• Research
  • Strategic Europe
  • About
  • Experts
Carnegie Europe logoCarnegie lettermark logo
EUUkraine
  • Donate
{
  "authors": [
    "Anders Aslund"
  ],
  "type": "other",
  "centerAffiliationAll": "dc",
  "centers": [
    "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace"
  ],
  "collections": [],
  "englishNewsletterAll": "ctw",
  "nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
  "primaryCenter": "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
  "programAffiliation": "russia",
  "programs": [
    "Russia and Eurasia"
  ],
  "projects": [],
  "regions": [
    "Eastern Europe"
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Trade"
  ]
}
REQUIRED IMAGE

REQUIRED IMAGE

Other

Building Capitalism: Lessons of the Postcommunist Experience

Link Copied
By Anders Aslund
Published on Dec 12, 2001

Source: Carnegie

One decade of postcommunist transformation has brought widely differing outcomes to the countries of the former Soviet bloc, ranging from fairly normal market economies to state-owned and state-controlled economies.

These economic systems and their performance have directly resulted from the policies the countries pursued. No country has suffered from too radical reforms-liberalization, stabilization, and privatization have driven growth. The main problem limiting growth in countries with gradual or no reforms is the rent seeking caused by transitional market distortions.

Countries with more effective democracies have produced better market reforms, because the voices of liberal market reformers are more likely to be heard in the struggle with the rent-seeking elite who would continue attempting to make money on the very transition.

Click on the link above for full text of this Policy Brief.

A limited number of print copies are also available.
Request a copy

About the Author
Anders Åslund
has been a senior associate in the Russian and Eurasian Program at the Carnegie Endowment since 1994. He is a leading specialist on post-communist economic transformation, especially in Russia and Ukraine. He has served as a senior economic adviser to the governments of Russia, Ukraine, and Kyrgyzstan.

A prolific writer, Åslund has authored six books and edited nine. Most recently, he has authored Building Capitalism: The Transformation of the Former Soviet Bloc. He is a member of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences and is an honorary professor of the Krygyz National University.

About the Author

Anders Aslund

Former Senior Associate, Director, Russian and Eurasian Program

    Recent Work

  • Other
    Putin's Decline and America's Response

      Anders Aslund

  • Testimony
    Democracy in Retreat in Russia

      Anders Aslund

Anders Aslund
Former Senior Associate, Director, Russian and Eurasian Program
Anders Aslund
TradeEastern Europe

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

More Work from Carnegie Europe

  • Commentary
    Strategic Europe
    How the EU’s Single Market Could Unlock Enlargement

    Much has been said of the changes Brussels is trying to make to the EU enlargement process. Here’s why gradual integration might—or might not—be the answer.

      Dimitar Bechev

  • Commentary
    Strategic Europe
    Taking the Pulse: Can the EU Stare Down China on Trade?

    The European Commissioner for Trade is headed to China. But after President Xi’s bridge-building visit to Washington, can a more isolated EU overcome Beijing’s stranglehold on critical raw materials? Who will blink first?

      • Rym Momtaz

      Rym Momtaz, ed.

  • Ukraine Poland Zelensky Tusk Enlargement EU
    Commentary
    Strategic Europe
    The Uncomfortable Truth About EU Enlargement

    Before the next wave of EU enlargement takes place, the union needs to grapple with thorny questions of how power is distributed among its members.

      • Ditte Brasso Sørensen

      Emil Sondaj Hansen, Ditte Brasso Sørensen

  • Ukraine Russia Black Sea Food
    Commentary
    Strategic Europe
    A Black Sea Truce Is About Global Food Security, Too

    A summer of escalation in the Black Sea has hurt Ukraine economically and is exacerbating world food security. A truce is needed—as is a broader reframing of Europe’s Ukraine strategy.

      Thomas de Waal

  • Carney Canada EU Trump
    Commentary
    Strategic Europe
    Taking the Pulse: Is Canada Leading a Third Way?

    Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has twice inspired praise for standing up to U.S. President Donald Trump: at the 2026 World Economic Forum in Davos and on Canada-U.S. trade negotiations. Is Carney showing a third way better than the EU has in dealing with the Trump administration?

      • Rym Momtaz

      Rym Momtaz, ed.

Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie Europe
Carnegie Europe logo, white
Rue du Congrès, 151000 Brussels, Belgium
  • Research
  • Strategic Europe
  • About
  • Experts
  • Projects
  • Events
  • Contact
  • Careers
  • Privacy
  • For Media
  • Gender Equality Plan
Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie Europe
© 2026 Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. All rights reserved.