ABSTRACT
The economies of socialist societies are characterised by the stability of their retail prices. This is reflected in the published retail price indices, as can be seen in the following table: Annual Average Changes in the Retail Price Level<xref ref-type="fn" rid="fn_tab16_1_1"> <sup>1</sup> </xref> in the Period between 1960 and 1973 Country Foodstuffs Others Total Bulgaria +1·5 +0·1 +0·8 Czechoslovakia +0·4 +0·8 +0·5 Poland +1·2 +0·4 +0·7 Hungary +1·4 +0·6 +1·0 German Democratic Republic +0·2 –0·3 –0·1 Rumania +0·7 –0·5 +01 Soviet Union +0·5 –0·6 –
Owing to differences in the methods of calculation and the coverages of the trade included, the published retail price indices of the European socialist countries cannot be compared precisely. Except for one or two countries, the price statistics published represent the retail trade price index.
