Farm to Factory: A Reinterpretation of the Soviet Industrial Revolution

Robert C. Allen

Published by Princeton University Press 2003

Farm to Factory

A Reinterpretation of the Soviet Industrial Revolution

Robert C. Allen

Volume 29 in the series The Princeton Economic History of the Western World

https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400832552

Overview
Contents

About this book

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.

Author / Editor information

Robert C. Allen is Professor of Economic History at Oxford University and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. He is the author of Enclosure and the Yeoman.

Reviews

"This well-written book will be quite controversial, finding as it does something good about the Soviet system when all others are saying the opposite. Allen's main conclusions—that the pre-revolutionary economy would not have done well had it been continued, that collectivization was not a disaster, and that there was considerable merit in Stalinist investment strategies—represent a lone voice in the wilderness that needs to be heard."—Paul Gregory, author of The Political Economy of Stalinism and Before Command: The Russian Economy from Emancipation to Stalin

"Farm to Factory . . . provide[s] new insights on several key issues and presents a stimulating and wide-ranging perspective on twentieth-century Soviet social and economic history."---Gijs Kessler, International Review of Social History

"A magnificent accomplishment. This is a major work of synthetic research, one that will be disputed, debated, and discussed for many years to come. It is a carefully crafted piece of painstaking quantitative research but also a searching and provocative study of one of the most perplexing episodes in European history. Allen's book will be read by anyone—historian, social scientist, political analyst—interested in the deep and complex issues posed by the greatest failed experiment in the history of the human race."—Joel Mokyr, author of The Gifts of Athena and series editor, Princeton Economic History of the Western World

"Co-Winner of the 2005 Ranki Prize, Economic History Association"

"Robert Allen considers . . . contentions about the costs and achievements of industrialization and the collectivization of agriculture in the USSR."---Paul Josephson, Technology and Culture

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
List of Figures Publicly Available Download PDF	ix
List of Tables Publicly Available Download PDF	xi
Acknowledgments Publicly Available Download PDF	xiii
CHAPTER ONE Soviet Development in World-Historical Perspective Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
PART ONE The Economy before Stalin
CHAPTER TWO Economic Growth before 1917 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	19
CHAPTER THREE The Development Problem in the 1920s Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	47
CHAPTER FOUR NEP Agriculture and Economic Development Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	65
PART TWO Stalin's Industrial Revolution
CHAPTER FIVE Planning, Collectivization, and Rapid Growth Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	89
CHAPTER SIX The Population History of the USSR Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	111
CHAPTER SEVEN The Standard of Living Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	132
CHAPTER EIGHT The Causes of Rapid Industrialization Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	153
CHAPTER NINE Preobrazhensky in Action Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	172
PART THREE After Stalin
CHAPTER TEN The Soviet Climacteric Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	187
APPENDIX A Soviet National Income Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	212
APPENDIX B The Simulation Model of the Soviet Economy Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	223
APPENDIX C Data Sources Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	238
APPENDIX D The Demographic Databases and Simulation Model Used in Chapter 6 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	249
Notes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	253
Bibliography Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	271
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	295