Money Unmade

"At last, a book about the post-Soviet Russian economy with neither 'market' nor reform in its title.... Woodruff has delved deeply into Russia and avoids the foreign habit of analyzing the Russian transition as a policy struggle between supporters and opponents of market reform. The result is the most informative book on the Russian economy since Anders Aslund's How Russia Became a Market Economy, the optimists' handbook, appeared in 1995. Mr. Woodruff thinks too much is made of clashes between reformers and reactionaries. Russia's problems, he feels, follow from deficiencies in nation-building, not policymaking.... Money Unmade makes clear a lot of things about the Russian economy that were previously obscure. Read it, and be even more depressed than before." * The Economist * "David Woodruff's Money Unmade is one of only a few works on the post-Soviet Russian economy which seek to understand the processes unfolding in Russia in terms of the 'creation of the institutional underpinnings of capitalism.'... This book makes a major contribution to our understanding of post-Soviet Russia." -- Nicholas Kozlov, Hofstra University * The Russian Review * "In this important work, of special interest to students of the new Russian economy, Woodruff argues that efforts to refound the Russian state on a money- and market-driven political economy are far from a done deal.... Students of economic history and development will draw valuable lessons from his presentation. Policymakers ready to 'get down in the weeds' on economic issues will see that stabilizing the Russian money economy requires serious thought, political discipline, and slow-paced historical development, not external quick fixes." * Library Journal * "This is a careful narrative of Russian experiences with implementing monetary control during reform efforts in the 199's.... This is an excellent piece of scholarship. It succeeds in illustrating the complexity of formulating good policies to promote regional development and macroeconomic stability.... It would make an ideal complementary reading in advanced undergraduate and graduate level courses." -- Shirley J. Gedeon, University of Vermont * Comparative Economic Studies * "In a creative use of political sociology, Woodruff provides a highly original explanation for the rise of barter in Russia's new capitalism-and an intriguing description of the current political battle lines surrounding it." * Foreign Affairs * "In this pathbreaking book,... Woodruff employs a truly impressive range of primary sources.... Money Unmade affirms the vital importance of careful case study without retreating into disciplinary parochialism.... This is simply the best book yet published on postcommunist political economy, and it demands a close and careful reading by any scholar interested in understanding this momentous era of institutional transformation." -- Juliet Johnson, Dartmouth College * American Political Science Review *

David M. Woodruff is Associate Professor of Political Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.