Martin Ivanov: Did Living Standards Actually Improve Under State Socialism? Evidence From Bulgaria 1924-1989
| Termin |
Mittwoch, 31. Januar 2024, 18.00 - 19.30 Uhr |
|---|---|
| Veranstaltungsart | Workshop/Seminar |
| Reihe | Forschungsseminar "Economic History, Growth & Development" |
| Einrichtung | Wirtschaftswissenschaftlicher Bereich |
| Veranstalter | Lehrstuhl Prof. Dr. Lars Börner |
| Veranstaltungsort | Institut für Wirtschaftswissenschaften, Seminarraum I |
| Straße | Große Steinstraße 73 |
| PLZ/Ort | 06108 Halle (Saale) |
Beschreibung
Referent: Prof. Martin Ivanov, PhD (Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski" and Center for Advanced Study CAS Sofia)
Abstract:
This paper challenges the view that Centrally Planned Economies functioned well until the early 1970s, delivering high economic growth and better living standards. As part of a broader research effort into living standards under state socialism, it focuses on real wages and nutritional evidence. Judged by these yardsticks, it was only in the 1970s when the living standards in Bulgarian countryside surpass the levels achieved already four decades earlier. Our findings are particularly discomforting for the rural population which was the big loser of collectivization and forced industrialization policies after 1946. Big Push industrialization reduced nutritional welfare in addition to coming at high human and societal cost.