An intense discussion is taking place in International Political Economy on the influence of economic ideas on institutional change. Case studies so far have, however, mainly focused on the Western industrialised countries and research seems to be biased towards cases in which new ideas caused...

The paper investigates the current status of economic research in Russia using a previously unexplored dataset of Russian 'Doctor of Science' (Dr. Sc.) theses. The Dr. Sc. degree is a postdoctoral qualification necessary for career advancement at most Russian universities. Thus, by looking at...