[Related to the Apply the Concept on page 362] In the 1961
edition of his best-selling introductory economics textbook,
the late Nobel Laureate Paul Samuelson noted that Soviet
GDP might become larger than U.S. GDP by 1985.
a. In 1961, why might a leading economist have expected
that the Soviet economy might eventually become
larger than the U.S. economy?
b. Briefly explain why the Soviet economy failed to overtake the U.S. economy.
Source: Paul A. Samuleson, Economics, 5th edition, New York:
McGraw-Hill, 1961, Chapter 37, Figure 1, p. 830.