The ministry, plan changes, and the ratchet in planning

Do Soviet planners employ the ratchet, that is, do they increase targets in response to higher performance, as is generally accepted, or has David Granick (J. Comp. Econ., Sept. 1980, pp. 255–273) proved statistically that they do not? This paper tries to show that accepted views of planning behavior are well founded. The evidence comes from two sources: East German data show that targets are adjusted ex post, partly in response to performance; Soviet sources, presumed by Granick to prove the absence of a ratchet, are shown to prove its existence.