Anders Aslund
Building Capitalism: The Transformation of the Former Soviet Bloc
Released ten years after the fall of the Soviet Union, Building Capitalism, by world renowned economist Anders Åslund, provides the most comprehensive empirical analysis of the economic transformation of the countries comprising the former Soviet bloc during the past decade and challenges conventional wisdom.
Source: New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 2001
Released ten years after the fall of the Soviet Union, Building Capitalism, by world renowned economist Anders Åslund, provides the most comprehensive empirical analysis of the economic transformation of the countries comprising the former Soviet bloc during the past decade and challenges conventional wisdom. Åslund-who has served as economic adviser to Boris Yeltsin's government, to the Ukrainian government, and to President Askar Akaev of Kyrgyzstan- shows what has and has not worked in this comparative and intensively researched study.
He spells out the drama and intense struggle between liberal reformers, who wanted to build a normal democracy and market economy, and rent-seeking businessmen and officials, who desired to make money at the expense of the state and society in transition. Privatization has undoubtedly been beneficial, and its positive effects will grow over time, he writes. The main problem has been the continuation of large, unregulated, and ubiquitous state apparatuses living on corruption.
Anders Åslund, senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment and an expert on post-Soviet economies, is author of How Russia Became a Market Economy (1995) and Post-Communist Economic Revolutions: How Big a Bang? (1992).
Advance Praise
"Building Capitalism has all the right ingredients: It is on a critically important issue; it is based on an extraordinarily detailed knowledge of economic and political history, pre- and post- the break-up of the former Soviet Union; and it displays a full acquaintance with the literature, Anders Åslund's naturally exuberant style, and a clear point of view. Whether you agree with the argument or disagree with it, you should not be indifferent to this book. And by the end, you should fundamentally agree."
— Stanley Fischer, former first deputy managing director, International Monetary Fund
"At last, post-communist economic reforms are presented in an appropriate geographic and historical perspective."
—Yegor T. Gaidar, former acting prime minister of Russia
"This excellent book lays out strategies for reform that will be of use even to those countries most deeply in crisis."
—George Soros, international financier and philanthropist
About the Author
Former Senior Associate, Director, Russian and Eurasian Program
- Putin's Decline and America's ResponseOther
- Democracy in Retreat in RussiaTestimony
Anders Aslund
Recent Work
More Work from Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
- Continental Asia and the Rise of Portfolio PoliticsArticle
“Central Asia” as an analytical category is itself part of the problem. The term is a Soviet administrative inheritance, drawn along lines that served the convenience of Moscow. The Central Asian states the Soviets named no longer see themselves through this category alone and are not aligning across political blocs but are instead building external partnerships sector by sector, assigning different partners to different functions.
Jennifer B. Murtazashvili
- In Russia, Private Companies Have Been Left to Pick Up the Tab for Ukrainian Drone AttacksCommentary
The cost of air defense has become an unregistered tax on revenue for businesses. While military rents are consolidated in the federal budget, the costs of defense are being spread across the balance sheets of companies and regional governments.
Alexandra Prokopenko
- California’s Global Trade Cities: Driving Local and National OutcomesPaper
Cities across the United States facilitate investment in American communities. Yet, because global attention remains focused on U.S. trade policy, their distinctive and bold local approaches to international trade and investment promotion are often underappreciated.
Wyatt Frank, Marissa Jordan
- “China Doesn’t Do Anything for Free”Commentary
Why the outcomes of the U.S.-China meetings may be limited.
Aaron David Miller, David Rennie
- As Trump Threatens to Quit NATO, the Baltic States Are Playing for TimeCommentary
Governments in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania want to ensure that a U.S. military withdrawal would not leave them dangerously exposed to a Russian attack.
Sergejs Potapkins