The case of deposit insurance introduction in Russia may suggest that institutional change in post-socialist economies was partly driven by subjective factors, and the choice of imported institutions was rather random. The circumstances under which explicit deposit insurance emerged in Russia...

We undertook an institutional analysis of commercial banks in Russia. After the failed experiment with private financial intermediation in the 1990s, Russia migrated towards a banking system consisting of three — rather than two — tiers and featuring core institutions controlled by the state...

We examine the structure, governance, and balance sheets of state-controlled banks in Russia, which accounted for over 55 percent of the total assets in the country's banking system in early 2011. The author offers a credible estimate of the size of the country's state banking sector by...

This paper considers the comparative efficiency of public, private, and foreign banks in Russia, a transition economy with several unusual features. We perform stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) of Russian bank-level quarterly data over the period 2005-2013. The method of computation of...

We study the connection between the social pattern of conspicuous consumption, on the one hand, and financialization, on the other. Our claim is that greater availability of consumer loans from Russian banks feeds consumerism and promotes the institution of conspicuous consumption. Cars have...

Drawing on the merit goods concept developed by Richard A. Musgrave, this paper introduces the notion of quasi-merit goods. The criteria of eligibility for merit goods are vague. A quasi-merit good constitutes a special case where government protection and sponsorship are obtained via public...

This paper considers the comparative efficiency of public, private, and foreign banks in Rus-sia, a transition economy with several unusual features. We perform stochastic frontier anal-ysis (SFA) of Russian bank-level quarterly data over the period 2005–2013. The method of computation of...

The paper examines the Russian experience with explicit deposit guarantee. Some of the effects that this institution has produced in Russia are typical and well-researched by previous authors, namely moral hazard, adverse selection, and erosion of discipline. The social cost paid for having an...

We assess the effects from the industrial policy of growing state-controlled national champions on the Russian banking system, its concentration and competitiveness. Some light is shed on comparative financial performance of state-controlled banks versus other market participants. We also show...

This article relies on statistical and empirical data to develop a classification of state-influenced banks. An estimate of such banks’ combined market share by July 1, 2009 is suggested. We identify 53 state-controlled banks in Russia, including state-owned banks and state-governed banks....