The Challenges for Russia's Politicized Economic System

During the early 2000s the market liberalization reforms to the Russian economy, begun in the 1990s, were consolidated. But since the mid 2000s economic policy has moved into a new phase, characterized by more state intervention with less efficiency and more structural problems. This book argues that problems of corruption, weak competitiveness, heavy dependency on energy exports, an unbalanced labour market, and unequal regional development will worsen unless the government changes direction. The book provides an in-depth analysis of the current Russian economic system, highlighting structural and institutional defects, and suggests how the present situation could be remedied.

Susanne Oxenstierna is a Doctor of Economics and Deputy Research Director at the Swedish Defence Research Agency, FOI.

1. Introduction2. Putin's Rent Management System and the Future of Addiction in Russia3. Between Light and Shadow: Informality in the Russian Labour Market4. State-Business Relations in Russia after 2011: 'New Deal' or Imitation of Changes?5. Is Russia an Entrepreneurial Society? A Comparative Perspective6. The Role of Institutions in the Russian Economy 7. The Impact of Oil Prices, Total Factor Productivity and Institutional Weakness on Russia's Declining Growth8. From the Dual to the Triple State?9. The Basis for Institutions Among the Population in Russia10. Russia's Emerging Civil Society11. Regional Inequality and Potential for Modernization12. Promoting Sustainability in Russia's Arctic: Integrating Local, Regional, Federal, and Corporate Interests13. Russian Regional Resilience: Cooperation and Resource Abundance: A Case Study of Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug