1. Brezhnevs economic and agricultural policy

2. Copy out the following scenarios and try to work out if they would produce a profit, loss or no difference.
Production costs (PC) are everything that it is involved in producing something, e.g. Paying workers, transporting goods, etc.
Output (O) is how much is made.
Profit (P) is the amount of money that is left over after taking into account production costs.
Scenarios
PC up O down = P?
PC up O up = P?
PC down O up = P?
PC up O same = P?
3. Why Kosygins reforms failed
Brezhnevs era did not ban reform but Party politicians hoped to address defects within Communism within the confines of the state-controlled economy.
Whilst Kosygin tried to encourage enterprise, because there was still an emphasis on output targets, many managers did not want to take the risk in being entrepreneurial in case it affected overall output (managers bonus rested on hitting output targets).
There were also other problems discussed last lesson:
Prices set by central authorities bore no relation to actual production costs.
Regime were unwilling to penalise poorly run industries or employees.
4. Agricultural reform
Brezhnev looked to improve life for peasantry to slow the exodus from the countryside to the towns.
Overall state investment tripled under Brezhnev.
However, efficiency/productivity fell and the extra investment caused a strain on the rest of the Soviet economy.
Prices on collective farms run by peasants rose, while the state heavily subsidised the state farms to keep their prices low.
Task
Write down your discussion points for the Activity on p.91.
5. Developed Socialism
Khrushchevs bold predictions of overtaking the USA and reaching Communism by 1980s put Brezhnev in a difficult position.
He could not completely rubbish Khrushchevs claims for fear of destroying morale, so talked of a developed socialism in 1977.
Basically, this meant that while the country had made some huge advances in industry, it was not yet possible to launch a direct transition into Communism.
6. Task
Explain some of the problems that the Soviet economy suffered under Brezhnev from p.93-4 under Economic Progress. Use the following sub-titles to help you:
Infrastructural problems (i.e. accessing resrouces)
Environmental problems
Technological progress
Consumer goods