Institutional Changes of the Russian Economy : From Market Policies to Monetary Consolidation

The main characteristic of the transition from a planned to a market economy in Russia has been the barter economy. Firms are using non-monetary transactions as a result of the scarcity of the means of payment and as a means to avoid taxes and reduce fiscal obligations. The barter economy is a rational mechanism of survival and protection from new market reforms, and for taking advantage of the networks inheritated from the centralized period. This non-monetary functioning of the Russian economy has increased the costs of the economic system and new market economy reforms concentrated on monetary consolidation haven't produced the expected results, because public polices were not credible and policy makers didn't anticipate the appearance of new firms in the transition period