Economics serving society

The Unequal Enforcement of Liberalization : Evidence from Russia’s Reform of Business Regulation

Ekaterina Zhuravskaya and Evgeny Yakovlev

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What were the effects of the economic liberalization reforms implemented in Russia between 2001 and 2004? The authors examine the results of MABS Survey conducted among 2000 Russian SMEs, and analyze three dimensions and their effects depending on their unequal enforcement: limiting state inspections (considered as a factor of corruption), the reduction of sectors where official licenses are needed (real estate , publishing, building ... ) and new administrative facilities granted to startups.
Evgeny Yakovlev and Ekaterina Zhuravskaya stress that these business reforms have more effective in regions with more transparent government, a more informed population, a higher concentration of industry, and stronger fiscal autonomy. Thus, the new regulations have a direct impact on business creation and growth of SME activities in regions with stronger governance institutions; however, when local authorities are “weaker”, the implementation of reforms has generally no effect and may even have negative effects.
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Original title of the article: The Unequal Enforcement of Liberalization : Evidence from Russia’s Reform of Business Regulation
Published in : Journal of the European Economic Association, Aug. 2013, Vol. 11, Issue 4, p 808–838
Download : http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jeea.12026/abstract
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