Oleh Havrylyshyn – författare

Marking the 25th anniversary of Ukraine as a sovereign nation, this book traces its economic transformation since 1991. Post-communist transition has been a highlight of recent history, and Ukraine stands out as one of its most interesting and puzzling cases. Havrylyshyn offers the first comprehensive treatise on the entire period, providing a thorough description of the slow evolution of economic reforms, exploring how and why performance in this regard fell far behind the leaders in transition. Testing several conventional hypotheses, the author argues that while Russian imperialism may form part of the explanation, the self-serving interests of domestic elites and new oligarchs may be even more important. Radically revising the traditional argument that reforms were delayed to allow nation building, this book contends that it was due more to the interests of the non-lustrated elite, who needed time to become the new capitalists.

The aim of this book is to analyse specific sets of macro and structural policies in selected Eastern European countries. The book includes studies on the major Western CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) countries, Belarus, Russia and Ukraine, plus a set of cross-country and regional studies. The focus is on the link between sustained economic growth and macro and structural economic policies in the CIS countries where recovery lagged until recently. By analysing how government policy can affect the relevant variables and behavioural framework in an economy and how these countries can achieve stability and engage in micro-structural reforms for long-run growth, the book contributes importantly to the discussion about the economic prospects of the CIS countries.