ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that, since 1979, the Soviet Union has experienced not only low growth rates of a number of real indicators but also an acceleration in the rise in the money supply, and particularly in currency in circulation. There surely are many analytical vantage points from which to view and dissect the consequences of the sharp drop in Soviet economic growth that occurred in 1979 and the persistence of relatively low rates of growth since then. Yu. V. Andropov took over from Marshal Brezhnev not only a country in the midst of economic stagnation and major social change, but also one in which public opinion was in danger of becoming seriously polarized on issues of socio-economic policy, morality, equity, and ideology. Managerial autonomy under conditions of strong inflationary pressure may be seen as a license for diverting resources from officially desired ends and leading to even more misappropriation of state property, statistical legerdemain, self-enrichment, and corruption.
