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Russia and the Soviet Union Then and Now

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  • Stanley Fischer

Abstract

The main focus of this paper is on the process and progress of economic reform in Russia. But I start with four historical questions that bear on the current situation. How advanced was Russia in 1913? What relevance, if any, does the New Economic Policy of the 19205, or NEP, have for the current situation? Why did economic growth in the Soviet Union slow in the 1970s and 1980s? What role did Gorbachev's policies play in bringing about the final collapse of the Soviet Union? Russia's approach to reform is similar to that in several East European countries. It differs in having started with a major price liberalization, before macroeconomic stabilization was assured. I then tum to the close links between macroeconomic stabilization and enterprise restructuring that have emerged in the Russian political process, and analyze the need for an explicit industrial restructuring policy that goes beyond privatization. The paper concludes with a discussion of the interrelated questions of inter-republican trade, payments, and new currencies. I describe and evaluate the case for an inter-republican payments union or the more modest type of organization, an inter-republican payments mechanism, that is likely to emerge.

Suggested Citation

  • Stanley Fischer, 1992. "Russia and the Soviet Union Then and Now," NBER Working Papers 4077, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:4077
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    Cited by:

    1. Orlowski, Lucjan T, 1995. "Direct Transfers between the Former Soviet Union Central Budget and the Republics: Past Evidence and Current Implications," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 28(1), pages 59-73.
    2. William Easterly & Stanley Fischer, 1994. "The Soviet Economic Decline: Historical and Republican Data," NBER Working Papers 4735, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Orlowski, Lucjan T., 1993. "The disintegration of the ruble zone: Driving forces and proposals for policy change," Kiel Working Papers 585, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).

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