In earlier papers on “Socialist privatization” Feige proposed a sequential set of stabilization, privatization and liberalization policies designed to provide the necessary, albeit not sufficient conditions, for a transition from a planned to a market economy. An important component of the...

The Soviet Union and the nations of Eastern Europe are undergoing a historically unprecedented restructuring as they move inexorably from centrally planned economies toward market economies. This historic transition must be guided by a coherent set of stabilization policies to reduce the threat...

This paper examines the question of whether a communist nation, characterized by state ownership of the means of production and a centrally planned command system of allocation can be transformed into an efficient market oriented economy without fully compromising the socialist ideals of an...

The Black Sea is a region of vital interest to the foreign investor. This study examines the six countries that border it (Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Turkey, Romania, Bulgaria) and presents the financial outlook and the foreign direct investment performance of each state. The main focus is on the...

Fundamental sources of the Russian financial crisis in 1998 are discussed. Focus is made on the time horizon of judgements concerning sustainability of the economic policy. It is argued that the macroeconomic policy pursued by the monetary authorities was not robust in a medium run, but, in the...

The transition from a planned to a market oriented economy requires a complex amalgam of stabilization, liberalization and privatization policies. This paper outlines a combination of policies believed to be necessary, if not sufficient to enlist the efficiency of market mechanisms along with a...

Fundamental sources of the Russian financial crisis in 1998 are discussed. Focus is made on the time horizon of judgements concerning sustainability of the economic policy. It is argued that the macroeconomic policy pursued by the monetary authorities was not robust in a medium run, but, in the...

Prices of repudiated bonds are insightful but scarcely observed. Based on an original daily database, this paper compares the price evolution from January 6, 1916 to August 31, 1919 of a cross-listed (Paris and London) Tsarist bond repudiated by the Soviets on February 8, 1918. After its...

The paper reviews the recent conduct of monetary policy and the central bank’s rule-based behavior in Russia. Using different policy rules, we test whether the central bank in Russia reacts to changes in inflation, output gap and the exchange rate in a consistent and predictable manner. Our...

The setting of user prices for enterprises with large fixed costs and marginal costs below average costs – “natural monopolies” – raises important policy questions regarding both efficiency and equity. It has become well accepted among economists that, in a variety of settings, welfare...