How Capitalism Was Built
The Transformation of Central and Eastern Europe, Russia, the Caucasus, and Central Asia

This second edition updates all chapters and covers the impacts of the global financial crisis and the European Union.

Anders Aslund (Author)

9781107628182, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 12 November 2012

440 pages, 45 b/w illus. 7 tables
22.9 x 15.2 x 3 cm, 0.57 kg

'Anders Åslund is the world's keenest observer of what used to be called 'transition economies'. Everyone concerned with the historical lesson these economies provide or their future should read this important book.' Lawrence Summers, Former US Secretary of the Treasury and Former President, Harvard University

Anders Aslund is known to make bold predictions that initially arouse controversy but soon become common wisdom. In Gorbachev's Struggle for Economic Reform (1989), he foresaw the collapse of the Soviet political and economic system. After Russia's financial crisis of 1998, observers declared the market economic experiment a failure, Aslund foresaw market economic success (Building Capitalism, 2002). In How Capitalism Was Built, 2nd Edition, he asks - and answers for the twenty-one countries he investigates: • Why did communism collapse? • Why did Russia not choose gradual reforms like China did? • Wherein lies the relative success of postcommunist transformation? • How did the oligarchs arise and decline vis-à-vis authoritarian leaders? Anyone who wants to understand the often confusing postcommunist dramas and obtain an early insight into the future will find this intellectually stimulating book useful. This edition includes updates to each chapter and new chapters on the impact of the global financial crisis and the European Union.

Introduction: a world transformed
1. Communism and its demise
2. Radical reform versus gradualism
3. Output: from slump to recovery and boom
4. Liberalization: the creation of a market economy
5. From hyperinflation to financial stability
6. Privatization: the establishment of private property rights
7. The social system
8. The politics of transition
9. From crime toward law
10. The importance of the European Union
11. The global financial crisis, 2007–12
Conclusions: a world transformed.

Subject Areas: International business [KJK], Political economy [KCP], Development economics & emerging economies [KCM], International economics [KCL]