ABSTRACT
Why should we study the Soviet economy? There are a number of cogent reasons for economists and laymen alike to know more about it. Perhaps the most obvious reason is simply that the system developed in the Soviet Union is being applied, with some local variations, to a large part of the globe. Within the countries of the Soviet bloc, if Soviet statisticians are to be believed, there will be produced by 1965 over half of the industrial output of the world. It seems desirable, therefore, to examine how the Soviet economic system works. As citizens, we should acquaint ourselves with its special features, with its strength and weaknesses, with the content and credibility of its statistical claims. As economists, we should surely be aware of the way in which so much of the world's economy is run.
