National accounts and international comparisons for the former Soviet Union

Abstract

Despite a long-standing experience in national accounting in the former USSR, it is well established that official Soviet estimates of economic growth were substantially overstated. Furthermore. a peculiar fact showing the internal inconsistency in the official national accounts ofthe Soviet Union is that independent estimates of relative levels of USSR and US national income and GNP comparisons suggested much lower growth rates. However, even the former comparative level estimates are now by many regarded as overstated. This paper briefly reviews the history of the official national accounts in both the former Soviet Union and new Russia. then turns to a review of the revisionist estimates ofgrowth; and finally offers a comparative discussion ofthe USSR/USA levels.