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on Confederation of Independent States |
By: | Peter T. Leeson (Department of Economics, West Virginia University); William N. Trumbull (Department of Economics, West Virginia University) |
Abstract: | Shleifer and Treisman (2005) argue that Russia is a “normal country.” Their benchmark for normalcy, however, refers primarily to middle-income countries like Mexico and Argentina. We propose that a more meaningful benchmark is the experience of other post-socialist transition countries, which share common political and economic histories with Russia, and have faced similar transition obstacles since communism’s collapse. We compare Russia’s economic performance, media freedom, democracy, and corruption since Russia began transition, to these benchmarks in all other post-socialist countries since they began their transitions. We find that Russia consistently and significantly performs below normal compared to its cohort. |
Date: | 2006 |
URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wvu:wpaper:06-03&r=cis |
By: | Daniel Berkowitz; Yadviga Semikolenova |
Date: | 2006–01 |
URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pit:wpaper:218&r=cis |
By: | Amelie Constant; Martin Kahanec; Klaus F. Zimmermann |
Abstract: | Ethnic differences are often considered to be powerful sources of diverse economic behavior. In this paper, we investigate whether and how ethnicity affects Ukrainian labor market outcomes. Using micro data from the Ukrainian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey (ULMS) and Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition of earnings, we find a persistent and rising labor market divide between ethnic Russians and Ukrainians throughout Ukraine's transition era. We establish that language rather than nationality is the key factor behind this ethnic premium favoring Russians. Our findings further document that this premium is larger among males than among females. |
Keywords: | Ethnicity, earnings differences, discrimination, transitional labor markets, ethnic premium |
JEL: | J15 J70 J82 |
Date: | 2006 |
URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwwpp:dp627&r=cis |