This paper provides a comprehensive literature review of the use of non- monetary transactions (barter, debt offsets, etc.) in Russia since the fall of Communism. The two primary theories are the credit crunch (liquidity constraint) theory and the virtual economy theory. The former relates to...

The Black Sea is a region of vital interest to the foreign investor. This study examines the six countries that border it (Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Turkey, Romania, Bulgaria) and presents the financial outlook and the foreign direct investment performance of each state. The main focus is on the...

The paper reviews the recent conduct of monetary policy and the central bank’s rule-based behavior in Russia. Using different policy rules, we test whether the central bank in Russia reacts to changes in inflation, output gap and the exchange rate in a consistent and predictable manner. Our...

From 1995 to 2001 Russia witnessed an asset market boom, a deep financial crisis, and a surprisingly forceful recovery. This paper analyzes economic policy and data of the time to explain why fluctuations were so violent and to draw lessons for Emerging Markets investors as well as for...