We review the fiscal evolution of China and Russia and how the process of creating a separate tax-financed public sector in the two countries differed. China's fiscal budget was consistently smaller than in Russia, and their fiscal decentralisation was consistently greater. In China, local...

Interviews with American and Russian partners in foreign-assisted firms in Russia indicate that they still face serious deterrents to investment. The obstacles they cite reflect missing institutional infrastructure, high levels of political uncertainty, and perverse regulations. Businesses...