Another One Bites the Dust: Russian Free Market Advisors to the Government that Is

Bob Lawson over at Division of Labour links to both the Washington Post and Financial Times story on the resignation of Andrei Illarionov --- President Putin's chief economic advisor.  Illarionov tendered his resignation after publicly proclaiming that "Russia is no longer a democratic country."

Illarionov joins a rather long list of Russian would-be economic reformers who have moved on from their role as champion of the free market cause in that country.  In my Why Perestroika Failed, I disucss at least 10 major reforms that were introduced during the Gorbachev era only to be reversed.  In the process we are introduced to one reformer after another.

One of the "best" Russian economists I met over the years was Vitali Naishul, who has raised liberal criticism of so-called free market reforms from the beginning --- starting with his critique of voucher privatization in the early 1990s and continuing with his analysis of the lack of administrative reform under Putin.

Also see the interview from The Commanding Heights PBS series with Anatoly Chubais.

Here is an old review of mine on the privatization process in East and Central Europe and the former Soviet Union.

Comments

[Ian Lewis]

Pete,
What role do you think the Russian Birth Rate will have on the country in the next 20 years?

I always find Russian Life and Culture to be fascinating, but this massive drop in Birth Rate combined with emigration (i.e. Brain Drain) and HIV/AIDS is making this look like they could go from Bad to Worse.

I think that I am less scared of Putin and more scared of who might follow him.

[Peter Boettke]

Depopulation is a serious problem. I think you have to look back to 1960 and then go forward and see the declining life expectancy for both males and females. But as you point out there is something more going on here.

Russia at the moment is just not a place that represents great future opportunity for its citizens.

The 'best' counter view to this pessimistic interpretation is Shleifer's 'Normal Country' thesis. My colleague Pete Leeson is right now finishing up a paper which raises doubts about Shleifer's analysis.

[Peter Boettke]

Depopulation is a serious problem. I think you have to look back to 1960 and then go forward and see the declining life expectancy for both males and females. But as you point out there is something more going on here.

Russia at the moment is just not a place that represents great future opportunity for its citizens.

The 'best' counter view to this pessimistic interpretation is Shleifer's 'Normal Country' thesis. My colleague Pete Leeson is right now finishing up a paper which raises doubts about Shleifer's analysis.

[Ian Lewis]

Thanks.