The Challenges for Russia’s Politicized Economic System

267 Pages·2015·1.697 MB·English

by  Susanne Oxenstierna

The Challenges for Russia’s Politicized
Economic System
During the early 2000s the market liberalization reforms to the Russian economy,
begun in the 1990s, were consolidated. But since the mid-2000s economic pol-
icy has moved into a new phase, characterized by more state intervention with
less efficiency and more structural problems. Corruption, weak competitiveness,
heavy dependency on energy exports, an unbalanced labour market, and unequal
regional development are trends that have arisen and which, this book argues, will
worsen unless the government changes direction. The book provides an in-depth
analysis of the current Russian economic system, highlighting especially struc-
tural and institutional defects, and areas where political considerations are caus-
ing distortions, and puts forward proposals on how the present situation could be
remedied.
Susanne Oxenstierna holds a doctorate in Economics and is Deputy Research
Director at the Swedish Defence Research Agency, FOI.
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The Challenges for Russia’s
Politicized Economic System
Edited by Susanne Oxenstierna
London and New York
First published 2015
by Routledge
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© 2015 selection and editorial material, Susanne Oxenstierna; individual
chapters, the contributors
The right of Susanne Oxenstierna to be identified as author of the editorial
material, and of the individual authors as authors of their contributions,
has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.
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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
[CIP data]
ISBN: 978-1-138-79662-1 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-75778-0 (ebk)
Typeset in Times New Roman
by Sunrise Setting Ltd, Paignton, UK
Contents
List of figures xi
List of tables xiii
List of contributors xv
Abstract xviii
Preface xix
List of abbreviations and acronyms xxi
1 Introduction 1
SUSANNE OXENSTIERNA
2 Putin’s rent management system and the future of
addiction in Russia 11
CLIFFORD G. GADDY AND BARRY W. ICKES
3 Between light and shadow: Informality in the
Russian labour market 33
VLADIMIR GIMPELSON AND ROSTISLAV KAPELIUSHNIKOV
4 State–business relations in Russia after 2011:
‘New Deal’ or imitation of changes? 59
ANDREI YAKOVLEV
5 Is Russia an entrepreneurial society?
A comparative perspective 77
RUTA AIDIS
6 The role of institutions in the Russian economy 96
SUSANNE OXENSTIERNA