Comparing Apples: Normalcy, Russia, and the Remaining Post-Socialist World

Abstract

Shleifer and Treisman (2005) argue that Russia is a "normal country" but their benchmark for normalcy refers primarily to middle-income countries like Mexico and Argentina. Drawing on data from the World Bank and Transparency International, two economists explore this argument by placing Russia in a different context. Russia's experience is examined in comparison with other post-socialist transition countries sharing common political and economic histories with Russia, which have faced similar transition obstacles since communism's collapse. Russia's economic performance, media freedom, democracy, and corruption since transition are compared to these benchmarks in all other post-socialist countries since they began their transitions.