Economics Program and Dean of the College Present
The Forgotten Lands: A Comparative Analysis of Transition Economies
Tuesday, January 29, 2019
Olin Humanities, Room 102
5:00 pm – 6:30 pm EST/GMT-5
5:00 pm – 6:30 pm EST/GMT-5
Liudmila Malyshava
Visiting Instructor of Economics, Siena College
When the Soviet Union collapsed in the early 1990s, mainstream economists blamed centralized planning and state ownership of the means of production, advising the newly independent economies to embrace a system of free markets and private ownership. While some countries were able to weather the institutional shocks of change with minimal spillover effects, others remained desperately poor. The unsuccessful countries remained stuck in the “transition trap” even after the imposition of supposedly efficient and self-regulating free market reforms.Visiting Instructor of Economics, Siena College
This inquiry suggests that the transition process of the former USSR economies has been constrained by the existing institutional organization and stagnating technological progress, the improvement of which requires structural reforms targeted at the dynamic transformation of production structures with conducive macroeconomic conditions and financial stability. To this purpose, the analysis explores the relationship between problems inherent in the physical production process of a soviet-style economy, the underdevelopment of the financial sphere, and disparities in economic structures. The interconnectedness of these problems often remains overlooked by policy makers and encourages policy mismatch. The paper then concludes that there is a need for structural reforms aimed at transforming input allocation to increase productivity, economic growth, and export competitiveness.
For more information, call 845-758-7075, or e-mail [email protected].
Time: 5:00 pm – 6:30 pm EST/GMT-5
Location: Olin Humanities, Room 102