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The contributors to this volume analyze the present state of the Russian economy and its future prospects - which now seem brighter than at any previous time in the country's history. The Russian economy is now showing positive GDP growth and a positive balance of payments, portending a trend of sustained growth. The record of the Putin presidency with respect to the establishment of market-friendly legal and administrative environments is substantially positive. On the other side of the ledger, the contributors identify the persistence of monopolies in energy, transportation, and agriculture; distortions resulting from corruption, infrastructural inadequacies, and the maldistribution of political power and decision-making authority; demographic decline and the erosion of human capital as manifested in the health, education, and welfare of the population. Russia's successful development as a democratic society with a market economy is of great importance to its neighbors and to the global economy, and specifically to the United States, which is why the U.S. Congress commissioned these studies by expert analysts. This edition includes a comprehensive subject index, making the volume user-friendly.
List of contents
Past Economic Performance and Insights for Future Prospects; Russia's Economic Performance: Entering The 21st Century; Russia's Economic Challenges; Removing Barriers and Providing an Incentive System; Unlocking Economic Growth in Russia; Administration and Reform of the Russian Economy; Russian Crime and Corruption in an Era of Globalization: Implications for the United States; Financial Reform: Taxes, Budgets and Banks; Putin's Dilemma: Austere Budgeting in a Poor State; Russian Defense Spending; Russian Financial Transition: The Development of Institutions and Markets for Growth; Breakup of Monopolies: Energy, Transportation and Agriculture; Agricultural Reform: Major Commodity Restructuring but Little Institutional Change; Human Capital and the Social Contract; Social Welfare: A Social Contract; Long-Term Prospects for Russia's Economic Governance; Long-Run Prospects for the Russian Economy; Russia's Evolution as a Predatory State; Russia's Economic Future and U.S. Interests; U.S. Bilateral Assistance to Russia, 1992–2001; Arms Exports and Russia's Defense Industries: Issues for the U.S. Congress; U.S.-Russian Trade and Investment: Policy and Performance; Russia and the International Financial Institutions: From Special Case to a Normal Country
About the author
John P. Hardt, Robert F. Bennett
Summary
The Russian economy is now showing positive GDP growth and a positive balance of payments, portending a trend of sustained growth. The contributors to this volume analyze the present state of the Russian economy and its future prospects which now seem brighter than ever.
