The Use Of Production Functions To Investigate Soveit Indus

An econometric analysis of Soviet industry is undertaken to investigate some effects of industrial reform in the USSR. A rich literature exists concerning both Soviet industrial production functions and economic reform. Several episodes of economic industrial reform have occurred since Stalin's death in 1953, including Khrushchev's sovnarkhoz reform in 1957, the Kosygin Reform announced in 1965, and the formation of production associations beginning in 1970. Annual data for the period 1950-1985 on output, capital stock, industrial wage workers, managerial personnel in enterprises, and average working week are used to estimate a constant returns to scale Cobb-Douglas production function. It is found that: 1. reform has affected estimates of Soviet production functions, 2. the measured effects support the view that reform efforts have not improved managerial efficiency in Soviet industry, and 3. regime changes do not appear to have significant effects on Soviet industrial production functions.