Privatization and market liberalization are widely considered to be complementary reforms in transition economies. This paper challenges this view and closely related "big bang" approach to economic reform. Our analysis suggests that when pursued too vigorously, privatization may actually impede...

Was taxation so heavy in the Russian transition that firms could not stay afloat?” is the question that this paper aims to answer. It details the fiscal structure and uses data from a number of sources to calculate statutory tax rates faced by businesses in 1995. The results show that...

Most economists’ instinctive reaction to price controls is that they are harmful. If enforced, they result in shortages and resource misallocation. With weak enforcement they often result in black markets, and high transaction costs. In this paper we assess the pros and cons of rice price...

It is important to keep two closely related distinctions in mind when discussing the microeconomics of money: that between the social arrangement known as monetary exchange, and those assets known as money; and that between what Patinkin (1957) called the market experiment and individual experiment.

A seller and a buyer bargain over the terms of trade for an object. The seller receives a perfect signal determining the value of the object to both players, while the buyer remains uninformed. We analyze the infinite horizon bargaining game in which the buyer makes all the offers. When the...

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This paper discusses two ways in which decision makers facing sequential choices can make themselves invulnerable to Dutch books.