The Ukrainian Economy

One of Europe's old nations steeped in history, Ukraine is today an undisputed independent state. It is a democracy and has transformed into a market economy with predominant private ownership. Ukraine's postcommunist transition has been one of the most protracted and socially costly, but it has taken the country to a desirable destination. Åslund's vivid account of Ukraine's journey begins with a brief background, where he discusses the implications of Ukraine's history, the awakening of society because of Mikhail Gorbachev's reforms, the early democratization, and the impact of the ill-fated Soviet economic reforms. He then turns to the reign of President Leonid Kravchuk from 1991 to 1994, the only salient achievement of which was nation-building, while the economy collapsed in the midst of hyperinflation. The first two years of Leonid Kuchma's presidency, from 1994 to 1996, were characterized by substantial achievements, notably financial stabilization and mass privatization. The period 1996–99 was a miserable period of policy stagnation, rent seeking, and continued economic decline. In 2000 hope returned to Ukraine. Viktor Yushchenko became prime minister and launched vigorous reforms to cleanse the economy from corruption, and economic growth returned. The ensuing period, 2001–04, amounted to a competitive oligarchy. It was quite pluralist, although repression increased. Economic growth was high. The year 2004 witnessed the most joyful period in Ukraine, the Orange Revolution, which represented Ukraine's democratic breakthrough, with Yushchenko as its hero. The postrevolution period, however, has been characterized by great domestic political instability; a renewed, explicit Russian threat to Ukraine's sovereignty; and a severe financial crisis. The answers to these challenges lie in how soon the European Union fully recognizes Ukraine's long-expressed identity as a European state, how swiftly Ukraine improves its malfunctioning constitutional order, and how promptly it addresses corruption.

This collection examines the Ukrainian economy during the late 20th century--a period of epochal change. The papers are divided into five sections: Framework; Resources; Performance; Welfare; and External Relations, and will be of interest both to specialists and to students and others interested in Ukraine today.

These analyses of the Ukranian economy show why not all transitions have a happy ending. In the Ukraine, ideology and poor policy choices can be seen to have combined to forestall even the most hopeful signs of recovery. Banaian argues that arrested transition may continue indefinitely.

This book assesses the reasons for the growing gap between the level of economic development in Ukraine and Poland. It examines the course of events and evaluates the effectiveness of the system transformations, both in the context of the economy as a whole, and in individual regions.

by Viktor A. Yushchenko, Prime Minister of Ukraine The intensification of the integration processes on our continent entirely coincides with the national interests of Ukraine, a country which is undoubtedly European both geographically and politically. What kind of Europe do we now have, and what should it be in the future? What should the role of Ukrainian society be in the economic, social, and cultural integration of the countries on the European continent? These questions are the subject of research and scientific analysis by the well-known economists whose work is contained in this book. Let there be no doubt, the strategic goal of Ukraine's foreign policy is the active participation of our country in the European integration process. Thus, the move toward co-operation and gradual integration with the European Union was defined as one of the main priorities of the Ukrainian Government's programme "Reforms for Well-being", which is based on President Leonid Kuchma's speech "Ukraine: Steps into XXI century" and was approved by the Ukrainian Parliament. This move is not a hasty response to a new trend, but rather a pragmatic decision since the EU will define the face of Europe for the next century.