Khozraschyot[a] (‹ThetemplateLang-rus is beingconsidered for deletion.› Russian:хозрасчёт,IPA:[ˌxozrɐˈɕːɵt]; short forхозяйственный расчётkhoziaistvennyi raschyot, 'economic accounting') was an attempt to introduce capitalist concepts ofprofit andprofit center into theplanned economy of the Soviet Union.Khozraschyot introduced a certain degree of independence of enterprises (which continued to be state-owned and subject to state control) and allowed for self-management and self-financing within the framework of prices set by the Soviet government.[1]
The term has often been translated ascost accounting, a term more commonly used for management approaches in afree market economy. It has also been conflated with other concepts:self-financing,cost-effectiveness (самоокупаемость;samookupaemost), andself-management (самоуправление;samoupravlenie) introduced in state-owned enterprises in the 1980s.
As defined in theSoviet Encyclopedic Dictionary:
Khozraschyot is a method of the planned running of an economic unit (i.e., of abusiness, in Western terms) based on the confrontation of theexpenses incurred in production with the production output, on the compensation of expenses with theincome.
Khozraschyot introduced the necessity of accountability andprofitability, as well as motivation for economical expenditures. The concept was introduced duringLenin'sNew Economic Policy (NEP) period.[2] However, the concept of "profitability" often favouredlight industry overheavy industry, which was sometimes deemed to have "poor profitability." Since the development of heavy industry andcapital goods was a priority for the rapid modernisation of the Soviet Union, by the end of the 1920s, the notion of economic profitability was subordinated to the requirements of aneconomic plan. This plan was heavily influenced by political decisions, with its "control figures" becoming obligatory targets within the framework of theFive-Year Plans.
The concept re-emerged during the1965 Soviet economic reform ("Kosygin's reform") and was further emphasised in the late 1980s duringperestroika, when it also includedworkers' self-management. A tentative step towards private activity occurred in 1986 with a law allowing private management of a few handicraft and service businesses, which involved unpaid and family labour, strict state controls, and high tax rates of 65% (later reduced in 1988).[3]
