Reassessing the Standard of Living in the Soviet Union: An Analysis Using Archival and Anthropometric Data

Elizabeth Brainerd

No 1958, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: Both Western and Soviet estimates of GNP growth in the USSR indicate that GNP per capita grew in every decade – sometimes rapidly – from 1928 to 1985. While this measure suggests that the standard of living improved in the USSR throughout this period, it is unclear whether this economic growth translated into improved well-being for the population as a whole. This paper uses previously unpublished archival data on infant mortality and anthropometric studies of children conducted across the Soviet Union to reassess the standard of living in the USSR using these alternative measures of well-being. In the prewar period these data indicate a population extremely small in stature and sensitive to the political and economic upheavals visited upon the country by Soviet leaders and outside forces. Remarkably large and rapid improvements in infant mortality, birth weight, child height and adult stature were recorded from approximately 1940 to the late 1960s. While this period of physical growth was followed by stagnation in heights and an increase in adult male mortality, it appears that the Soviet Union avoided the sustained declines in stature that occurred in the United States and United Kingdom during industrialization in those countries.

Keywords: standard of living; health; Russia; Soviet Union (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: N34 P23 P36 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 49 pages
Date: 2006-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-tra
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

Published - published in: Journal of Economic History, 2010, 70 (1), 83 - 117

Downloads: (external link)
https://docs.iza.org/dp1958.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
Journal Article: Reassessing the Standard of Living in the Soviet Union: An Analysis Using Archival and Anthropometric Data (2010)
Working Paper: Reassessing the Standard of Living in the Soviet Union: An Analysis Using Archival and Anthropometric Data (2006)
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:iza:izadps:dp1958

Ordering information: This working paper can be ordered from
IZA, Margard Ody, P.O. Box 7240, D-53072 Bonn, Germany

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA) IZA, P.O. Box 7240, D-53072 Bonn, Germany. Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Holger Hinte ().