The social cost of premature death or emigration of persons of working age is calculated as the loss to society of what was invested in rearing and educating them prior to entry into the workforce. Tables M.1 and M.2 deal with average rearing and education costs in 1940, at 1940 ruble prices. In table M.1, total household consumption is compared with the population of adults and children. It is assumed that adult consumption per head was three times a child's, since children lacked either individual purchasing power or control over family resources. This suggests a figure of 589 rubles as the annual average rearing cost of a child in 1940 which, multiplied by 15 years of preparation for entry into the workforce, leads to 8,839 rubles for the total rearing cost of a member of the workforce in 1940.

Table M.2 deals with education costs in a similar way. In 1940, 22.5 billion rubles were spent on educating 40 million persons at all levels of the state education system. The average education costs per person were therefore 562 rubles. It is assumed that seven years was the average educational experience of a person of working age in 1940; some (for example, university graduates) had more, of course, but many (especially those of rural origin or of the older generation) had less. The average cost multiplied by seven years suggests a figure of 3,935 rubles for the total education cost of a member of the workforce in 1940.