Economic Growth And The Middle Class In An Economy In Transition

This book studies the evolution of the middle class in Russia after the fall of the Soviet Union. Using data from the RLMS (Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey), the volume covers the period of transition (1991-2008) during which many fundamental economic reforms were implemented. The first part of the book is devoted to a discussion of the concept of middle class and a description of the economic situation in Russia during the transition period. Particular attention is given to variations in the distribution of Russian incomes and the estimated importance of the middle class. The second part of the book focuses on the link between the middle class and income bipolarization. The third and last section of the book uses the semiparametric "mixture model" to discover how many different groups may be derived from the income distribution in Russia, as well as what the main socio-economic and demographic characteristics of those groups are. The mobility of households into and out of the middle class during the transition period is also studied in hopes of determining the factors that contribute to such mobility. Using rigorous empirical methods, this volume sheds light on a relatively unstudied economic group and provides insight for countries which are about to enter a transition period. As such, this book will be of great interest to researchers in economics and inequality as well as professionals and practitioners working with international organizations.

The Bridge to a Global Middle Class compiles a unique series of papers originally commissioned by the Council on Foreign Relations in the wake of the financial crises of 1997-1998. This thought-provoking retrospective culls the views of economists, international financial institutions, Wall Street, organized labor and varying public-interest organizations on the issue of how to fortify our global financial infrastructure. Their effort is the culmination of an 18-month study - The Project on Development, Trade, and International Finance - that seeks to encourage the evolution of middle-class oriented economic development in emerging market countries. In addressing the world economic problems that led to the crises and examining methods to improve the workings of the world's financial markets, they offer ideas, policy recommendations, and suggest the concrete forms these might take, in the drive to transition the world economy toward strategies that offer the developing world an improved standard of living. These papers make a convincing case for middle-class-oriented economic development as the key to global prosperity and stability. U.S. and international policy-makers will find these insightful discussions valuable in forming new policy and providing the appropriate stimulus for economic development in emerging economies.

Decades ago, there was no distinct middle class in the People's Republic of China. Any meaningful discussion of China's economy, politics, or society must take into account the rapid emergence and explosive growth of the Chinese middle class. This book details the origins and characteristics of this dramatic change.

Why are some nations wealthy while others are desperately poor? Despite the rapid advancement of technology and the free flow of information provided by computers, many poor nations are falling further behind the wealthy nations of the world. Why is it that these poorer nations cannot catch up? Until recently, economic theory provided limited help in answering these questions. But the New Institutional Economics, a rapidly growing body of economic theory, may provide the answers. Timothy Yeager's Institutions, Transition Economies, and Economic Development clearly explains the New Institutional Economics, and applies its tenets to the transition economies of Poland and Russia. Readers will gain a perspective on transition and developing economies that has never been explored before in a single book.

The global crisis of 2008-09 has brought to the forefront a plethora of economic and political policy issues. There is a re-opening of discussion on basic economic concepts, appropriate framework for analysis, role of private and public sectors in the economy, structural transformation of economies, human development and managing of growing risks and crises. The purpose of this book has been to bring home the inter-linkages in various parts of the economy and the need for practical policy making to reach development goals while being aware of the instabilities, complexities and downside risks inherent in the nature of a an economy operating in a globalized world. Thematically, this book focuses on two core types of policy: policies that promote strong, sustainable and inclusive growth in low income and middle income developing countries and new and emerging policies that necessitates a discussion amongst policy makers and practitioners. Throughout the book, the authors provide insight in to the different types of policy approaches that can be taken to help the economy grow. Ultimately the book looks to foster discussion amongst policy makers on growth and development.

A higher share of income for the middle class and lower ethnic polarization are empirically associated with higher income, higher growth, more education, better health, better infrastructure, better economic policies, less political instability, less civil war (putting ethnic minorities at risk), more social "modernization," and more democracy.

This paper investigates the main determinants of income inequality in transition countries during the period 1990–2018. To this end, we address a major methodological challenge that lies at the core of the cross-country literature on income inequality: the potential endogeneity of income growth, which is largely ignored by most empirical studies. We adopt a two-pronged empirical strategy by (i) using trading partners’ weighted average real GDP as an instrumental variable (IV), and (ii) estimating the model via the two-stage least squares (2SLS) approach for static models and the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) estimator for dynamic models. Our empirical findings are consistent with the Kuznets curve that illustrates a nonlinear relationship between income inequality and the level of economic development. We also find that the redistributive impact of fiscal policy is statistically insignificant and taxation and government spending appear to have the opposing effects on income inequality in transition economies.

An invaluable survey of the literature on growth. Colin White argues persuasively and expertly that any attempt to solve the profound mystery of economic growth at the large scales of world history must move beyond the limited vision of neo-classical economic theory, and incorporate the narrative methods and perspectives of history as well. This is a superb overview and critique of contemporary attempts to explain economic growth, and a perceptive re-examination of the whole issue of growth in human history. David Christian, Macquarie University, Australia Colin White transcends a number of false dichotomies in this work. He shows that we need both theory and history in order to comprehend the transition to modern economic growth. He appreciates that this transition was neither inevitable as many theorists argue nor entirely contingent as historical treatments often suggest. He argues that advice to present-day less developed countries should combine a general understanding of the process of transition with detailed analysis of the history and conditions of the country in question. He appreciates that it makes sense to speak of an Industrial Revolution while also recognizing that this was a gradual process that in turn built upon even more gradual changes in earlier centuries in the British economy. Less obviously but importantly he realizes that we can best understand economic growth if we recognize the limitations of each scholarly approach in order to integrate the best of these. Rick Szostak, University of Alberta, Canada This fascinating book considers one of the most important problems in economics: the inception of modern economic development. There is at present no satisfactory explanation of the inception of modern economic development; an excessive focus on either pure theory or on unique histories limits the explanatory power. This book realises the need to integrate the two approaches, moving beyond the proximate causes of economic theory to review the role in an analytic narrative of significant ultimate causes geography, risk environments, human capital, and institutions. Colin White distils the conclusions of a vast literature, drawing from economics, economic history and business and management, exploring economic theory, demonstrating limitations and highlighting alternative approaches. Particular attention is paid to the appropriate role of innovative entrepreneurs and of government, and three case studies illustrate how to build an analytic narrative. Showing how far we can generalise about the determinants of economic development and in particular how to understand the specific determinants in individual countries, this book will prove a stimulating and thought provoking read to academics, students and researchers with an interest in economics and economic development.