The Hungarian agricultural ‘miracle’ and the limits of socialist reforms

Before the post-Maoist turnaround in China, Hungary was the only state socialist country which by the 1970s had created a dynamic agricultural sector. Hungary was the only socialist country where collectivized agriculture eliminated shortages of food, successfully became a food exporter, and created impressive rural affluence. Though collectivization initially caused agricultural output to fall, after 1964-5 production subsequently grew, and by the mid-1970s the agrarian sector was achieving impressive results (Berend and Ránki 1985).