Overtake and Surpass the USA in the Productivity of Labor

Fulfillment of the fundamental economic objective of the USSR-that of overtaking and surpassing the most advanced capitalist countries in production per head of population in the briefest possible historical period-depends, to a decisive degree, upon increasing labor productivity.

The Development of Economic Studies

In the decree "On the Activity of the Siberian Branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences Regarding the Development of Basic and Applied Research, Increasing Its Effectiveness, the Incorporation of Scientific Advances in the National Economy, and the Training of Cadres," adopted in February 1977, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union [CPSU] emphasized that the raising of the scientific-technical potential of Siberia and the Far East must be geared to the all-round acceleration of the development of the productive forces in the eastern regions of the nation. This once again emphasizes the timeliness of economic studies that have been carried out in Siberia for the last twenty years.

A New Stage in the Evolution of the System of Economic Management

The present stage of developed socialist society makes greater and greater demands on the system of economic management. The Twenty-fifth Party Congress emphasized that among the key questions of economic policy, "organization, i.e., further improvement in the management of the economy in the broadest sense of the word, becomes decisive."

Application of Mathematical Methods in Economic Analysis

Karl Marx felt that economics must make extensive use of mathematical methods of analysis. This should especially concern the economics of socialism, which serves as a guide in economic activities and therefore by its very nature is an exact science. The national economic plans can and should determine the trends in the development of our national economy with the same precision as the trajectories of the Soviet space rockets and sputniks were determined. For this purpose modern mathematical methods and electronic computer technique should be widely used in economics and planning. Of course, this can yield favorable results only on the basis of the Marxist-Leninist teachings on the laws of the economic development of society.

Methods of Analyzing and Calculating the Distribution of Workers and Employees by the Amount of Wages

The target figures for thedevelopment of the USSR national economy for 1959-1965 provide for an increase in minimum wages from 270-350 to 400-450 rubles a month in the course of wage adjustments in 1969-1962, and up to 500-600 rublesa month in 1963-1965. The minimum wages of workere and employees are to rise by 70 to SO%, with average wages increasing by 26%. This will provide the basis for substantially reducing the wage gap between the lower- and medium-paid groups on the one laand, and the higher-paid groups on the other. All this will lead to fundamental changes in the distribution of workers and employees by the amount of wages.

Living Standards of the Working People in the USSR and the USA

The transition to the comprehensive building of communism in the USSR marks the beginning of a new historic era for the whole of mankind. Under the leadership of the Marxist-Leninist Party, the Soviet people are mobilizing all their material and spiritual forces in order to be the first people in the world to create a society which realizes the principle "from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs." The ways and means of building communism are defined in detail in the draft of the new Program of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

The Working Day and Communism

The systematic reduction of the working day is an objective economic law of development of socialist society. It is directly linked with the aim of production under socialism, with ensuring "the complete well-being and free rounded development of >u>all>/u> members of society." (>u>1>/u>) Unrestricted development of personality, manifestation of all of the inclinations and talents of every individual, presupposes reduction of working time. This most important thesis of Marxist political economy was put forth and substantiated in Volume III of >u>Capital>/u>, where Marx pointed out that the reduction of the working day is the main prerequisite for ensuring a "real reign of freedom," which is essential for the rounded development of human personality.

Using Mathematical Models and Electronic Computers in Economic Planning Calculations for Wages Income, and Consumption

A vast program for raising the people's living standards is being implemented in our country. Within the Seven-Year Plan period (1959 to 1965) the consumption fund in the national income of the USSR will increase by approximately 60 billion rubles. Grants and benefits to be paid from the state budget and the funds of enterprises will increase by 14.5 billion rubles. Additional expenditures connected with reducing the length of the working day as well as adjusting wages and raising their minimums will exceed 10 billion rubles, and the sum to be gained by workers and employees from the abolition of taxes will amount, if calculated for 1966, to 7.4 billion rubles a year.

The Siberian Complex: The Experience of Systems Analysis

The methodology of the systems analysis of a complex problem â and the determination of the development of the productive forces of Siberia is unquestionably such a complex problem â presupposes the examination of a higher level system that includes the elaboration of scenarios (pictures of the future) and their situational analysis, the construction of a tree of goals required for the solution of the given problem, the evaluation of alternatives and the selection of an effective variant, and the formulation of a program designed to solve the problem. The Institute of Economics and Organization of Industrial Production of the Siberian Department of the USSR Academy of Sciences has amassed a certain amount of experience in the systems analysis of the socioeconomic development of Siberia, and in this article I shall attempt to describe its most important aspects.

Lessons of the Crisis

The article analyzes the reasons for and development of the economic crisis in Russia, and possible ways out of it. Special attention is given to transition to an innovation development scenario.