This study analyses the newly available statistical evidence on income distribution in the former Soviet Union both by social group and by republic, and considers the significance of inequalities as a factor contributing to the demise of the Communist regime. Among the topics covered are wage distribution (interbranch and skill differentials and distribution in terms of gender, education, and age), income distribution for the former USSR as a whole, and wage and income distribution patterns for each republic, with analysis of regional differences.

This is the second volume in the author's ongoing inquiry into the extent of income inequality in the East European socialist countries and the effect of market-oriented reforms on patterns of income distribution. Although there has been remarkably little empirical research on this question (in part because of the problem of obtaining reliable data), both proponents and opponents of reforms voice strong views on this subject, with both sides, however, tending to grant the assumption that decentralization and the increased use of market mechanisms will increase inequality. In this study as in...