The present state and directions of study of commodity turnover costs in Poland (1945—1965)

The studies in the field of costs in trade, in contrast to costs in industry, have not been far advanced in Poland and in the socialist countries as a whole. Many circumstances have contributed to that state of affairs. They have their origin in the theoretical (the costs of commodity turnover constitute the most neglected part of the genéral theory of economics) as well as practical sphere (the competetiveness of aims and allocations of means in a period of rapid economic growth, which puts the problem of trade services in the background). That situation did not help to create a constructive climate, indispensable for the initiation of vast and systematic studies in that particular field. Those studies are, moreover, of a sporadic character and undertaken by only some of the academic centers. Thus they do not give an appropriate idea of the development and structure of costs of trade in postwar Poland. It is only lately that the Central Statistical Office began to collect a systematic information on the costs of trade enterprises. The author is of the opinion that the market changes which have taken place as a result of model transformations in the country as a whole — create now ripe conditions for undertaking manysided studies in the field of commodity turnover cost. That need is further dictated by the necessity to form a proper basis for the assessment of economic efficiency of trade and to create proper premises for the policy of trade margins and retail prices in Poland. He thinks it would be advisable to combine the efforts of academic centers with those of central institutions to start special longterm research studies in the field of trade costs — preferably for chosen commodities.Digitalizacja i deponowanie archiwalnych zeszytów RPEiS sfinansowane przez MNiSW w ramach realizacji umowy nr 541/P-DUN/201