
  • p. 249 …Hardt, eds., Soviet Economic Statistics, Durham, N.C., Duke University Press, 1972 Treml and Hardt U…
  • p. 261 …Khrushchev stat- ed that “figures for average yield (of grain) which you read in the press…
  • p. 308 …central press. 8 Because the official data have again been made available to the United States…
  • p. 320 …Power, United Nations International Comparisons Project, Phase I (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1975) ICP…
  • p. 321 …2 For details, see United Nations, Comparisons ofthe System of National Accounts and the System of…
  • p. 328 …Judging from a mass of anecdotal evidence from the Soviet press concerning the poor quality of…
  • p. 342 …Although the average size of a dwelling unit increased between 1950 and 1978-by 17 percent…
Approved for Release: 2019/07/19 C05210421
LETTERS OF TRANSMITTAL
O(1ro1;1<11: 28, 1982.
To the M embers of the Joint Economic Uommittee:
I am transmitting for the use of the Members of the Joint Economic Com-
mittee, other Members of Congress, and the public a volume of studies entitled
“USSR: Measures of Economic Growth and Development, 1950-S0.” The
volume was prepared by the Central Intelligence Agency at the request of the
Joint Economic Committee.
The volume contains a series of tables estimating the Soviet gross national
product and its components. Separate sections cover industrial production, agri-
culture, and consumption. Part I contains estimates of Soviet GNP by sector
of origin and end use. Part II is an index of Soviet industrial production. Part
III is an index of agricultural production. Part IV is an index of consumption.
The studies also describe the methodology and data used.
The Joint Economic Committee is pleased to publish this study in the
hopes that it will help improve our understanding of the Soviet economy.
These studies fill a long-term gap in the ‘West created by Soviet secrecy and
deficiencies in the publication of official economic data as well as (lilferences in
the economic accounting system used in that country. The project was super-
vised for the Joint Economic Committee by Richard F. Kaufman.
Sincerely, HENRY S. Rr.Uss,
(,’h_ai1~1nan, Joint Economic Committee.
OCTOBER 26, 1982.
Hon. IIENRY S. REUss,
Uhztirman, Joint Econ0'm2'c (/ommittce,
(/lonarcss of the United States,
Washington, I).O.
DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN : The attached is a volume of studies entitled “USSR:
Measures of Economic Growth and Development, 1950-80.” The studies were
prepared by specialists at the Central Intelligence Agency at the request of the
Committee. Taken together, they represent an up-to-date, comprehensive, quan-
tified assessment of the Soviet economy.
Sincerely,
RICI{ARD F. l{A1u~'M./\N.
Assistant Director, J mint [2'P0n1nn-7'(? (lmmmttce.
(III)
Approved for Release: 2019/07/19 C05210421

Not linked to a story yet.

About this file

FOIA release, from the cia-readingroom collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is under it. 399 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.