This book links political and economic sociology examining how postsocialist property changes are rooted in the socialist past and how they relate to the meaning and practices of transition states and their capacity for sustainable economic development. It raises the issue of the applicability...

Introduction, adaptation and change : old problems, new approaches / Stephen K. Wegren and David J. O'Brien -- Adaptation of Russian agriculture to a market economy. Entrepreneurship and the Siberian peasant commune in late imperial Russia / Igor V. Volgine. The impact of land reform on the...

Introduction : privatizing China : powers of the self, socialism from afar / Aihwa Ong and Li Zhang -- Private homes, distinct lifestyles : performing a new middle class / Li Zhang -- Property rights and homeowner activism in new neighborhoods / Benjamin L. Read -- Socialist land masters : the...

We provide the first test of the Hoff and Stiglitz (2004) model predicting whether and under what conditions mass privatizations are accompanied by asset stripping. In addition to directly testing the theory, we also tackle an important policy-oriented issue of why a large number of efficient...