Editing Eastern Bloc (section)

===Black markets===
{{See also|Second economy of the Soviet Union}}

As a result of the deficiencies of the official economy, [[black market]]s were created that were often supplied by goods stolen from the public sector.<ref name="crampton252">{{Harvard citation no brackets|Crampton|1997|p=252}}</ref><ref name="frucht204">{{Harvard citation no brackets|Frucht|2003|p=204}}</ref> The [[informal sector|second, "parallel economy"]] flourished throughout the Bloc because of rising unmet state consumer needs.<ref name="bugajski188">{{Harvard citation no brackets|Bugajski|Pollack|1989|p=188}}</ref> Black and gray markets for foodstuffs, goods, and cash arose.<ref name="bugajski188"/> Goods included household goods, medical supplies, clothes, furniture, cosmetics and toiletries in chronically short supply through official outlets.<ref name="bugajski189"/>

Many farmers concealed actual output from purchasing agencies to sell it illicitly to urban consumers.<ref name="bugajski189"/> Hard foreign currencies were highly sought after, while highly valued Western items functioned as a medium of exchange or bribery in Stalinist countries, such as in [[People's Republic of Romania|Romania]], where [[Kent (cigarette)|Kent]] cigarettes served as an unofficial extensively used currency to buy goods and services.<ref name="bugajski190">{{Harvard citation no brackets|Bugajski|Pollack|1989|p=190}}</ref> Some service workers [[wikt:moonlight#Verb|moonlighted]] illegally providing services directly to customers for payment.<ref name="bugajski190"/>