In the end of 1991 dissociation of the Soviet Union and formation of new independent states out of its former republics took place. As an independent state, Russia exists since 1992. This event defined the period under consideration in our study: 1991-1994. Only starting from 1992 the Russian...

A key stylized fact about transition economies is that the returns to schooling rise as economic reform progresses. Existing research suggests that Vietnam is an exception to this pattern, with a decrease in males’ return from 1992 to 1998, and little increase in the return to females’...

China began its economic reforms in 1979 and Vietnam followed in 1986. Since then both countries have experienced rapid economic growth, falling poverty rates and significant rises in per capita income. At the same time, substantial restructuring of their economies has occurred, a feature of...

The study analyses the effects of transition on the amount and patterns of alcohol consumption. We test the hypothesis of how far negative experiences induced by the collapse of the Soviet Union have led to drinking in the young generation of Ukrainians. We use data coming from the Ukrainian...

Much empirical research has highlighted the importance of institutions and initial conditions in the transition to a market economy. However, relatively little is still know about how these factors directly affect growth paths. This paper explores how institutional factors and initial conditions...

The collapse of communism in East Germany took place alongside unification with its democratic neighbour, West Germany. This made the East German experience of the ‘transition’ - from the planned to the free-market economy - unique among that of the post-socialist states. On the one hand,...