The geographical situation of the Russian enclave led to its strong exposure to the destabilising effects of post-communist economic transformation. A dramatic trade opening has occurred, and regional trade and production has undergone profound changes. The major phenomenon relative to the...

In this paper, we provide an overview of the development of Czech trade and its structure and investigate the nature of Czech intra-industry trade (IIT) and its labor market determinants. We evaluate the evolution of the Czech trade in the context of other transition economies--the Central...

This paper assesses econometrically the contribution of aid to output growth in a panel of twenty transition countries over nine years (1989-1997). The study finds a positive and statistically significant relationship between foreign aid and growth. A second result is that the positive effect of...

Why is it that, as the Chinese Communist Party has loosened its grip, abandoned its core beliefs, and marketized the economy, its membership has risen markedly along with the economic benefits of joining? We use three national household surveys, spanning eleven years, to answer this question...

This paper analyzes economic-social interaction in China in connection with the country’s change of economic system. I define an economic system in terms of a multidimensional vector of broad institutional characteristics, and I emphasize that important features of the social development are...

This paper applies an analytical paradigm of institutional economics to the transition of the Russian banking sector, focusing on the interplay between ownership change and institutional change. We find that the state’s withdrawal from commercial banking has been inconsistent and limited in...

Moldova holds the unenviable distinction of having suffered the largest fall in GDP and living standards among the former socialist countries in Europe. By mid-1999 GDP had fallen to less than 30 per cent of its level in 1990, while living standards had plummeted from a situation of relative...

Six years after the Revolution and despite half a century of sacrifices for a better future Romania remains impoverished and much further behind Western Europe in terms of economic development than it was before the Second World War. Against this backdrop the study takes stock of the situation...

The reduced influence of soft budget constrints is often seen as an explanation for the successful growth of China's non-state sector. Views differ, however, as to whether collectively owned rural enterprise are in fact subject to hard financial discipline. This paper reports an inquiry into the...

A growing body of national-level survey evidence indicates that small-scale entrepreneurial activity has been an important engine of growth in post-socialist economies. Here we use a rich regional data set to obtain a statistical characterization of the relationship between entrepreneurial...