CENTRAL PLANNERS AS MARKET STABILIZERS - EVIDENCE FROM POLAND AND THE SOVIET-UNION

The ability of planners in Poland and the USSR to recognize and act to eliminate market disequilibrium in the markets for grain and meat is tested by means of an econometric model of grain and meat production, consumption and trade. Planners' perceptior s of excess demand for grain, meat and foreign exchange are shown to influence production and trade decisions in a way that tends to reduce excess demand or supply. Nevertheless, the markets for grain, meat and foreign exchange are shown to be characterized by excess demand or supply for much of the sample period.