How Capitalism Was Built

Anders Åslund is a leading specialist on post-communist economic transformation, especially the Russian and Ukrainian economies. In January 2006, he joined the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington, D.C. From 1994 until 2005, Dr Åslund worked at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace as a senior associate and later as Director of the Russian and Eurasian Program. He is an adjunct professor at Georgetown University. He served as an economic advisor to the Russian government, 1991–94, to the Ukrainian government, 1994–97, and to President Askar Akaev of the Kyrgyz Republic, 1998–2004. Dr Åslund is the author of seven books, including Building Capitalism: The Transformation of the Former Soviet Bloc (Cambridge University Press, 2002), How Russia Became a Market Economy (1995), and Gorbachev's Struggle for Economic Reform (1989). In addition, he has edited twelve books, most recently, Revolution in Orange, and he has published widely, including in Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, National Interest, New York Times, Washington Post, Financial Times, and Wall Street Journal.

Introduction: a world transformed; 1. Communism and its demise; 2. Shock therapy vs. gradualism; 3. Output: slump and recovery; 4. Liberalisation: the creation of a market economy; 5. From hyper-inflation to financial stability; 6. Privatisation: the establishment of private property rights; 7. An inefficient social system; 8. Democracy vs. authoritarianism; 9. From crime toward law; 10. The role of oligarchs; 11. The role of international assistance; 12. Conclusions: a world transformed.