Russian Economic History - A Conversation with Sergei Guriev | Economics, Applied

“Russia is the home of not one, but two lost empires: The Russian Empire and the Soviet Union.” So writes our guest, Sergei Guriev, in a sweeping survey of recent research on Russian Economic History. Join Sergei and our host, Steven Davis, for a spirited conversation on Russian economic developments in the 19th and 20th centuries, the failures of central planning, and the ongoing reverberations.
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS:
Sergei Guriev joined Sciences Po as a tenured professor of economics in 2013 after running the New Economic School in Moscow from 2004-13. From 2016-19, he took leave from Sciences Po to serve as Chief Economist of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). In 2022, he was appointed Provost of Sciences Po. He will be the next dean of the London Business School, effective July 2024. Guriev is noted for his outstanding academic record, publishing research in the top economic journals in Europe and the United States. His research interests include political economics, development economics, labor mobility, and contract theory. With policy-making experience at the EBRD and in Russia, Professor Guriev is widely recognized for his thought leadership and insight, contributing numerous columns to leading European and US newspapers.
Steven J. Davis is the Thomas W. and Susan B. Ford Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution and senior fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research. He is a research associate with the National Bureau of Economic Research, consultant to the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, advisor to the Monetary Authority of Singapore, past editor of the American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, and an elected fellow of the Society of Labor Economists. He co-founded the Economic Policy Uncertainty project, the US Survey of Working Arrangements and Attitudes, the Global Survey of Working Arrangements, the Survey of Business Uncertainty, and the Stock Market Jumps project. He co-organizes the Asian Monetary Policy Forum, held annually in Singapore. Previously, Davis was on the faculty at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, serving as both distinguished service professor and deputy dean of the faculty.
ABOUT THE SERIES:
Each episode of the video podcast series Economics, Applied features senior fellow Steven Davis in conversation with leaders and researchers about economic developments and their ramifications. The goal is to bring evidence and economic reasoning to the table, drawing lessons for individuals, organizations, and society. The podcast also aims to showcase the value of individual initiative, markets, the rule of law, and sound policy in fostering prosperity and security.
For more information, visit www.hoover.org/podcasts/econo....
RELATED RESOURCES:
• New Russian Economic History: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.c...
• The Economic Effects of the Abolition of Serfdom: Evidence from the Russian Empire: www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10...
• Allocation under Dictatorship: Research in Stalin’s Archives: www.jstor.org/stable/4129474
• The Great Terror: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gre...)
• Memorial: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memoria...) (Russian: Мемориал, IPA:[mʲɪmərʲɪˈaɫ]): en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IP..., an organization founded to study human rights violations under Joseph Stalin dictatorship.
• Reassessing the Standard of Living in the Soviet Union: An Analysis Using Archival and Anthropometric Data: www.jstor.org/stable/25654070
The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Hoover Institution or Stanford University.
© 2024 by the Board of Trustees of Leland Stanford Junior University.

[@Lochamp]

Great conversation, thank you. Being from Eastern Poland, I see the differences in political and personal thinking from other parts of the country. Quite fascinating.

[@samuelcampos2642]

Excellent talk. Gave a lot of insight about voting patterns in economies that have suffered authoritarian regimes. I’m from Latin America and you do see these pattern of voting for anti growth governments.

[@wojciechuzdelewicz545]

Sergei makes very good point about how economic development is very dependent on the set of believes/government structures. He is spot on about Poland as the case study - the part of Poland that was under German administration in 19th century is the most economically vibrant to this day, while the eastern part of Poland which was under Russian rule tends to be significantly behind. The gap has been finally closing over the last few years. I wonder how much it has to do with religion as well? Protestants, especially Calvinists, emphasize personal responsibility for shaping your own live, versus many other religions/ cultures demphasize individualism. In the late 80's I've worked with many refugees from Russia in Maine. Many people who arrived from Soviet Union expected to get a free apartment, a new car, and be assigned a job. It was very hard for them to understand that they had to take their own initiative to get those things.

[@randomdude7384]

I guess they influence quite a few generations of Americans since their arrival. The Americans now expect the same.

[@randomdude7384]

There are very few genuinely religious people in Russia; they claim to be this or that religion, but in reality they neither follow any of the religious precepts, nor even understand what being a follower of that particular religion implies. They think that it's enough to own a few icons in your apartment to qualify to be a Christian.

[@Doubt2024]

Why interrupt so often and challenge the guest? It breaks the narrative.

[@gnice8765]

Labor force participation ironic argument for free markets

[@jimmiller1686]

sorry, Mr . Guriev's English is barely comprehensible