Carlos B. Cavalcanti and Zhicheng Li, Reforming Tax Expenditure Programs in Poland, WPS 2465, 2000, 23 pp.

Tax expenditures are reductions in tax liabilities that result from preferential provisions, such as deductions, exemptions, credits, deferrals, preferential tax rates, and exclusions from taxation. They are an effective form of government spending channeled through the tax system, usually as a substitute for direct government spending to achieve fiscal and political objectives.

Poland introduced tax expenditure programs in 1992 to compensate lower-income taxpayers for the withdrawal of subsidies. But the tax system is difficult for the average taxpayer to understand, it reduced the tax base, and most of the programs, which are extremely regressive, benefit higher-income taxpayers more than the taxpayers they were originally designed to help. Currently, these programs are not subject to systematic review. To limit their expansion, their administration should be strengthened, "sunset dates" established, and their economic effectiveness reviewed.

To order: Anita Correa, Room H4-318, tel.: 202-473-8949, fax: 202-522-2755, Email: acorrea@worldbank.org. The authors may be contacted at ccavalcanti@worldbank.org or zli@worldbank.org.

Michael Lokshin and Martin Ravallion, Short-Lived Shocks with Long-Lived Impacts? Household Income Dynamics in a Transition Economy, WPS 2459, 2000, 26 pp.

Persistent poverty has emerged in many transition economies, as vulnerable households have been unable to recover from large shocks to their income. In Hungary households were able to bounce back from transient shocks.

To order: Patricia Sader, Room MC3-556, tel.: 202-473-3902, fax: 202-522-1153, Email: psader@worldbank.org. The authors may be contacted at mlokshin @worldbank.org or mravallion@world bank.org.

Uwe Deichmann and Vernon Henderson, Urban and Regional Dynamics in Poland, WPS 2457, 2000, 40 pp.

Poland’s continuing housing shortage reduces labor mobility, which reduces potential growth. Urbanization remains low in Poland. Internal migration decreased significantly in the 1990s, with rural-to-urban migration declining dramatically. Housing construction, which was already low, fell by half in the 1990s and has only recently begun to recover. A significant number of mostly young and educated temporary migrants leave Poland annually, many to find employment abroad.

Jo Ritzen, William Easterly, and Michael Woolcock, On "Good" Politicians and "Bad" Policies: Social Cohesion, Institutions, and Growth, WPS 2448, 2000, 35 pp.

Bold, civic-minded, well-informed politicians (or interest groups) can face severe constraints in bringing about policy reform that force them to enact bad policies. These constraints are shaped by the degree of social cohesion in a country (that is, the inclusiveness of a country’s communities) and the quality of its institutions. Social cohesion is essential for generating the trust needed to implement reforms. Citizens must believe that short-term losses will be more than offset by long-term gains. In countries in which institutions are weak and that are divided along class and ethnic lines, cohesion is weak.

Joel S. Hellman, Geraint Jones, and Daniel Kaufmann, "Seize the State, Seize the Day": State Capture, Corruption, and Influence in Transition, WPS 2444, 2000, 44 pp.

Richard H. Adams, Jr., The Politics of Economic Policy Reform in Developing Countries, WPS 2443, 2000, 44 pp.

To order: Moira Coleridge-Taylor, Room MC4-554, tel.: 202-473-3704, fax: 202-522-3283, Email: mcoleridgetaylor @worldbank.org. The author may be contacted at radams@worldbank.org.

Patrick Honohan and Daniela Klingebiel, Controlling the Fiscal Costs of Banking Crises, WPS 2441, 2000, 35 pp.

Crisis management strategies such as unlimited deposit guarantees, open-ended liquidity support, repeated recapitalization, debtor bail-outs, and regulatory forbearance appear to add greatly to fiscal costs. The authors argue for a strict rather than an accommodating approach to crisis resolution.

Shang-Jin Wei, Corruption, Composition of Capital Flows, and Currency Crises, WPS 2429 2000, 26 pp.

Dominique van de Walle, Are Returns to Investment Lower for the Poor? Human and Physical Capital Interactions in Rural Vietnam, WPS 2425, 2000, 28 pp.

Christof Ruhl and Daniel Daianu, Economic Transition in Romania: Past, Present, and Future (Proceedings of the Conference "Romania 2000: Ten Years of Transition" (October 1999), The World Bank/Romanian Center for Economic Policies, 2000, 608 pp.

Global Economic Prospects and Developing Countries 2001, December 2000, 180 pp.

Average GDP in Eastern Europe and Central Asia reached 5.2 percent in 2000, significantly above the 1 percent advance of 1999. For the first time since the break-up of the Soviet Union, almost all countries in the region recorded positive growth. Exports picked up, in large part due to rising import demand from the Euro Area. The World Bank expects relatively strong growth for the region through 2002. GDP for the region is projected to expand 4.1 percent a year through 2010—up from a decline of 1.9 percent during the 1990s. The principal weakness is the low level of investment. The expected rapid growth in electronic commerce could impair the competitive position of countries that lack the technical skills and infrastructure necessary to participate effectively.

David Lindeman, Michal Rutkowski, and Oleksiy Sluchynsky, Dilemmas and Emerging Best Practices—The Evolution of Pension Systems in Eastern Europe and Central Asia: Opportunities, Constraints, Practices, 2000, 56 pp.

Since the early 1990s the transition economies of Eastern Europe and Central Asia have had to adapt their pension systems. Some changes relate to the fact that contribution bases are shrinking and governments are unable to finance prior commitments and protect pensioners from poverty. Others reflect the need to make pension systems more sustainable in light of forthcoming demographic changes. Reform entails a move away from a single-pillar pay-as-you-go defined-benefit system toward a multipillar system that includes a funded defined-contribution component and makes the remaining pay-as-you-go components more self-sustaining and transparent. This study examines various aspects of moving to a new pension system, including organization, administration, guarantees, transition arrangements, participation requirements, the role of the government, and annuitization.

M. Kojima, R.W. Bacon, M. Lovei, and M. Fodor, Cleaner Transport Fuels for Cleaner Air in Central Asia and the Caucasus, 2000, 40 pp.

Urban air pollution is a matter of increasing concern in many of the newly independent states. Traffic is burgeoning in cities, but vehicle registration, inspection, and maintenance are inadequate to support efforts to improve air quality. Poor fuel quality exacerbates emissions problems. Although certain emissions, such as greenhouse gases, are of global concern, the greatest costs of air pollution at the local level are to human health.

Tim Schwarz and David Satola, Telecommunications Legislation in Transitional and Developing Economies, TP 489, 2000, 86 pp.

Nina B. Bubnova, Governance Impact on Private Investment: Evidence from the International Patterns of Infrastructure Bond Risk Pricing, TP 488, 2000, 96 pp.

Capital markets have become the main funding source for infrastructure projects worldwide, including in developing and transition economies, where infrastructure still falls considerably short of meeting needs. Infrastructure bonds served as the most popular method of oil, gas, electricity, telecommunications, and transport project financing in these countries throughout 1990–99, substituting for government funding. This study identifies the political and regulatory risks that most concern investors. It provides a comparative analysis of developed and emerging infrastructure bond markets and identifies factors that drive infrastructure finance in each group of countries.

Mrak Mojmir, Communal Infrastructure in Slovenia: Survey of Investment Needs and Policies Aimed at Encouraging Private Sector Participation, TP 483, 2001, 80 pp.

This study provides an overview of the institutional, legal, and regulatory environment for communal infrastructure development; provides a detailed analysis of communal infrastructure investment; and discusses policy measures for increasing the volume of communal infrastructure investment. It provides information for those seeking sources of financing other than the government budget to support and expand the communal infrastructure essential to Slovenia’s economic development.

Peter Havlik, Trade and Cost Competitiveness in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovenia, TP 482, 2000, 80 pp.

Although the four countries considered in this study are the most developed transition countries in Europe, their average wages are only a fraction of those in Western Europe. Theoretically, low labor costs should give the Central and Eastern European countries an advantage, but capital shortages and the lack of skills required by a market economy prevent them from doing so. This report—prepared under the auspices of the World Bank by Peter Havlik, Deputy Director of the Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies (WIIW)—reviews wage and labor productivity developments and examines the evolution of export competitiveness. It also summarizes the main findings from the ongoing research by WIIW on the impact of foreign direct investment on restructuring and provides some policy recommendations.

Czech Republic: Completing the Transformation of Banks and Enterprises, Country Studies, 2000, 88 pp.

The Czech Republic reached the end of the 1990s with an unfinished transformation agenda. Especially apparent were the lingering problems in the major banks and in large segments of the corporate sector, which led to unsatisfactory economic performance. The root cause for the poor performance stems from weak internal and external mechanisms of corporate governance. This report aims to assist the Czech authorities in their ongoing efforts to improve the overall institutional and legal framework for restructuring distressed enterprises and for providing new lending as well.

World Bank Atlas 2000, 32nd edition, 2000.

The World Bank Atlas 2000 provides easy-to-read maps, tables, and graphs highlighting key social, economic, and environment data for 206 economies. The 32nd edition has been updated and improved with new material taken from the World Development Indicators 2000. It includes six sections, including sections on global links and world view drawn from the corresponding sections in the World Development Indicators. Also included are new estimates of purchasing power parities and data on relative prices for countries that participated in the most recent round of the International Comparison Program. Data on GNP, the shares of exports and agriculture and investment in GDP, private investment, energy consumption, and population growth are also included.

Opportunities and Risks in Central European Finances: European Union Accession, 2000, 380 pp.

Simon Commander, Irina Dolinskaya, and Christian Mumssen, Determinants of Barter in Russia: An Empirical Analysis, WP/00/155, 2000.

Vivek B. Arora and Martin Cerisola, How Does U.S. Monetary Policy Influence Economic Conditions in Emerging Markets? WP/00/148, 2000.

Paulo Drummond, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia Banking Soundness and Recent Lessons, WP/00/145, 2000.

George T. Abed and Hamid Davoodi, Corruption, Structural Reforms, and Economic Performance in the Transition Economies, WP/00/132, 2000.

Romania: Selected Issues and Statistical Appendix, Country Report No. 01/16, 2001, 223 pp.

Estonia: Second Review Under the Stand-By Arrangement: Staff Report, News Brief by the Deputy Managing Director, and Statement by Authorities of Estonia, Country Report No. 01/14, 2001, 42 pp.

Andrea Schaechter, Mark R. Stone, and Mark Zelmer, Adopting Inflation Targeting: Practical Issues for Emerging Market Countries, Occasional Paper No. 202, December, 2000, 62 pp.

The experience of the industrial countries suggests that the foundations for successful, full-fledged inflation targeting are a strong fiscal position and entrenched macroeconomic stability, a well-developed financial system, central bank independence and a mandate to achieve price stability, a reasonably well-understood transmission mechanism between monetary policy actions and inflation, a sound methodology for constructing inflation forecasts, and transparency of monetary policy to build accountability and credibility. Experience in Chile, Israel, and Poland suggests that a gradual shift from a crawling exchange rate regime to an inflation targeting framework is feasible.

George Kopits, How Can Fiscal Policy Help Avert Currency Crises? WP/00/185, November, 2000.

A. Radziwill, Poland’s Accession to the EMU, No. 212, 2000, 23 pp.

R. Antczak, Theoretical Aspects of Currency Crises, No. 211, 2000, 34 pp.

E. Jarocinska, Labour Developments in Moldova, No. 210, 2000, 26 pp.

M. Blaszkiewicz, What Factors Led to the Asian Financial Crisis: Were or Were Not Asian Economics Sound? No. 209, 2000, 57 pp.

M. Tomczynska, Early Indicators of Currency Crises: Review of Some Literature, No. 208, 2000.

Y. Kuzmyn, Ukraine’s Foreign Trade Developments and Forecasts, No. 207, 2000.

R. Antczak, S. Bogdankiewich, P. Daneiko, K. Polomski, and V. Usowski, Impact of the Russian Crisis on the Belarussian Economy, No. 206, 2000, 40 pp.

The Russian financial crisis of August 1998 seriously damaged President Lukashenko’s domestic and foreign policy. But the crisis in Belarus—caused by maintenance of a command economy—began in the first quarter of 1998. The Russian crisis merely aggravated the economic situation.

M. Jarocinski, Moldova in 1995–1999: Macroeconomic and Monetary Consequences of Fiscal Imbalances, No. 205, 2000.

P. Kovatchevska, The Banking and Currency Crises in Bulgaria: 1996–1997, No. 204, 2000, 31 pp.

The banking crisis in Bulgaria was caused by slow structural reforms, inefficient prudential regulation, and prolonged unsound lending practices. Excessive credit, a large interest rate spread, and an overvalued exchange rate exacerbated the banks’ liquidity position. The currency crisis was a consequence of expansionary monetary policy, which led to irreversible depletion of Bulgaria’s international reserves and caused the eventual collapse of the exchange rate. At the same time, the balance of payments deteriorated. The causal link between the two crises is explained through expansionary monetary policy that came in response to the banking crisis. The central bank was unable to sustain the exchange rate when it faced a run on its reserves.

A. Kudina, An Approach to Forecasting Ukrainian GDP from the Supply Side, No. 196, 2000, 20 pp.

J. Cukrowski and M.M. Fischer, European Integration: Strategic Market Research and Industry Structures, CASE-CEU Working Papers Series, No. 36, 2000, 24 pp.

Klaus E. Meyer, Ane Tind, and Mår K. Jacobsen, National Internationalization Processes: SME on the Way to Eastern Europe, No. 37, 2000.

Enese E. Lieb-Doczy and Klaus E. Meyer, Context Sensitivity of Post-Acquisition Restructuring: An Evolutionary Perspective, No. 36, 2000.

Klaus Uhlenbruck, Klaus Meyer, and Michael A. Hitt, Organizational Transformation in Transitional Economies: Resource-Based and Organizational Learning Perspectives, No. 35, 2000.

Many former state-owned firms in the transition economies of Central and Eastern Europe failed because they pursued primarily defensive downsizing rather than forward-looking strategic restructuring.

Klaus Meyer, Institutions, Transaction Costs, and Entry Mode Choice in Eastern Europe, No. 34, 2000.

Klaus Meyer, International Business Research on Transition Economies, No. 32, 2000.

This working paper reviews the literature on business in the transition economies of Eastern Europe.

Kenneth Husted and Snejina Michailova, Knowledge Sharing in Russian Companies with Foreign Participation, No. 31, January 2000.

Paul C. De Grauwe, Exchange Rates in Search of Fundamentals: The Case of the Euro-Dollar Rate, DP 2575, October 2000.

Dalia Marin, Trust versus Illusion: What Is Driving Demonetization in Russia? DP 2570, 2000.

To order: EBRD, One Exchange Square, London EC2A 2JN, United Kingdom, tel.: 4420-7338-6227, fax: 4420-7338-6110, E-mail: sanfeyp@ebrd.com, Web site: http://www.ebrd.com.

Daniel Gros and Marc Suhrcke, Ten Years After: What Is Special about Transition Countries?, WP 56, August 2000, 21 pp.

Saul Estrin and Alan Bevan, The Determinants of Foreign Direct Investment in Transition Economies, DP 2638, December 2000.

Using a panel data set on foreign direct investment (FDI) flows from market to transition economies, this study finds that country risk, unit labor costs, host market size, and gravity factors determine FDI flows into Central and Eastern Europe. Country risk is influenced by private sector development, industrial development, the government balance, reserves, and corruption. Progress toward EU accession has the potential to induce virtuous cycles for frontrunners but may have serious consequences for laggards.

Francesco Giavazzi, Richard Baldwin, Erik Berglöf, and Mika Widgrén, EU Reforms for Tomorrow’s Europe, DP 2623, November 2000.

Damien J. Neven and Petros C. Mavroidis, Antitrust Practice in Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic, DP 2601, November 2000.

Anti-trust agencies in all Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic have advocated for competition in the formulation of trade policy. The Polish agency has become less independent over time, whereas the Hungarian agency has probably become more independent.

Jozef Konings, The Effects of Direct Foreign Investment on Domestic Firms: Evidence from Firm-Level Panel Data in Emerging Economies, DP 2586, October 2000.

Do foreign firms perform better than their domestic counterparts? Do foreign firms generate spillovers to domestic firms? Using a firm-level panel data set that includes detailed information on foreign ownership at the firm level, the author finds that only in Poland do foreign firms perform better than firms that do not involve foreign participation. No evidence of net positive spillovers to domestic firms was found in any of the three countries. In contrast, net negative spillovers to domestic firms were found in Bulgaria and Romania. No net spillovers to domestic firms were found in Poland. The results suggests a negative competition effect that dominates a positive technology effect.

Gérard Roland and Thierry Verdier, Law Enforcement and Transition, DP 2501, July 2000.

Law enforcement implies coordination problems and multiple equilibria due to a law abidance and a fiscal externality. This study analyzes two institutional mechanisms for solving the coordination problem. The first mechanism, called "dualism," follows the scenario of transition in China, where the government retains direct control over economic resources and a liberalized nonstate sector follows market rules. The second mechanism is accession to the European Union.

Yuri Perevalov, Ilya Gimadi, and Vladimir Dobrodey, The Impact of Privatisation on the Performance of Medium and Large Industrial Enterprises, K/01E, 2000.

This study, based on panel data from 198 industrial enterprises in the Sverdlovsk Oblast during 1992–96, provides empirical evidence on the impact of privatization on the performance of medium, large, and extra-large industrial enterprises. Both full privatization and majority state ownership are preferable to the state retaining a minority share. The state should retain majority control over privatized enterprises or reduce its stake to less than 5 percent in order to avoid the drop in performance caused by the absence of a monitoring shareholder.

Constantin Sonin, Inequality, Property Rights, and Economic Growth in Transition Economies: Theory and Russian Evidence, No. 2K/02E, 2000.

Evgeny Dorofeev, Economic Factors’ Influence on the Russian Capital Market, No. 2K/03E, 2000.

This study analyzes the price dynamics of shares listed on the Russian Trading System (RTS). Preferences for speculative versus strategic investments in the Russian capital market are studied by dividing the risk associated with each share into a general component, which depends on economic fundamentals, and an individual (speculative) component, which is associated with holding a particular asset.

Evgenia Kolomak, Sub-Federal Tax Exemptions in Russia: Less Taxes, More Investment, No. 2K/07E, 2000.

Sergey Levendorsky and Svetlana Boyarchenko, Money Substitutes in the Russian Virtual Economy: Why They Appear and What Is Their Impact on the Economy? No. 2K/08E, 2000.

Ole Norgaard, Economic Institutions and Democratic Reform: A Comparative Analysis of Post-Communist Countries, 2000, 272 pp.

This book systematically explores the political effects and consequences of economic reform in more than 20 postcommunist countries, using primary quantitative data and stringent statistical analysis. The author argues that there is no universally applicable economic reform strategy and that popular democracy is a more stable foundation of a successful economy than a powerful executive or president. The book also shows that generalized models are not useful in studying the complexity of postcommunist transformation.

Tomasz Zylicz, Costing Nature in a Transition Economy, Case Studies in Poland, 2000, 200 pp.

Roy W. Bahl, Jr., Fiscal Policy in China: Taxation and Intergovernmental Fiscal Relations, University of Michigan Press, 1999, 224 pp.

(To order: http://www.press.umich.edu/Ordering/OrderInfo.html)

China’s 1994 tax reform is noteworthy because it was the most systematic and comprehensive restructuring of China’s revenue system since the start of economic reform in 1979. In addition to adapting the tax structure and tax administration to the needs of a rapidly rising market economy, the major thrust of the reform was to redefine intergovernmental fiscal relations. Although the reform clearly propelled the nation’s fiscal system toward centralization, it put in place the structure necessary to pursue true fiscal decentralization in the future.

Claudia M. Buch and Daniel Piazolo, Capital and Trade Flows in Europe and the Impact of Enlargement, Kiel Working Paper No. 1001, Kiel Institute of World Economics, 2000.

Eastern enlargement of the European Union is likely to boost trade and capital flows. But empirical evidence on the possible magnitudes remains scant. This study uses four different data sets to estimate the determinants of international asset holdings and trade flows.

Robert W. Compton, East Asian Democratization: Impact of Globalization, Culture, and Economy, Praeger Publishers, 2000, 224 pp.

David Cox, Close Protection: The Politics of Guarding Russia’s Rulers, Praeger Publishers, October 2000, 184 pp.

This book examines the "close protection" units that guard Russia’s leaders, including elite from outside the government and outside the Russian Federation.

Jan Delhey and Verena Tobsch, Understanding Regime Support in New Democracies: Does Politics Really Matter More Than Economics? DP FS III 00-403, Social Science Research Center Berlin, 2000, 31 pp.

Using the 1991–98 New Democracies Barometer, the 1999 Hungarian Euromodule, and the 1998 German Welfare Survey, this study examines citizen satisfaction with democracy in 12 economies. The results do not support the common view that in all postcommunist societies political output is more important than economic output for generating support for the new system. In explaining support for postcommunist regimes, other aspects, such as social security, social justice, and public safety, should also be taken into account.

Jean-Jacques Dethier (editor), Governance, Decentralization, and Reform in China, India, and Russia, Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2000

Distorted economic and political incentive structures, capture of the state by powerful elites, and inoperative legal systems have greatly complicated the political economy of reform in China, India, and the Russian Federation, all countries with heterogeneous populations. This volume studies three aspects of reform: fiscal federalism; decentralization and provision of local public goods; and legal reforms.

Part I examines the role of incentives in fiscal federalism. It analyzes the effects of different revenue-sharing mechanisms between different levels of government, studying in particular the effects on regional growth and inequality and the incentives that local politicians may have to provide public goods depending on the fiscal arrangements with the central government. All three countries have been striving for increased decentralization. But the theoretical literature suggests that, in a decentralized setting, second-best solutions must prevail: it is not possible to ensure incentive compatibility simultaneously with optimal allocation of resources and a balanced budget in providing public goods.

Part II discusses taxation and public expenditure management, both as a political and as a budgetary process. Two questions are addressed: Does participation of stakeholders and accountability of public authorities improve economic and social outcomes? Does better governance in the provision of basic goods, such as health care and education, improve equity? While decentralization is often seen as a way to improve the quality of public services, rule-based governance is viewed as a safeguard against the arbitrariness of public officials and weakness in law enforcement.

Part III focuses on the rule of law, the role of the judicial system in establishing a rule-based economy, and the effectiveness of legal institutions during the transition from socialism to a market economy. It also discusses various conceptual approaches to addressing legal reform issues.

Kristin J. Forbes, The Asian Flu and Russian Virus: Firm-Level Evidence on How Crises Are Transmitted Internationally, MIT-Sloan School of Management and NBER, 2000, 58 pp.

Bartolomiej Kaminski, NATO and Europe in the Twenty-First Century: New Roles for a Changing Partnership, Conference Proceedings, Woodrow Wilson Center, 2000.

Grzegorz W. Kolodko, Post-Communist Transition: The Thorny Road, University of Rochester Press, Rochester Studies in Central Europe, 2000, 200 pp.

This volume examines the transformation of state-controlled economies into free market economies, an ongoing transition that is an indispensable part of globalization. The recession created by the transition has lasted much longer than expected, contraction was deeper than expected, and the recovery was not—and in some cases still is not—as smooth as envisaged by both governments and international organizations. Instead of recovery and robust growth, the lasting recession has turned out to be the Great Transitional Depression, continuing in several countries over the entire decade of the 1990s. The effects have been most severe in the two countries with the largest economies—the Russian Federation and Ukraine. This study examines the underlying roots of these processes, especially from the viewpoint of policy options for the future and their political and technical constraints.

Russell R. Miller, Doing Business in Newly Privatized Markets: Global Opportunities and Challenges Quorum Books, 2000, 344 pp.

During the past decade thousands of state-controlled companies in more than 100 different countries have entered the private sector. These firms range in size and commercial significance from small family-owned kiosks in the Russian Federation to some of the largest, most influential corporations in Western and Central Europe, Latin America, and Asia. This book provides a comprehensive, business-oriented perspective on the origin and geographic expansion of the privatization movement and describes the methods that governments use and the objectives they hope to achieve in divesting state assets. It identifies the formative influences on these new companies, as well as the operating needs created by the privatization process. The book also discusses alternate methods of expanding markets, such as reaching newly privatized firms through a strategic marketing program by creating strategic alliances, restructuring enterprise, expanding technical relationships, and developing export markets.

To order: Greenwood Publishing Group, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881, tel.: 203 226-3571, Email: webmaster@greenwood.com, Web site: http://info.greenwood.com/books/1567202/1567202608.html.

Marc Suhrcke, Are Reforms from a Centrally Planned to a Market System Bad for Health? HWWA Discussion Paper 105, 2000, 38 pp.

Peter H. Solomon and Todd S.Foglesong, Courts and Transition in Russia: The Challenge of Judicial Reform, Westview Press, 2000.

This book analyzes the state and operation of the courts in the Russian Federation, paying particular attention to the struggles of reformers to develop judicial independence and extend the jurisdiction of the courts to include constitutional and administrative disputes as well as supervision of pretrial investigations. It outlines what can and should be done to make courts in Russia autonomous, powerful, reliable, efficient, accessible, and fair. The book draws on extensive field research in Russia, including the results of a lengthy questionnaire distributed to district court judges throughout the country.

Janusz M. Szyrmer (editor), The Barter Economy: Non-Monetary Transactions in Ukraine’s Budget Sector, Harvard University Ukraine Project, Kyiv, 2000, 207 pp.

Janusz M. Szyrmer and Khvaja M.Sultan, Ukraine through Transition, Challenges, and Strategies, Harvard University Ukraine Project, CASE, Kyiv, 2000, 205 pp.