Belarus: Heading towards State Capitalism?

This chapter focuses on the evolution of various institutional forms in the Belarusian economic model, aiming to identify the type of capitalism, if any, that has developed. The analysis starts by sketching the origins of the Belarusian economic strategy. Political and institutional changes in 1996 provide the backdrop to the major economic developments of the late 1990s, resulting in the formation of a state capitalist economy. The question ‘how capitalist is Belarus?’ is addressed further through examining institutional developments in the core areas pinpointed by Amable (2003), namely the product market, labour market, financial-intermediation sector and social security system. The Belarusian pattern of extensive state intervention in all economic areas suggests that the typologies of capitalist economies established in both Hall and Soskice’s and Amable’s works are not applicable in this case. The Belarusian economy can be characterized neither as a liberal market economy nor as a coordinated market economy. It rather appears to possess features typical of state capitalism. Finally, the question of the efficiency of the Belarusian economic model, in terms of the extent to which it can claim to be successful as an alternative pathway, is addressed.