Journal of Economic Literature
ISSN 0022-0515 (Print) | ISSN 2328-8175 (Online)
Review of Russia's Crony Capitalism: The Path from Market Economy to Kleptocracy by Anders Åslund
Journal of Economic Literature
vol. 59,
no. 1, March 2021
(pp. 220–43)
Abstract
Anders Åslund provides a comprehensive description of the main political and economic events of Vladimir Putin's 20 years at the helm of the country. In politics, Åslund shows how Putin skillfully maneuvered to destroy democracy in Russia. I argue that the "cultural backlash" by older generations played perhaps an even more important role. I also show that the young generations hold rather liberal values, thus providing hope for the future. In economics, Åslund focuses on large state corporations, assets of Putin's cronies, and macroeconomic policies, with only general statements about the country's institutional weakness. I complement Åslund's analysis by a more detailed examination of the impact of institutions and briefly survey fiscal federalism and informal economic activities—issues without which the workings of the Russian economy are hard to understand.Citation
Alexeev, Michael. 2021. "Review of Russia's Crony Capitalism: The Path from Market Economy to Kleptocracy by Anders Åslund." Journal of Economic Literature, 59 (1): 220–43. DOI: 10.1257/jel.20201566Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- D72 Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
- H77 Intergovernmental Relations; Federalism; Secession
- O52 Economywide Country Studies: Europe
- P26 Socialist Systems and Transitional Economies: Political Economy; Property Rights
- P35 Socialist Institutions and Their Transitions: Public Economics