Who are the post-Soviet oligarchs? Have they been members of the nomenklatura before 1991? Did they accumulate their initial wealth before or after privatization? To answer these questions, I have compiled an original data set of oligarchs drawing on publicly available biographical data in the...

The time distance methodology used offers a new perspective to the problem, an additional statistical measure, and a presentation tool for policy analysis and debate readily understood by policy makers, media and general public. Disparity between the analysed transition economies and EU...

Structural explanation of political development offers a finite set of factors that cause democracy to consolidate or not (Acemoglu and Robinson, 2006). This approach is, however, insufficient to explain political development of post-communist countries because it ignores a role of social...

This essay analyses the characteristics and the role of social enterprises in CEE and CIS countries. Following a brief introduction on the relevance of institutional pluralism for economies characterized by poorly developed markets and welfare systems under construction, the importance of social...

Communism was a two-edged sword for the trustees of the former regime. Communist party members and their relatives enjoyed status and privileges, while secret police informants were often coerced to work clandestinely and gather compromising materials about friends, colleagues, and neighbors. We...

Communism was a two-edged sword for the trustees of the former regime. Communist party members and their relatives enjoyed status and privileges, while secret police informants were often coerced to work clandestinely and gather compromising materials about friends, colleagues, and neighbors. We...

President George W. Bush ran on a platform of free trade during the 2000 election. Yet shortly after he took office he started engaging in protectionist trade practices. The 30 percent tariffs imposed on steel and Canadian lumber were only two of the most noticeable examples of practicing...