Scarcity is a market situation when the quantity of a good produced is less than the quantity that people are willing to buy. Deficiency or excess can be natural phenomena only for a short period of time.

Shortages of goods can arise due to inflation, when the prices of raw materials and other goods necessary for production increase greatly. In this case, the quantity of goods produced is reduced by the manufacturer.

This situation can also arise due to improper planning. The number of units produced is determined by the market that is willing to buy. Bursts of activity can be caused by the time of year, fashion and other factors.

A shortage may arise due to a decrease in imports of goods into the country. Reduced purchasing budgets, violation of trade agreements, unforeseen circumstances, etc. It is impossible to consider the economy of any individual modern country, because it is directly related to the global situation. And if trouble happens in any important country, it affects everyone.

Where does the excess come from and what are its consequences?

Over the past 10 years, Russia has not had a shortage on any significant scale. Excess of goods has no less significant consequences. But, it would seem, what could be bad when there are a lot of goods?

There can be two reasons for the excess of goods in the market and warehouses. The first and most terrible thing was when it grew rapidly, and then there was a decline. As a result, manufacturers do not have time to adjust to the new volume of work, and more goods are produced. Depending on the size of the downturn, there could be job losses, layoffs, and even the closure of entire businesses.

The second option for the emergence of a surplus is the disappearance of the possibility of exporting products in the same volume as before. The reasons may be the same as with deficiency.

The task of economists is to anticipate the occurrence of such situations in the market and influence it. The advantage of a mixed economy over a market economy is precisely that the state can intervene in certain areas. John Keynes also created a theory, the essence of which is that the market cannot regulate itself.

Today, the gradual introduction of the role of the state in economic processes and the export of raw materials, which smooths out rough edges, helps to avoid such problems in Russia.

Deficiency is a phenomenon in which there is a lack of finances or material assets. If you trace the factors that cause such a result, you can competently deal with them.

Trade shortage

A shortage of goods can be considered a sign of a situation when the demand for a particular product of a certain production exceeds its supply. And the supplier is simply not able to fully satisfy the needs of customers. This phenomenon can occur even in cases where the economy operates according to a carefully planned scenario.

However, scarcity is a phenomenon that appears much more often in conditions of uncertainty inherent in the market. If the value constantly changes, a state of disequilibrium arises, which, however, can be corrected. To do this, they begin to raise prices. A shortage is a situation in which the popularity of a product among buyers does not play into the hands of manufacturers.

A small plus for the seller

There is scope for more earnings. Thus, there will be a large monetary “layer” between the cost and the selling price. Even when it exists, people will still not lose interest in the product. Due to the incoming funds, it is possible to increase the volume of production, due to which the problem itself will simply cease to exist, because the deficiency will be covered.

Natural regulation processes

However, if we are talking about a planned economy, which is less flexible than a market economy, this maneuver will not be possible. The task of suppressing the causes of shortages becomes more difficult. Government price regulation is not as effective as filling such gaps naturally. Just like an organism strengthening its immunity in the fight against a disease, the economy should be able to recover not through artificial intervention, but thanks to its own characteristics. This method will be the most reliable. If adjustments are not made in this way, it may happen that the adverse effects are prolonged.

In such cases, the state, represented by the regulatory body, sets higher prices for goods or inflates production quotas. If you act carelessly, warehouses become overstocked and become full of unsold goods. The phenomenon, for example, was observed in the Soviet Union, when goods in short supply were sold only in pairs with those that had lost liquidity.

Lack of funds

A deficit is a phenomenon that can also affect the budget of a particular organization or the entire financial system of a country. The balance between receipts and disbursement of funds is very important here. Funding shortfalls are a problem that a country can face when its treasury is empty and the people still need payments.

This situation can be caused by economics, politics and even nature, as well as a number of other reasons. Taxes and other revenues may not be enough to cover expenses. For the normal functioning of the country, it is important to establish harmony between these two manipulations. This can be achieved with the competent organization of all processes that take place in the economy. Why do you need to calculate in advance how much money needs to be issued in order to collect the appropriate money supply and add it to the budget? In extreme cases, borrowing is used.

The need for a plan

If you foresee the state of the total amount of state values ​​that will exist after some time, you can protect yourself and your citizens from unpleasant surprises. Otherwise, a situation will be created where all life processes and mechanisms in the country will simply freeze. Money is the equivalent of those goods that are daily reproduced and consumed by the inhabitants of the country.

When drawing up a budget plan, economists must correctly calculate the income gap. If one may arise, some professionals advise creating a surplus, which means creating a safety stock that prevents expenses from exceeding income. However, this also may not always result in positive consequences. The economy will be overloaded, and the efficiency of using money will become lower. The ideal situation is when there are no distortions in either direction. This is the only way to avoid any negative phenomena.

How to get out of this situation?

There are a number of measures that are used in standard practice to improve the situation. Those who plan a budget usually resort to the following steps:

• They reduce budget expenses, set certain costs for individual institutions, beyond which funds are simply not spent.
• Income is distributed between funds of various levels in accordance with their spending powers.
• To maximize the money supply, states find additional reserves in their accounts by monitoring the work of institutions that directly receive this money.
• Regulation in this area may be outdated, so it needs to be modernized periodically.
• Expenses must be subject to clear planning, thanks to which there can potentially be an increase in revenue due to actions that stimulate economic processes. In this case, social problems are effectively overcome.
• Deductions from accounts are made sparingly; expenses that are not absolutely necessary are not incurred.
• Borrowing should ensure an influx of currency and valuables, as well as reliability associated with confidence and freedom to conduct various settlement transactions.

This situation can happen in any market. The main thing is to approach the process of solving it correctly.

According to statistics, product shortages are one of the most pressing problems for both sellers and buyers and are often estimated at approximately 8% of total turnover. According to another, no less sad statistics, in large stores the surplus of goods (often called “unliquid stock”) amounts to up to 20% of the total assortment!

In other words, it is extremely difficult to get rid of these two scourges. Both are often the result of improper planning and insufficient control over consumer demands. The treatment process can drag on for months and as a result, while getting rid of global shortage syndrome, the store often ends up with excess inventory.

What is more dangerous for the company? Deficit or surplus? Of course, the most dangerous situation is to have a shortage of one product and a surplus of another. Conversely, it is best to have neither one nor the other. However, let's not turn a blind eye to the obvious - shortages and surpluses were, are, and perhaps will still occur. It is necessary to know the enemy by sight, so let’s take a closer look at these two common phenomena.

Deficit. Its causes and consequences

Shortage- excess of demand over supply. A shortage indicates a mismatch between supply and demand and the absence of a balancing price.

The deficiency may be temporary or permanent. But in any case, its consequences are quite obvious - the company receives less profit. However, not all so simple. If the deficit is of a constant, protracted nature, then the consequences may be sadder than it seems at first glance:

• Loss of profit due to too low price;
• Direct losses due to lack of sales;
• Deterioration of the store’s image in the eyes of customers: “The products you need are never available here”;
• Loss of potential and actual clients;
• Empty store shelves, unfilled counters;
• Increase in sales from competitors who have such a product;
• Costs due to actions aimed at eliminating shortages - moving goods on shelves, urgently searching for a substitute product;
• Wasted money on an advertising campaign or tasting;
• Stress among employees and, as a result, their demotivation.

The consequences of shortages relate more to the external environment of the store and are especially dangerous for a company that is in a stage of growth and development, when winning customers and their loyalty is a strategic goal.

Let's consider the possible factors why we have dissatisfied buyers, nervous sellers and lack of goods in stock:

1. Unbalanced price (demand outstrips supply). Typically, a shortage indicates low supply caused by a low price. “They are selling like hotcakes,” we say, meaning that the goods are going out quickly. Too fast. So fast that we can't keep up with the increased demand. A striking example is a product during sales. A discount of up to 50% was announced and, as a result, people flocked to the store, buying everything that had yellow price tags on it. Who doesn't want to buy candy for half the price? However, price is not always the only reason for shortages.

What to do? Raise the price.

2. Errors in purchasing planning and sales analysis. As a rule, this reason lies in people who, for some reason, do their job poorly. Perhaps they are not trained, perhaps they do not see the connection between the purchased and sold goods. One way or another, without serious sales analysis and without accurate planning, the company quickly ends up with an unbalanced inventory. Says the manager of a production company: “When we first started producing these dumplings, no one knew how they would sell. We made a test batch and, surprisingly, it went very well. Then we launched another batch into production. Our sales department was enthusiastic began to "promote" the product. A week later, the wholesalers almost destroyed the plant - the demand for this product was so great. And everyone wanted it immediately, but our production could only satisfy half of the total demand... And a month later, customers began to refuse purchases, citing too long a waiting period... People in stores tried the dumplings, but the lack of goods on the shelf meant that all promotion efforts were in vain." The lack of accurate forecasts and procurement planning leads to a direct loss of customers. They tend to forget about a new product if they don't see it on sale for a long time.

What to do? Teach buyers how to plan and figure out why analysis doesn’t show the whole picture. Maybe it’s a matter of incorrect accounting of items - when “it’s in the computer”, but not in the warehouse?

3. Changes in the current market situation (the emergence of a new fashion, trend, law). A familiar picture, isn't it? Just yesterday, a hole in your jeans seemed like a disaster. And today, young shoppers walk around stores in search of the most torn and worn goods. The new healthy lifestyle trend has shoppers asking and retailers rushing to stock warehouses with products labeled "0 calories," "low fat," or "soy free." If yesterday a new law was passed stating that all children under 12 years of age must be transported only in a child car seat, then there is a possibility that such car seats will suddenly begin to be in increased demand.

What to do? Respond to customer requests and new laws in a timely manner, keep your finger on the pulse, and make market research your direct responsibility. Or wait for the law to expire...

4. Active advertising or PR campaign. An incident from life: “We have an ordinary store that sells many products from different manufacturers. Suddenly, customers begin to actively ask for “that yogurt that is in the advertisement.” We have never sold it so actively! We begin to figure it out, and we see that the manufacturer has launched an active advertising on television and in family magazines. He wanted to give us a surprise. If we had known about this promotion in advance, of course, we would have prepared and increased the inventory of this yogurt..." In our country, people trust advertising and actively buy the advertised product. Therefore, such a “sudden” attack on the consumer leads to nothing but problems and shortages.

What to do? Educate suppliers by explaining to them what the consequences of such activities are. Before any promotion, increase orders according to the planned increase in demand.

5. Logistics problems. The item may be correctly ordered. It can be priced correctly. It is advertised correctly. But if for some reason it is not delivered to the warehouse or is late to the store, there is a high probability of being in a state of shortage. This is especially true for perishable goods (meat, fish, dairy products, bread), where one day of delay can reject the entire batch. If the cargo takes four days to reach the store instead of the planned two days, then all the ideal planning comes to naught - the store gets two days of work with empty shelves. Sometimes this is enough to lose many regular customers and earn the image of a store “where there is never anything.”

What to do? Work with those suppliers and transport companies that take responsibility for cargo delays. Or don’t work with those who constantly let you down. After all, it's your money.

6. The product is ordered without taking into account complexity. There are goods whose sales affect the sales of others - for example, champagne and sweets, flour and yeast, green peas and mayonnaise. In this case, the qualifications of the manager who draws up the purchase order for goods can be critical. “In our company, orders for beer are taken by one manager, and another is responsible for snacks, chips, crackers and nuts. The trouble is that they act separately from each other. As a result, we receive chips, but the beer has not yet arrived...” A shortage of one product makes it difficult to sell another.

What to do? Understand the qualifications and motivation of your staff. Or figure out product categories - who is responsible for what. Are buyers sufficiently motivated to achieve a result such as selling goods?

7. Social and environmental factors. Weather, ecology, epidemics can provoke unexpectedly high demand for a product. If the summer turns out to be very hot, then the demand for ice cream and soft drinks may exceed supply several times. An unexpected water outage in the area is sparking demand for bottled water. During the SARS epidemic, the demand for respirators in China jumped tenfold! Such a deficit has the nature of an outbreak and ends as abruptly as it begins.

What to do? You can wait it out - such phenomena pass quickly. You can have time to respond to demand, quickly purchase the required goods and make decent money on the increased demand.

Excess goods. Ways to sell surplus

Excess stock may be:

• wrapable, but too big. Then it makes sense to first reduce the volume of purchases of this product.
• have a slow turnover. In this case, it is more correct to first reduce the price and stimulate sales.
• "dead", that is, not for sale at all. If the product has not been consumed in three months 1, then it falls into the “dead” category. In this case, you can try other actions.

But before the necessary steps are taken, it is necessary to understand the reasons for the occurrence of excess:

1. Unbalanced price(the price is too high for this market or for this type of product). No one will overpay for a product or service if the price on the market has already been established or exceeds reasonable limits.

2. The expiration or sale date has expired. The store sells food products, including perishable goods (for example, fish), or has in its assortment goods with a limited shelf life (household chemicals, cosmetics). Failure to sell it within the required time period leads to the formation of substandard goods. It is practically not subject to further processing and sale.

3. Errors in sales forecasts. Says a buyer from one of the large trading companies: “When we first started purchasing this vegetable juice, no one knew how it would be sold. We brought a batch for testing and, surprisingly, it went very well. Then we ordered three more containers of this juice... And they sat down with a six-month supply - suddenly the clients who were actively buying juice at first stopped taking it altogether, tried it and didn’t like it...” Purchasing goods at random is what leads to such sad results.

4. Overpurchase. For example, we sell 30-32 bottles of wine per month. But the purchased batch is 24 bottles - this is the minimum packaging from the supplier’s warehouse. We cannot buy less, and are forced to purchase more - 2 lots of 24 bottles each - to meet demand. If we do not stimulate demand for this wine, we will very soon find ourselves in a situation of excess supply of products.

5. Commodity cannibalism(the appearance of one product displaces sales of another). In order to expand the range, the company introduced cheaper, good quality milk into its range. As a result, the demand for milk of another brand fell, and after a short time there was a surplus of this product in the warehouse.

6. Changes in consumer fashion or taste. The appearance of DVD technology on the market brought death to video cassette recorders. In food products, fashion does not change as quickly as in the markets for manufactured goods, but a classic example is the fashion for bouillon cubes that appeared and then quickly disappeared. At first they were in great demand, then the consumer “ate up” on ready-made food and turned his attention towards a healthy lifestyle. At one time, soy products were very popular, but now there is a lot of information that genetically modified components are often found in soy. As a result, demand for soybeans and products containing it has fallen sharply.

7. Legislative acts(prohibition on the sale of products). The ban on the sale of poultry meat in some countries due to the threat of a bird flu epidemic led to the fact that millions of tons of chicken meat were converted into surplus and then into substandard goods. The introduction of censorship on beer advertising led to a decline in sales

8. Incompleteness of goods, erroneous proportions when ordering complete goods. As a result, there is a shortage of some goods, and a surplus of others. The director of one vegetable pavilion says: “We sell vegetables. If we make a mistake with the order of potatoes and bring less, then there will certainly be a surplus of beets in the warehouse - this product, as a rule, is bought together. Beets are sold separately from potatoes less often, but potatoes can be sold and without beets."

9. Reservations in anticipation of increased demand or prices(in wholesale companies). Managers can issue additional invoices to protect themselves in case of shortages. If the purchasing department is not aware of such “reservation” facts, then the supply of goods to the warehouse continues. After a short time, it turns out that the goods were in reserve not at the request of customers, but at the will of the sellers, and the goods were not provided with real demand.

Of course, you can find a thousand reasons for storing inventory in a warehouse. But it is necessary to understand that if a product is not sold, then it does not contribute to the profit for which the business exists. Purchased goods are tied funds. You invested them. And it doesn’t matter how much these reserves cost now - the money is gone.

And although this is not the best option - selling the goods for pennies, it is perhaps better than believing that one fine day the client will come to his senses and buy all the dusty piles of cans in the warehouse. Don't get used to your supplies! The goal of inventory reduction is to get rid of unnecessary items at the best price or least cost.

This can be done in different ways:

1. Discount sale or global price reduction.

2. Incentives for sales personnel. You can assign monetary or in-kind rewards to sellers for selling “illiquid assets.” This works especially well if the buyer has several types of products to choose from.

3. Selling to competitors at preferential prices. Perhaps you simply have an excess of a good-selling product, and your competitor around the corner is in dire need of it. Why not try it?

4. Promotions to stimulate demand for this product(artificial creation of demand). Requires additional investment in advertising, but often brings good results (for example, holding a wine tasting or setting up a gourmet corner where cheese and grapes will be laid out along with wine)

5. Creation of artificial deficit. Sometimes it is enough just to announce that there will be no deliveries of goods over the next two weeks (for example, due to vacation or holidays). This helps optimize inventory if a product has good turnover but is purchased in excess.

6. Return to supplier or manufacturer. The best time for this type of negotiation is in anticipation of an agreement to purchase a new product line or place a large purchase order. Case study: “We had just opened a store and took the advice of a supplier to purchase a batch of expensive wines. It did not work, and within three months we had almost $4,000 worth of inventory of these wines in our warehouses. During this time, our relationship with the supplier developed and switched to a credit basis. One fine day we turned to him with a request to take back this product, which was so incorrectly imposed on us. The supplier refused. Then we negotiated that we would be able to repay our loans only by restructuring the debt at the expense of this wine "As a result, the supplier bought this batch from us in parts to pay off our debt." Naturally, this method is only good for those products that can be stored for a sufficient time under suitable conditions.

7. Creating "kits"(in socialist times this was called “in load”). The stale product is given as a bonus or as a gift. It is also possible to sell excess on a two-for-one basis (“when you buy two cans of peas, you get a third can (or can of corn) for free!”).

8. Sale of goods to own personnel or use for the needs of the company. In some stores there is a culinary department, where goods with an approaching sell-by date are transferred. The main thing here is the strictest quality control of such products, so as not to violate the actual deadlines for implementation - the consequences can be very dire. One of the most famous Western companies practiced the method of selling to employees goods with an expiring (in no case expired!) shelf life at symbolic prices. However, soon the abuses (reselling on markets) on this basis became so obvious and large-scale that this practice was stopped. This method of getting rid of excess is as effective as it is dangerous. Before you resort to it, make sure that you are able to control the entire chain of movement of goods.

9. Carrying out charitable events or donations. Give the product to those who may need it. You will not only get rid of excess, but also do a good deed. The main thing is to inform as many people as possible about this good deed...

10. As a last resort, throw away unnecessary products. In the end, this is more correct than admiring it for weeks and wasting precious space in the warehouse. But follow the conditions of disposal, so that the “sausage cycle in nature” does not work out...

As you can see, there are enough ways to get rid of surplus goods. And this must be done - if only because excess inventory requires significant company resources - storage in a warehouse, frozen funds, inventory, accounting and analysis, and so on.

The greatest danger from an excess of goods is for a company if it is at the stage of market introduction or at the survival stage - that is, when resources and funds are most needed. If the external environment is less important for a company than solving internal problems, then excess can become deadly for it.

The collapse of the NEP and the introduction of a new organization of the economy. There was a shortage of many consumer goods, including food products, and from the end of 1928 a multi-unit system was re-introduced in cities. card system, that is, a normalized distribution across population groups. At the same time, the free commercial sale of these products at very high prices was maintained. This peak, as the official ideology claimed, gradually faded towards the end of the 1930s with the rise of the Stakhanov movement.

It is believed that the reason for this relaxation was a riot in the city of Vichuga, Ivanovo region, by workers of the United Manufactory named after. Shagova, factories named after. Krasin and the Krasny Profintern factory due to a sharp decrease in the rationing quota for bread distribution from April 1, 1932.

The first peak reached its apogee in the early 40s.

Second peak was caused by the Great Patriotic War and ended with the completion of the post-war economic recovery.

Third peak The commodity deficit in the USSR was caused by the consequences of economic reforms of the 60s (the collapse and curtailment of the “Kosygin reform”) and, subsequently, after some (associated with high oil prices) stabilization - during the period of Perestroika (especially in the last ones, 1989-1991- years), when, as a result of a sharp increase in the nominal monetary income of the population, almost all goods in any demand became scarce

In the intervals between these peaks, the commodity shortage continued to exist, but did not reach the introduction of rationing. The pre-war years were entirely marked by the Politburo's struggle with the massive influx of buyers into large industrial centers. Until the fall of 1939, the “commodity landing” in large cities was not of a food nature. Residents of villages and small towns traveled around the country in search of textiles, shoes, and clothing. In the autumn of 1939, queues for food began to grow. Moscow remained the center of gravity. The Moscow queues clearly had a multinational face, from which one could study the geography of the Soviet Union - according to the NKVD, in the late 1930s, Muscovites in Moscow queues made up no more than a third.

During 1938, the flow of nonresident buyers to Moscow increased, and by the spring of 1939, the situation in Moscow resembled a natural disaster. The NKVD reported: “On the night of April 13-14, the total number of customers at the stores at the time of their opening was 30,000 people. On the night of April 16-17 - 43,800 people, etc.” Thousands of people stood outside every major department store.

A similar situation repeated itself later, in the 80s (“sausage trains” and other phenomena).

The shortage could arise not only due to underproduction, but also due to the disorganization of the supply and distribution of goods, and local sloppiness:

Warehouses are overflowing with goods.

The main freight station of Leningrad and the client warehouse stations are filled with consumer goods, which are not systematically exported, since the Oktyabrskaya road does not supply wagons. Huge deposits of goods were formed that were intended to be sent to the villages. According to the report, as of November 30, there were over 800 wagons of consumer goods on the Oktyabrskaya Road. The road department does not have more recent data. However, according to the head of the cargo section of the road, Margolin, the situation today has not changed significantly.

The warehouses of Soyuztrans (the main shipper of Leningrad consumer goods) are so overcrowded that they are not able to accept goods coming from factories. Dozens of wagons of notebooks, soap, ready-made clothes, shoes, matches and cigarettes are waiting to be sent.

In conditions of interruptions in the supply of certain goods, the population began to stock up, increasing purchases and thereby aggravating the situation with shortages.

In the early 60s, there was a shortage of bread and some other types of food, one of the reasons for which was drought. In 1963, the issue of introducing card distribution was discussed, and in many regions it was actually introduced - flour and cereals were issued to residents of settlements according to lists once a month in strictly limited quantities. The deficit was largely eliminated thanks to an increase in retail prices, in particular for bread products, meat and butter.

There is an opinion that the depth of the commodity shortage in the early 60s is clearly characterized by a document on material incentives for the first cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin: along with his own monetary reward in the amount of 15,000 rubles, he and his relatives were given dozens of items of clothing and other goods.

The level of commodity shortages in different areas of the USSR varied greatly. Each populated area of ​​the USSR was assigned to one of four “supply categories” ( special, first, second And third). The special and first lists had advantages in supply, which included Moscow, Leningrad, large industrial centers, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and resorts of union significance. Residents of these cities were supposed to receive bread, flour, cereals, meat, fish, butter, sugar, tea, eggs from centralized supply funds first and at higher rates. Consumers of the special and first lists accounted for only 40% of those supplied, but received the lion's share of government supplies - 70-80% of funds entering trade. The population of the RSFSR living in settlements that were not included in the special or first lists was the worst supplied with food and industrial goods.

The second and third supply lists included small and non-industrial cities. They were supposed to receive from central funds only bread, sugar, cereals and tea, moreover, at lower rates than residents of cities on the special and first lists. The rest of the products had to be taken from local resources.

At the moment, we have centralized supplies for 40.3 million people, including their families. Special list - 10.3 million people, first list - 11.8 million people, second list - 9.6 million, third list - 8.6 million.

The shortage of raw materials and components in industry (and their distribution to manufacturers according to orders) led to the emergence of a special caste of suppliers (“pushers”) who, with the help of connections and gifts, can get (knock out, push) “literally everything” from suppliers. These were highly valued by enterprise directors.

The shortage affected not only food, but also industrial goods. There was also a distribution system here. Many scarce items (including cars) were raffled off in state lotteries.

Shortage of passenger cars

A striking example of the chronically scarce Soviet consumer market was the strictly funded market for “private” (automotive) passenger cars. Thus, the production of passenger cars in the USSR (see Automotive Industry of the USSR), although it increased 5.5 times from 1965 to 1975. (from 0.22 to 1.2 million, respectively), the consumer market was not saturated at all, and as sales grew, it only led to the first wave of mass motorization. Moreover, for example, in the second half of the 1960s, up to 55% of the annual production of Moskvich cars, which barely reached 100 thousand per year, despite the presence of significant unsatisfied consumer demand, was exported. Later, in the 70-80s, up to 0.4 million passenger cars were exported from the USSR, 3/4 of which were Lada cars produced by AvtoVAZ. At the same time, the production of passenger cars, which reached a peak of 1.3 million cars per year in 1982, remained at approximately the same level (and even decreased somewhat at the end of perestroika) until the collapse of the USSR in 1991 and, of course, after.

In addition to the “listed” car queues at enterprises, which had varying durations from 2-3 to 10-12 years (depending on the category and status of the enterprise or institution, for example, military-industrial complex enterprises and party bodies had priority), fellow citizens could quickly enough (within 1 ,5-3 years) and legally save up for a car by becoming foreign workers, that is, working or serving abroad on various construction and other projects carried out in 1960-1990. USSR, but only on the condition that they then purchase a Soviet passenger car directly in the USSR through the Vneshposyltorg store system for Vneshtorgbank checks.

At least 10% of passenger cars produced in the USSR (including at least 60% of prestigious Volga cars and almost 100% of UAZ SUVs) went to state organizations and could then be purchased by citizens only in heavily used or emergency condition (after or instead of major repairs ), and even then only as an exception. And the nomenclature “Seagulls” and “ZILs” were not sold to “private owners” in principle (after being written off, they were disposed of). Therefore, a permanent shortage of passenger cars persisted throughout almost the entire post-war period of the existence of the USSR.

The only real relatively mass “market” means of buying a passenger car in the USSR remained the black market, where the price of various models ranged from 1.2 to 2 times the state price (even single copies of foreign cars, including old trophy ones, were on sale), and the premium for the most prestigious Volga reached 2.5 denominations, almost regardless of the mileage. In addition, in different historical periods (under different general secretaries) authorities (sometimes of very local rank) imposed various “social” restrictions on the sale of used cars - for example, the right to inherit a car as property was regularly violated and relatives of the deceased owner of the car were forced to sell it, that is actually repurchase through a consignment store (sometimes this was also prohibited) [ ], a new car also could not be sold earlier than after 2 or 3 years of ownership, and ordinary workers who already had a car, regardless of how long it had been in use, were not put on a waiting list for a new car in many organizations.

It should also be noted that in the period 1983-1985. (before the anti-alcohol campaign was implemented), the shortage of passenger cars became assorted: due to the decline in the prestige of some brands (such as Moskvich, Izh, ZAZ and LuAZ), due to low quality and inflated state prices, they were sold in many cities without a queue and even (but in very rare cases) on credit. And for certain models, like the ZAZ-968M Zaporozhets and the VAZ-2121 Niva, the price had to be reduced, since it turned out to be higher than the effective demand of the social strata of consumers oriented towards these models (villagers and pensioners).

All this led to the decision to start purchasing feed grains abroad, mainly in North America.

Lack of information

Book shortage

Possession of good books in beautiful covers in conditions of scarcity also became a measure of prestige and well-being. This was clearly evidenced (and partly promoted) by the fact that in the most popular television game What? Where? When? , from the moment of its appearance in September 1975 until the death of the USSR, books invariably remained as a prize.

Queues

To purchase a scarce product, which was often put on the counter suddenly, as they said, “thrown away,” it was necessary to stand in line, or even several lines, for each type of product separately. Many people always carried a special string bag with them for such an occasion (“just in case”), since there were no plastic bags on sale in grocery stores and these bags themselves were a scarce commodity.

The queues for scarce goods could reach enormous lengths. In 1940, when it was no longer possible to buy anything in the provinces, queues in Moscow reached 8 thousand people, despite restrictions on entry into the capital. Something similar was observed at the end of the USSR.

People invented many ways to avoid days of exhausting standing in lines, which also did not guarantee the purchase of goods. For example, it was possible to break into a store using brute physical force. Places in the queue were sold (the price depended on how close to the head of the queue the place was, how scarce the goods were) - there was even a saying “ If you stand in line well, you don’t have to work“, you could also hire a “stander” (tramitador) who would stand in line for you.

Durable goods were also “signed up on a waiting list.” There were certain days for registration, and in order to get on the list, people lined up in the evening, working shifts with relatives overnight, so that in the morning, by the time the registration began, they would be as close as possible to the top of the list. Moreover, the entry was of an incomprehensible nature: in addition to checking in at the store, you also had to come and check in with strange, enterprising people on certain days, so as not to be crossed off the list. In order not to forget the three- or four-digit number during roll call, it was written down with a ballpoint pen or crayon on the palm of the hand.

Card and coupon systems

When the deficit becomes constant and grows, the state is forced to introduce rationing for the distribution of goods. In the USSR, one of the options for such rationing was the card system or “coupons”. In addition to the introduction of this system in war and post-war times, in the USSR such a distribution also existed in peacetime, in particular in the late 1980s, in certain regions for some products (animal oil, meat, meat products) - since the early 1980s (for example , in Vologda since 1982, Sverdlovsk - since 1983, in Novosibirsk cards for factory workers " Invitation to a grocery store to purchase 300 grams of sausage per month for an employee" - since the late 1970s) and even earlier.

Parallel retail trading systems

In addition, there was a whole system of distribution of non-food goods through the place of work - for example, this is how many purchased cars allocated to the labor collective of a specific “distribution” organization. Naturally, the distribution was uneven - for example, a team at a defense research institute could be allocated several dozen cars a year, while another organization might not receive a single one at the same time. For a relatively objective distribution of cars at the enterprises to which they were allocated, public commissions were organized, which carried out the distribution according to the order of inclusion in the list, similar to the distribution of apartments. There was also a list of people out of turn who had state-defined benefits for receiving cars.

In 1987-1989, in conditions of growing shortages, the authorities tried to organize an even distribution of products and industrial goods through the so-called. “pre-orders” at the place of work. Thus, in Leningrad, the turnover of outbound trade in manufactured goods, which included this sales method, increased in 1989 by more than 6 times compared to 1988 and amounted to 7% of the total turnover of industrial trade in the city.

It was also possible to purchase goods at the so-called “collective farm markets” that operated in large cities, but at prices significantly, many times higher than the state prices.

Non-state trade

An exception to the system of commodity shortages was the “free market,” elements of which were preserved in the USSR in the form of “collective farm markets” and “thrift stores.” Trade (sale/resale) of goods from speculators and from people who came “from abroad” (that is, from abroad) also took place in semi-official markets (often located on the territory of “collective farms”) - “flea market”, “trushka” - where trading took place “by hand”, on weekends.

Existing markets or so-called “collective farm markets” operating in large cities could offer a wider range of products, but their prices were many times higher than subsidized ones, but also scarce state ones (which for some types of food products could be lower than purchase prices for manufacturers).

However, the bulk of consumption (up to 98%) fell precisely on the state trading system, and prices on the “collective farm markets” and on the “black” (illegal) market were traditionally perceived by the population as greatly inflated (compared to those established by the state, which, as later it turned out that they were underestimated by about 10 times).

According to a survey of the 1980s, in Moscow and Leningrad state trade, where prices were the lowest, was used by 97% of buyers, in the capitals of the union republics - 79%. Here, 17% of buyers used the services of consumer cooperation, 10% bought products at collective farm markets (the amount is not necessarily equal to 100%, since some of the respondents used different sources of supply). In regional centers, only 36% of respondents had the opportunity to buy meat and sausage in state stores, 37% used consumer cooperative stores. 35% bought at markets. The higher the level of average per capita total income of a family, the more meat products it bought in state stores (most often in closed ones - at institutions, military-industrial complex enterprises, etc.) at subsidized prices.

For example, the mechanism for artificially creating a shortage of spare parts for passenger cars, as described in the press of those years, looked like this.

After the creation of a network of “branded” service stations (STO) in the USSR in the 70s, the bulk of spare parts began to be supplied to them. Specialty stores received only a small percentage of spare parts, which were immediately sold out. Moreover, their total output for each period of time was calculated taking into account the natural wear and tear of the vehicle fleet, without a large reserve. However, instead of the expected quick and convenient repair for the car enthusiast, in practice this led to an unexpected effect in the form of a shortage of spare parts for passenger cars that became increasingly worse over time.

The point was that the reserves of spare parts created in the service station warehouses were concealed by the workers. The warehouses of the majority of service stations that were well supplied with spare parts were literally bursting - sudden checks of the OBHSS revealed the presence of tens and hundreds of parts of each item, including the most “scarce” ones - while citizens who applied to the service station received constant refusals from dispatchers under the pretext of a lack of spare parts. Naturally, this would have been impossible without the knowledge of authorities at various levels, although proving the existence of a criminal conspiracy was usually extremely difficult.

The next step of the criminal enterprise was to involve the most “accommodating” car enthusiasts in a scheme for the illegal sale of spare parts from a warehouse “under the counter”, carried out “on the spot” by the service station employees themselves or their proxies. At the same time, in addition to the spare part, the “client” also paid for the “labor” of the “intermediaries”, as well as fictitious work on its installation, due to which the service station “fulfilled” the plan assigned to it, although in reality there may not have been any or practically any work during the reporting period produce. As a result, in addition to multiple overpayments, the car owner was also forced to install the spare part on his car himself. In the situation thus created, he was nevertheless satisfied with this.

Trade in stolen spare parts was also carried out in spontaneous markets, usually located near major highways. You could always buy spare parts there, in any quantity and assortment, but with a huge overpayment. For example, in the mid-80s, the state price for a set of crankshaft liners for a Zhiguli was quite affordable 7 rubles. 20 kopecks, but they were sold “under the counter” for 140 rubles, which is comparable to the average monthly salary in those years.

Other aspects

The commodity shortage caused a mirror change in attitudes towards exports and imports. Export was perceived as the removal from the country of goods it needed, perhaps in short supply, and imports were perceived as an effective way to fill the commodity deficit. On the other hand, imports meant the consumption of such a useful resource as foreign currencies.
Imported goods (in small quantities entering the USSR market) were perceived by the population as “prestigious” - after all, they appeared in a different economy, where manufacturers were forced, due to competition, to take care of high functionality, reliability and attractive design of goods. Due to the closed market and the state monopoly on foreign trade, most of the world's major brands were practically unknown in the USSR, since the state, for various reasons, did not import them. Imported goods, which were nevertheless purchased by state foreign trade organizations, were always of fairly high quality, since they were intended primarily for consumption of the product. The result was the formation in the minds of the population of the idea of ​​​​all imported goods as high-class products (cheap, including “Chinese” imports were virtually absent at that time, since a significant economic rise in China began later, and cheap goods from there were under counterfeit trademarks ( e.g. Pawasonic instead of Panasonic) have not yet penetrated the market en masse).
The illegal trade in imported goods was carried out by the so-called. black marketeers, in collaboration with currency traders.

The total deficit during this period was, according to one version, caused primarily by a sharp increase in nominal incomes and savings of the population during this period (as a consequence, first of all, of the actions of the “Law on Enterprises of the USSR” and the “Law on Cooperation in the USSR”, through various mechanisms allowing for the “cash out” of funds from the accounts of enterprises, and the emergence of a wide layer of “cooperators”, whose incomes, in principle, were not regulated by any norms) while maintaining state prices administratively set for almost all goods well below the equilibrium level; Boris Yeltsin's supporters, on the eve of price liberalization on January 2, 1992, determined that prices were reduced by an average of three times; however, during the reform it turned out that prices were reduced by at least ten times. That is, based on this, we can come to the conclusion that the state subsidized essential goods for the population ten times - 9/10 of the price of the goods was paid by the state, 1/10 by the consumer. In practice, after the “liberalization” of prices, they increased thousands of times, taking into account inflation.

Scientific research into the commodity deficit in the USSR is difficult due to the fact that until the last years of the existence of the USSR, such studies were not carried out for political reasons, and foreign ones were poorly known. Such studies became known only starting from 1989-1990, and starting from 1992, the subject of the study itself disappeared. At the same time, in a number of countries in Eastern Europe, which to varying degrees faced the same problems, similar studies were sometimes carried out, although due to political considerations they were usually not widely known. An example is the book “Scarcity” by the Hungarian author János Kornai, published in the USSR in 1990.

In media and popular culture

The permanent shortage of goods is a source of inspiration and a critical goal for many Soviet humorists and satirists: A. Raikin (“ Syushay, got the difst, vkyus - sptsfssky"), M. Zhvanetsky (" You never know what will disappear tomorrow..."), Khazanov ("Artificial deficit" - " white poison… black poison…") and etc.

1940s -1950s

From 1941 to 1947, in the USSR, due to the difficult economic situation associated with the war, a card distribution system was introduced. After its abolition and the simultaneous implementation of confiscatory monetary reform, low incomes of the population and high prices in relation to them, in conditions of low needs of the overwhelming majority of the Soviet people, restrained the emergence of a wide shortage of products and goods.

At the same time, there remained an acute shortage of essential goods. A critical situation has developed in pharmacies with most drugs and medicines, including the most necessary ones. In December 1947, the chairman of the Party Control Commission under the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, Matvey Shkiryatov, sent a note to Politburo member Andrei Zhdanov, which said: “During the war, I had to check the work of pharmacies in terms of supplying the population with medicines, but the situation is not as it is now.” was".

During the war years, even at defense enterprises supplied primarily through the labor supply system, there was not enough food to fully provide the food rationed by the rationing system for workers, employees and their families. For example, at the Ufa plant No. 26 NKAP (now UMPO), the food cards of family members of workers at this plant were not sold for 6-7 months.

A difficult situation with essential goods, food and livestock feed developed on collective farms towards the end of Stalin’s rule. Agricultural procurement plans that did not reflect reality, the carelessness of managers and the lack of incentives for collective farmers to work ruined the villages and led to an outflow of the population to the cities.

At the end of the 50s, a meat and dairy shortage provoked a short-sighted decision by the country's leadership, led by Khrushchev, to eradicate private farms. In 1959, residents of cities and workers' settlements were prohibited from keeping livestock; the state bought the personal livestock of collective farmers. Collective farmers began mass slaughter of livestock. This policy led to a reduction in the number of livestock and poultry. The situation was aggravated by the criminal diligence of the leaders of some regions (see the Ryazan miracle), striving at any cost to fulfill Khrushchev’s instructions in three years triple meat production in the country.

A budget deficit is a state of the state treasury when revenues (even taking into account borrowed money) are not enough to finance all necessary expenses.

 

The budget deficit is the excess of total government spending over the amount of revenue received. In the opposite situation, they talk about a budget surplus.

In itself, the deficit is not a problem, but rather a reflection of the economic processes taking place in the country. It is much more important what exactly causes it and what methods are used to cover it. The uniqueness of the state budget lies in the scale of its impact on the economy. Its ability to distribute cash flows is many times higher than that of any business entity.

Structure of income and expenses

The state budget is a document consisting of two parts. Revenue - reflects the flow of taxes, profits of state-owned enterprises, and dividends from shares into the treasury. Expenditure (budget list) - determines the directions for using money to finance the tasks and functions of the state (Fig. 1). If the revenue side is predominantly influenced by the economic situation and tax policy, then the structure of expenses changes depending on current needs, and depends more on the developing domestic and global socio-political situation.

Causes of deficiency

Federal budget deficits arise for various reasons:

1. as a result of a sharp or sudden increase in military spending;
2. reduction in tax revenues in the revenue sector during an economic downturn;
3. when expanding expenditure items and increasing funding for them;
4. due to investments in large projects (construction of the cosmodrome, Kerch Bridge);
5. due to planning errors, ineffective tax policy, corruption.

It is not only a “coincidence of circumstances” that leads to it, but also government policy. The government of any country always faces a choice. What should be a priority at the moment: accumulation or consumption; economic growth or social justice. With the help of the budget, national income is distributed, the structure of consumption changes, and the rate of economic growth is stimulated or restrained.

Example. Consider the current budget deficit in Russia. It was last recorded with a surplus in 2011. In 2012, there was a negative balance of 0.3%. Over the next two years, it increased almost 10 times: in 2013 - 2.5%, in 2014 - 2.3%. On the one hand, this situation is due to a fall in oil prices and a decrease in income, and on the other hand, an increase in financing for individual items (Fig. 2). In just 3 years, the total increase in spending was more than 35%, and the lion's share of it falls on the national economy, defense and security.

Deficit financing

Regardless of the nature, the deficit must be financed, for which different methods and their combinations are used. They are usually divided into two groups.

1 Non-emission methods of covering the negative balance: internal and external loans.

Main instruments: placement of government debt (bonds, other securities), bank lending, loans from international financial organizations. Each type of borrowing has a different impact on the economy and causes different consequences.

Internal debts lead to an increase in the demand for money, which entails an increase in interest rates, that is, an increase in the cost of loans, which reduces the economic activity of enterprises. The second negative effect: a threat to the stability of the national currency and the stability of the Central Bank, which could lead to default. Domestic borrowing has both financial and political limits.

External borrowing has more advantages. It does not cause the withdrawal of funds from the national economy, but on the contrary: it increases the financial capabilities of the country. Funds are used to increase government orders, to pay for foreign currency purchases, to repay external loans and pay interest on them. As a result of the sanctions war, world banks do not give money to Russia, and it borrows more and more on the domestic market (Fig. 1).

2 Inflationary methods (issue of banknotes).

Such financing involves the additional issue of paper money. The budget deficit, in simple words, is covered by “turning on the printing press.” What consequences does this lead to? The issue saves from the growth of external debt and the costs of servicing it, does not reduce the investment flow into the economy - it even stimulates aggregate demand. But it unwinds the inflationary “spiral”, so it is permissible up to a certain threshold. If it is exceeded, the situation gets out of control.

Is there a need for a deficit?

A balanced budget policy means equality of revenue and expenditure parts. This is desirable, but practically impossible in real conditions. If the price of balance is an overly strict economy regime (the principle of “stretching your legs according to clothes”), then this actually means a refusal of economic development.

In addition, the increase in defense spending leads to the infringement of other areas, and in terms of “social services” we are only in 73rd place in the world. The desire to annually adopt a deficit-free budget, according to economists, can lead to two consequences: higher taxes and a lower quality of life. To prevent this from happening, a deficit is created under current conditions. A promising direction for covering it is a debt policy to reduce external debt and replace it with internal loans.

All countries have a budget deficit and cover it through loans. Moreover, their volume exceeds the size of the national GDP. So, in 2011 we had a budget surplus, while in other countries the balance was negative: America - 14.3%; England - 8.4%, Germany - 2.3%; France - 6.0%; Japan - 10.0% of GDP. In Russia, this figure reached 2.6% in 2015, and we are still far from reaching the critical indicator (60%).