"Looks at Russian government's push toward a knowledge-based economy, particularly in the manufacturing sector. Quantifies and benchmarks sector's relative strengths, identifying opportunities to increase Russian productivity and competitiveness. Examines underlying firm-level determinants of...

Russian economy has been growing at an average nominal rate of 6 percent annually for the past decade. Among the most important factors contributing to its expansion has been the skyrocketing cost of oil and gas. In 2000, when Vladimir Putin took office, the cost of oil was approximately $20 a...

Russia and other countries in the commonwealth of independent states that have implemented voucher privatization programs have to account for the puzzling behavior of insiders manager-owners-who, in stripping assets from the firms they own, appear to be stealing from one pocket to fill the...

Russia has joined the club of rapidly growing economies, driven by rising prices for oil and gas. Russian authorities are concerned about sustaining this economic performance, however. Thus they have sought to diversify and broaden the basis for growth beyond the profitable natural resource...

How can one account for the puzzling behavior of insider-managers who, in stripping assets from the very firms they own, appear to be stealing from one pocket to fill the other? The authors suggest that such asset-stripping and failure to restructure are the consequences of interactions between...

Subnational fiscal autonomy-the basis for fiscal federalism in modern federations-is meant to serve two roles. First, local control over revenue collection is meant to provide a check on the capacity of central authorities to tax arbitrarily local capital. Second, retention of taxes raised...