30 Years of Reforms since the Collapse of the USSR
15 December 2021 3:00 pm CET
Lessons from Economic Transformation
Venue
Online event. Please register using the link below.
Description
Today – three decades after the dissolution of the USSR – two competing views on the history of transformation prevailed. For the developed world, the end of the Soviet Union marked the ultimate triumph of liberal democracy and market economy ('the end of history', according to Francis Fukuyama). For many citizens of the former USSR, however, the transition years are associated with economic collapse, growing social insecurity and political conflict.
These differing perceptions are hard to reconcile without understanding the reasons and outcomes of the economic transformation in the former USSR. The unravelling of the structural problems inherited from the command economy - a dominant public sector, heavily subsidised firms, high budget deficits or a lack of small and medium-sized enterprises - to name a few - has taken much longer than expected and is still not fully completed. The Soviet legacy still weighs heavily on its successor states and continues to influence their economic and political development.
Our panel discussion – with all panellists being both active researchers and witnesses of the economic tranformation – will provide an account on the key results of the transition process and answer the most important questions:
- Who are the winners and losers of three decades of economic transformation?
- What were the biggest reform mistakes and why did the implementation frequently proceed in a push-pull manner?
- What are the main legacies of the transition process and how do they determine the modern development agenda of post-Soviet countries today?
- What does this mean for the future of the post-Soviet states?
Speakers
Sergei Guriev, Professor of Economics at the Instituts d'études politiques in Paris (Sciences Po). He was Chief Economist at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (2016-2019) and earlier Rector at the New Economic School (NES) in Moscow.
Tymofiy Mylovanov, President of Kyiv School of Economics, Associate Professor of the University of Pittsburgh, former Minister of Economic Development, Trade and Agriculture of Ukraine
Olga Pindyuk, Economist and Country Expert for Ukraine and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) at the Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies
Moderation: Valerie Hopkins, Moscow Correspondent, The New York Times
Registration
Please register with the following link: https://my.demio.com/ref/bzgLkBSkDlhGPrjS
The presentation will be held in English.
Attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions.