ABSTRACT
There are two kinds of exceptions to the rule that microeconomic demand fails to have the required influence on supply, that plan indicators do not and cannot indicate just what is needed. One of these relates to homogeneous commodities, which may be termed ‘plannable’, of which electricity is the best example. A figure such as ‘100 kWh’ is unambiguous and clear, unlike 100 pairs of shoes or 100 spare parts for tractors. The other concerns those cases in which the centre is itself the customer, and can directly demand that its demands are met: this is the case with armaments. Of course armaments are also a very high priority, but not all high-priority sectors fare well under the centralised system: thus there is no doubt at all about the importance which the top leadership attaches to technical progress, but to translate this desire into operational ‘micro orders’ has proved remarkably difficult.
