WIIW The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies - Wiener Institut für Internationale Wirtschaftsvergleiche

The Belarus Economy: The Challenges of Stalled Reforms

21  December 2016    4:00 pm CET

The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies (wiiw) and the Belarusian Economic Research and Outreach Center (BEROC) will present the results of a study in Minsk, Belarus

Venue

Minsk, Belarus, Beijing Hotel, 36, Krasnoarmeiskaya Street, Lotus Conference Hall

Description

Twenty-five years after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Belarus stands out as a special case in transition blending, on the one hand, signs of relative prosperity, socially oriented policies and sprouts of entrepreneurships and, on the other hand, remnants of the communist past. The core of the Belarusian economic model throughout most of this period was a combination of external rents and soft budget constraints on the state-owned part of the economy backed by a strong system of administrative control. In periods of favourable external conditions this mix provided for relatively high rates of economic growth and allowed the authorities to maintain a ‘social contract’ with the population targeting close to full employment. But this model also led to the persistent accumulation of a quasi-fiscal deficit which time and again came to the surface, and its subsequent monetisation provoked macroeconomic and currency turmoil. At present the Belarus’ economic model has run up against its limits and policy changes seem inevitable.

The study offers a new reading and interpretation of the unique experience of Belarus during the transition from plan to market economy and looks at the possible future policy options given the challenges the Belarus economy is facing at present.

We kindly ask you to register for the event.