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Communism or communists? Soviet legacies and corruption in transition economies

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  • Libman, Alexander
  • Obydenkova, Anastassia

Abstract

The paper investigates the influence of path dependence on corruption in Russian regions. We show that even twenty years after the collapse of the USSR, regions with a higher share of Communist Party members in the 1970s have substantially higher corruption.

Suggested Citation

  • Libman, Alexander & Obydenkova, Anastassia, 2013. "Communism or communists? Soviet legacies and corruption in transition economies," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 119(1), pages 101-103.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolet:v:119:y:2013:i:1:p:101-103
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econlet.2013.02.003
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Daniel Berkowitz & Mark Hoekstra & Koen Schoors, 2012. "Does Finance Cause Growth? Evidence from the Origins of Banking in Russia," NBER Working Papers 18139, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
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    4. Backhaus, Jürgen, 2008. "Gilt das Coase Theorem auch in den neuen Ländern?," Discourses in Social Market Economy 2008-04, OrdnungsPolitisches Portal (OPO).
    5. Libman, Alexander & Obydenkova, Anastassia, 2013. "Communism or communists? Soviet legacies and corruption in transition economies," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 119(1), pages 101-103.
    6. repec:zbw:bofitp:2011_031 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. White, Stephen & Mcallister, Ian, 1996. "The CPSU and Its Members: Between Communism and Postcommunism," British Journal of Political Science, Cambridge University Press, vol. 26(1), pages 105-122, January.
    8. Berkowitz, Daniel & DeJong, David N., 2011. "Growth in post-Soviet Russia: A tale of two transitions," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 79(1-2), pages 133-143, June.
    9. repec:hhs:bofitp:2012_010 is not listed on IDEAS
    10. Popov, Vladimir, 2001. "Reform Strategies and Economic Performance of Russia's Regions," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 29(5), pages 865-886, May.
    11. Geishecker, Ingo & Haisken-DeNew, John P., 2004. "Landing on all fours? Communist elites in post-Soviet Russia," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(4), pages 700-719, December.
    12. Iwasaki, Ichiro & Suzuki, Taku, 2012. "The determinants of corruption in transition economies," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 114(1), pages 54-60.
    13. repec:zbw:bofitp:2012_010 is not listed on IDEAS
    14. Berkowitz, Daniel & Hoekstra, Mark & Schoors, Koen, 2014. "Bank privatization, finance, and growth," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 93-106.
    15. Daniel Berkowitz, 2011. "Finance and Growth: A Counter-Example from the Origins of Banking in Russia," Working Paper 444, Department of Economics, University of Pittsburgh, revised Jan 2012.
    16. Shurchkov, Olga, 2012. "New elites and their influence on entrepreneurial activity in Russia," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(2), pages 240-255.
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    Cited by:

    1. Patrick Domingues & Felipe Starosta de Wald, 2015. "Export diversification and the legacy of the Soviet Union," Erudite Working Paper 2015-03, Erudite.
    2. Libman, Alexander & Obydenkova, Anastassia, 2013. "Communism or communists? Soviet legacies and corruption in transition economies," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 119(1), pages 101-103.
    3. Caravaggio, Nicola, 2022. "Economic growth and forest transition in Latin America," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 135(C).
    4. Ivlevs, Artjoms & Hinks, Timothy, 2018. "Former Communist party membership and bribery in the post-socialist countries," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 46(4), pages 1411-1424.
    5. Aurelian-PetruÈ™ PLOPEANU & Daniel HOMOCIANU, 2024. "Prisoner in the cage of history? Its influence in understanding the current tolerance of bribery in Romania," Eastern Journal of European Studies, Centre for European Studies, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, vol. 15, pages 41-71, June.
    6. Salahodjaev, Raufhon, 2017. "Government size, intelligence and life satisfaction," MPRA Paper 76902, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    7. Libman, Alexander & Obydenkova, Anastassia, 2017. "Why Is the ‘Post-Soviet’ Regionalism Post-Soviet? Historical Legacies and Regional Integration in Eurasia," MPRA Paper 83506, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Otrachshenko, Vladimir & Nikolova, Milena & Popova, Olga, 2021. "Double-Edged Sword: Persistent Effects of Communism on Life Satisfaction," IZA Discussion Papers 14712, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    9. Alexander Libman & Anastassia Obydenkova, 2019. "Inequality and historical legacies: evidence from post-communist regions," Post-Communist Economies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 31(6), pages 699-724, November.
    10. Sauter, Nicolas, 2015. "Social networks as a catalyst of economic change," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 45-48.
    11. Ilya Stepanov & Igor Makarov & Ekaterina Makarova & Elizaveta Smolovik, 2023. "Climate change and challenges to sustainable development in the Russian Arctic," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 176(4), pages 1-18, April.
    12. Vladimir Otrachshenko & Milena Nikolova & Olga Popova, 2023. "Double-edged sword: persistent effects of Communist regime affiliations on well-being and preferences," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 36(3), pages 1139-1185, July.
    13. Zafar Nazarov & Anastassia Obydenkova, 2022. "Public Health, Democracy, and Transition: Global Evidence and Post-Communism," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 160(1), pages 261-285, February.
    14. Murtazashvili, Ilia & Murtazashvili, Jennifer & Salahodjaev, Raufhon, 2019. "Trust and deforestation: A cross-country comparison," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 111-119.
    15. Jin Zheng & Arthur Schram & Gönül Doğan, 2021. "Friend or foe? Social ties in bribery and corruption," Experimental Economics, Springer;Economic Science Association, vol. 24(3), pages 854-882, September.
    16. Uberti, Luca J., 2018. "Corruption in transition economies: Socialist, Ottoman or structural?," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 42(4), pages 533-555.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Corruption; Transition economies; Path dependence; Soviet legacies;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D73 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Bureaucracy; Administrative Processes in Public Organizations; Corruption
    • K42 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law
    • P26 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Socialist and Transition Economies - - - Property Rights

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