The paper considers the theoretical and practical problems connected with the estimation Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the centrally planned economy of Czechoslovakia. In the methodological part the basic differences between the SNA (System of National Accounts) and MPS (Material Product System) accounting systems are discussed and several transformation procedures are presented. The price formation used in Czechoslovak MPS aggregates is briefly described before the problem of converting the data in national currency to US dollars is highlighted. Alternative GDP estimates, exchange rates and growth rates are compared. Own estimates, based on the purchasing parity type comparison with Austria, are presented in comparison with official Czechoslovak indexes. The appendices contain the detailed description of MPS/SNA transformation procedures as well as the statistical tables illustrating the process of GDP reconstruction based on Czechoslovak data for the period 1970-1990.

This book about the economy of Czechoslovakia from the 1970s to the 1980s. Source data from UN Data.Size. In the 1980s, the GDP of Czechoslovakia was equal to $52.5 billion per year; the value of agriculture was $3.4 billion; the value of manufacturing was $17.0 billion. Since the share in the world is between .1% and 1%, the country is classified as an average economy.Productivity. In the 1980s, the gross domestic product per capita was $3 391.7, the value of agriculture per capita was $217.4, the value of manufacturing per capita was $1 098.9. Since the productivity is between the average and the average of above average, the economy is classified as developed.Growth. In the 1980s, the growth of gross domestic product was 1.9%; the growth of agriculture was 4.9%; the growth of manufacturing was 0.83%.Structure. In the 1980s, the economy of Czechoslovakia consisted of: service (35.1%), industry (33.8%), construction (9.1%), trade (8.4%), agriculture (7.7%), and transportation (6.0%).

This paper is based on an internal report prepared by the IMF staff in connection with the application of the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic (Czechoslovakia) for membership in the IMF. The paper surveys the economic system that had developed up to the time of the reforms begun in 1987 and outlines the economy's performance during 1945–1985. It then discusses the economic developments of 1985–1990, with separate sections on output, prices, public finance, money, and the balance of payments. Prices served mainly as an instrument of central planning: each price was set independently and a change in one price had no influence on other prices. The annual foreign exchange plan, derived from the state plan, strictly controlled foreign exchange transactions. It specified imports and exports of goods and services by enterprises for the convertible and nonconvertible area. The exact modalities of the denationalization scheme have not yet been determined. However, consideration is being given to a scheme whereby state enterprises would be transformed into joint stock companies, and “ownership vouchers” would be distributed to the population which would entitle their holders to purchase stock in these companies.