| In the section | Articles |
| Title of the article | Post-Soviet Trade and Institutional Quality: Subnational Evidence |
| Pages | 115–137 |
| Author | Alexander Libman PhD (Economics), Doctor of Economic Sciences, Professor of Social Sciences and Eastern European Studies Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich Konradstrase 6, 80801 Munich, Germany This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ORCID: 0000-0001-8504-3007 |
| Abstract | The paper aims to investigate the impact of the dependence on the post-Soviet trade on the quality of economic institutions in the Russian subnational regions. For this purpose, it uses two approaches: it looks at how the effect of post-Soviet trade on growth changes over time (hypothesizing that if one observes the decline of this effect, the latter is more likely to be driven by the legacy of the Soviet economy and thus less conducive for the improvement of institutional quality) and at the correlation of post-Soviet trade and quantitative indicators of the quality of economic institutions. The results suggest that the post-Soviet trade is more likely to have a positive impact on the institutional change. Specifically, I find that regions of Russia with a larger share of the post-Soviet trade in the total international trade turnover, are characterized by persistently higher growth rates than other regions throughout the period of investigation (2001–2012). Furthermore, I find that the quantitative measures of the quality of economic institutions in the Russian regions exhibit, if any, a positive correlation with the share of the post-Soviet trade. The effect observed could be linked to the complexity of the regional economies and to the substantial presence of new market-based ties in the post-Soviet trade flows |
| Code | 332.146.2 |
| JEL | F13, O17, R58 |
| DOI | 10.14530/se.2018.3.115-137 |
| Keywords | foreign trade ♦ quality of institutions ♦ post-Soviet space ♦ Russian regions |
| Download | |
| For citation | Libman A. Post-Soviet Trade and Institutional Quality: Subnational Evidence. Prostranstvennaya Ekonomika = Spatial Economics, 2018, no. 3, pp. 115–137. DOI: 10.14530/se.2018.3.115-137. (In Russian). |
| References | 1. Apokin A., Gnidchenko A., Sabelnikova E. Potential of Import Substitution and Benefits of Economic Integration: Disaggregated Assessments. Ekonomicheskaya Politika = Economic Policy, 2017, vol. 12, issue 2, pp. 44–71. DOI: 10.18288/1994-5124-2017-2-02. (In Russian). 2. Blanchard O., Kremer M. Disorganization. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 1997, vol. 112, issue 4, pp. 1091–1126. DOI: 10.1162/003355300555439 3. Bruno R.L., Bytchkova M., Estrin S. Institutional Determinants of New Firm Entry in Russia: A Cross-Regional Analysis. Review of Economics and Statistics, 2013, vol. 95, issue 5, pp. 1740–1749. DOI: 10.1162/REST_a_00322 4. Dairabayeva K., Ferrantino M.J., Portugal-Perez A., Schmidt G. Export Competitiveness and FDI Performance across the Regions of the Russian Federation. World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 7821, 2016. Available at: (accessed September 2018). 5. Donnithorne A. China’s Cellular Economy: Some Economic Trends since the Cultural Revolution. China Quarterly, 1972, vol. 52, pp. 605–619. DOI: 10.1017/S0305741000048116 6. Eurasian Economic Integration – 2017. Eurasian Development Bank, 2017. Available at: https://eabr.org/en/analytics/integration-research/cii-reports/eurasian-economic-integration-2017/ (accessed September 2018). 7. Fidrmuc J. Economic Reform, Democracy and Growth during Post-Communist Transition. European Journal of Political Economy, 2003, vol. 19, issue 3, pp. 583–604. DOI: 10.1016/S0176-2680(03)00010-7 8. Gaddy C., Ickes B.W. Stability and Disorder: An Evolutionary Analysis of Russia’s Virtual Economy. 1999. Available at: https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/handle/2027.42/39660/wp276.pdf?sequence=3 (accessed September 2018). 9. Gel’man V. Regime Transition, Uncertainty, and Prospects for Democratization: The Politics of Russia’s Regions in a Comparative Perspective. Europe-Asia Studies, 1999, vol. 51, issue 6, pp. 939–956. DOI: 10.1080/09668139998589 10. Granville B. Do Informal Institutions Matter for Technological Change in Russia? The Impact of Communist Norms and Conventions, 1998–2004. World Development, 2010, vol. 38, no. 2, pp. 155–169. DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2009.10.010 11. Guriev S., Sonin K. Dictators and Oligarchs: A Dynamic Theory of Contested Property Rights. Journal of Public Economics, 2009, vol. 93, issue 1–2, pp. 1–13. DOI: 10.1016/j.jpubeco.2008.07.003 12. Heinrich A. Why Corporate Governance in the Russian Oil and Gas Industry Is Improving. Corporate Governance: International Journal of Business in Society, 2005, vol. 5, issue 4, pp. 3–9. DOI: 10.1108/14720700510616550 13. Hidalgo C., Hausmann R. The Building Blocks of Economic Complexity. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2009, vol. 106, issue 26, pp. 10570–10575. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0900943106 14. Kheyfets B. Eurasian Economic Union: New Challenges for the Business. Obshchestvo i Ekonomika = Society and Economy, issue 6, pp. 5–22 (In Russian). 15. Kheyfets B. Russian Business in the EurAsEC Countries: A Modernization Aspect. Moscow: Ekonomika. 2011, 294 p. (In Russian). 16. Lankina T., Libman A., Obydenkova A. Authoritarian and Democratic Diffusion in Postcommunist Regions. Comparative Political Studies, 2016, vol. 49, issue 12, pp. 1599–1629. DOI: 10.1177/0010414016628270 17. Ledyaeva S., Karhunen P., Kosonen R. Birds of a Feather: Evidence of Commonality of Corruption and Democracy in the Origin and Location of Foreign Investment in the Russian Regions. European Journal of Political Economy, 2013, vol. 32, pp. 1–25. DOI: 10.1016/j.ejpoleco.2013.06.003 18. Libman A. Complementarity of the Economies of Russia and Ukraine: A Regional Aspect. Vestnik Instituta Ekonomiki RAN = Herald of the Institute of Economics RAS, 2013, issue 3, pp. 130–142 (In Russian). 19. Libman A. Democracy, Size of Bureaucracy, and Economic Growth: Evidence from Russian Regions. Empirical Economics, 2012, vol. 43, issue 3, pp. 1321–1352. DOI: 10.1007/s00181-011-0525-5 20. Libman A., Obydenkova A. International Trade as a Limiting Factor in Democratization: An Analysis of Subnational Regions in Post-Communist Russia. Studies in Comparative International Development, 2014, vol. 49, no. 2, pp. 168–196. DOI: 10.1007/s12116-013-9130-2 21. Marshall J.B., Stone R.W. Expropriation Risk and Strategic Entry Decisions in Foreign Direct Investment. Working Paper, University of Rochester. 2011. 22. Obydenkova A., Libman A. Causes and Consequences of Democratization: The Regions of Russia. Abingdon: Routledge, 2015. 23. Obydenkova A., Libman A. The Impact of External Factors on Regime Transition: Lessons from the Russian Regions. Post-Soviet Affairs, 2012, vol. 28, issue 3, pp. 346–401. DOI: 10.2747/1060-586X.28.3.346 24. Polterovich V. Institutional Traps and Economic Reforms. Ekonomika i Matematicheskie Metody = Economics and Mathematic Methods, 1999, vol. 35, issue 2, pp. 1–37 (In Russian). 25. Poncet S., de Waldemar F.S. Export Upgrading and Growth: The Prerequisites of Domestic Embeddedness. World Development, 2013, vol. 51, pp. 104–118. DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2013.05.010 26. Rodrik D. What’s So Special about China’s Exports? China and World Economy, 2006, vol. 14, issue 5, pp. 1–19. DOI: 10.1111/j.1749-124X.2006.00038.x 27. Russian Federation: National and Regional Trends in Regulatory Burden and Corruption. World Bank, 2013. Available at: http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/584111468092953347/Russian-Federation-National-and-regional-trends-in-regulatory-burden-and-corruption (accessed September 2018). 28. Sandholtz W., Koetzle W. Accounting for Corruption: Economic Structures, Democracy and Trade. International Studies Quarterly, 2000, vol. 44, issue 1, pp. 31–50. 29. Stoner-Weiss K. Foreign Direct Investment and Democratic Development in the Russian Provinces: A Preliminary Analysis. Policy Studies Journal, 2000, vol. 28, issue 1, pp. 96–113. DOI: 10.1111/j.1541-0072.2000.tb02017.x 30. Tansey O., Koehler K., Schmoltz A. Ties to the Rest: Autocratic Linkages and Regime Survival. Comparative Political Studies, 2017, vol. 50, issue 9, pp. 1221–1254. DOI: 10.1177/0010414016666859 31. Vardomskiy L. Post-Soviet Integration and Economic Growth in New Borderland of Russia in 2005–2015. Prostranstvennaya Ekonomika = Spatial Economics, 2017, issue 4, pp. 23-40. DOI: 10.14530/se.2017.4.023-040. (In Russian). 32. Yakovev E., Zhuravskaya E. The Unequal Enforcement of Liberalization: Evidence from Russia’s Reform of Business Regulation. Journal of the European Economic Association, 2013, vol. 11, issue 4, pp. 808–838. DOI: 10.1111/jeea.12026 33. Yevsigneev V. Monetary Integration in the EU and in the CIS: A Comparative Semantic Analysis. Moscow: Nauka, 1997, 271 p. (In Russian). |