The function and condition of market mechanism under the Soviet planning economy: focusing on the Kolkhoz market of late 1930s'

2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15K03582
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Economic history
• Research Institution: Wako University (2017); Saitama Gakuen University (2015-2016)
• Principal Investigator: HIDAI Takeo 和光大学, 経済経営学部, 准教授 (00633512)
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2018-03-31
• Keywords: ソ連 / コルホーズ / 農民 / 生活水準 / 市場メカニズム / 計画経済 / 集団化 / スターリン

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The purpose of this research is to examine how market mechanism exceptionally functioned in the Soviet planned economy under the Stalin regime, especially in the late 1930s'. This is shown through an analysis of data of deals at the Kolkhoz markets. These data were gathered using the raw handwritten materials of statistics reserved in the State Archive of Russian Federation.
On May 1932, Soviet government authorized free deals at the Kolkhoz markets, and Kolkhoz peasants began to sell their food products of private plots at the markets. After the official recognition, the contents of deals at the markets were regularly recorded by the authorities. In these markets, main factors of price change were not only seasonal variation, but the competition with state-run shops in the sphere of price and volume.
In addition to these considerations, the influence of market mechanisms to the lives of Kolkhoz peasants and residents of cities also be explored.

Free Research Field

経済史　ソ連史