Working Paper: NBER ID: w10057
Authors: Andrei Shleifer; Daniel Treisman
Abstract: During the 1990s, Russia underwent an extraordinary transformation from a communist dictatorship to a multi-party democracy, from a centrally planned economy to a market economy, and from a belligerent adversary of the West to a cooperative partner. Yet a consensus in the US circa 2000 viewed Russia as a disastrous and threatening failure, and the 1990s as a decade of catastrophe for its citizens. Analyzing a variety of economic and political data, we demonstrate a large gap between this perception and the facts. In contrast to the common image, by the late 1990s Russia had become a typical middle-income capitalist democracy.
Keywords: No keywords provided
JEL Codes: P2; P3; P5
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| dismantling of a centrally planned economy (P21) | initial output decline (O49) |
| initial output decline (O49) | necessary adjustment to a market-oriented economy (P23) |
| rise in income inequality (D31) | emergence of oligarchs (D43) |
| emergence of oligarchs (D43) | economic growth (O49) |
| privatization (L33) | rise in income inequality (D31) |
| perception of Russia as a uniquely disastrous case (P27) | exaggerated view (Y60) |