Russia After the Global Economic Crisis examines this important country after the financial crisis of 2007-09. The second book from The Russia Balance Sheet Project, a collaboration of two of the world's preeminent research institutions, the Peterson Institute for International Economics and the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), not only assesses Russia's international and domestic policy challenges but also provides an all-encompassing review of this important country's foreign and domestic issues. The authors consider foreign policy, Russia and its neighbors,...

Latvia stands out as the East European country hardest hit by the global financial crisis; it lost approximately 25 percent of its GDP between 2008 and 2010. It was also the most overheated economy before the crisis. But in the second half of 2010, Latvia returned to economic growth. How did this happen so quickly? Current Latvian Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis, who shepherded Latvia through the crisis, and renowned author Anders Aslund discuss why the Latvian economy became so overheated; why an IMF and European Union stabilization program was needed; what the Latvian government did to...

Anders Aslund is known to make bold predictions that initially arouse controversy but soon become common wisdom. In his book Gorbachev's Struggle for Economic Reform (1989), he foresaw the collapse of the Soviet political and economic system. When others saw little but chaos, he depicted the success of Russia's market transformation in How Russia Became a Market Economy (1995). After Russia's financial crisis of 1998, although most observers declared the market economic experiment a failure, Aslund foresaw market economic success (Building Capitalism, 2002). In How Capitalism Was Built,...

Where is Europe going? In this 2007 collection, several prominent European economists offer essays on the five big challenges to the development of the European Union (EU). Namely, the new European Constitution, European finances and the euro, the need to boost economic growth, competition in both new member states and countries further to the East, and the goal of forming a cooperative and productive relationship with countries on the European periphery. The book includes essays by Charles Wyplosz, who argues that enlargement and deepening are not substitutes but complements; Vito Tanzi who...

Europe is in a serious crisis but that it can face up to these challenges. In Europe's Growth Challenge Anders Aslund and Simeon Djankov argue that the European Union can only be successful if it carries out substantial changes in the European economic system.
European society benefits from equality in income, excellent healthcare and basic education, good infrastructure, and developed institutions for the rule of law. But Europe has entered a period of economic stagnation and is distracted by multiple challenges. Economic and political strains have stalled vital reforms, while...

Ukraine suffered unprecedented political, economic, and military turmoil following Russia's annexation of Crimea in early 2014. Russian military aggression in the east and a legacy of destructive policies and corruption have created an imminent existential crisis for this young democracy. Yet Ukraine also has a great opportunity to break out of economic underperformance. In this study, Anders Aslund, one of the world's leading experts on Ukraine, traces Ukraine's evolution as a market economy starting with the fall of communism and examines the economic impact of its recent difficulties....