As the new Russian state struggles with the transition to a market economy, the need for radical monetary reform becomes increasingly urgent. The choice of reform is crucial, for it will largely determine Russia's future economic performance. In order to break free of the lingering effects of Soviet central planning, the new Russian state needs a stable, convertible currency. Steve H. Hanke, Lars Jonung and Kurt Schuler propose that Russia establishes a currency board which would issue a R...

The truth behind the rise of China and whether or not it will be able to maintain itHow did China transform itself so quickly? In Red Capitalism: The Fragile Financial Foundation of China's Extraordinary Rise, Revised Edition Carl Walter and Fraser Howie go deep inside the Chinese financial machine to illuminate the social and political consequences of the unique business model that propelled China to economic powerhouse status, and question whether this r...

The rise of the renminbi and what it means for forex marketsChinese authorities have ambitious plans to "internationalize" the renminbi, transforming it from a tightly controlled domestic legal tender into a global currency for international trade, held by both private and public sector asset managers. The Offshore Renminbi examines this impending currency revolution, outlining why the emergence of China as a major economic power will likely soon be matche...

Building on the work carried out in the 2004 Routledge book, Tax Systems and Tax Reforms in Europe, an international team of contributors now turn their attention to the new EU member states. The book compares conditions in the new and potential EU Member states to those in the long-standing EU countries. Topics covered include:* A Comparative View of Taxation in the EU and in New Members* Tax Policy in EU New Members* Tax Policy in New Members under the Stab...

By 1999, Russia's economy was growing at almost 7% per year, and by 2008 reached 11th place in the world GDP rankings. Russia is now the world's second largest producer and exporter of oil, the largest producer and exporter of natural gas, and as a result has the third largest stock of foreign exchange reserves in the world, behind only China and Japan. But while this impressive economic growth has raised the average standard of living and put a number of wealthy Russians on the Forbes bil...

In 1995–96 the President of Azerbaijan, Heydar Alieyev, launched a program of agrarian reforms that caused a sweeping and irreversible shift from Soviet-style collective agriculture to individual farming in his country. These reforms led to an impressive recovery and substantial productivity improvements in agriculture. The agrarian transition in Azerbaijan contrasts with that in Russia, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan, where land privatization has been accompanied by policies encouraging the pers...

In Gaining Currency, leading China scholar Eswar S. Prasad describes how the renminbi (RMB) is taking the world by storm and explains its role in reshaping global finance. This book sets the recent rise of the RMB, China's currency since 1949, against a sweeping historical backdrop. China issued the world's first paper currency in the 7th century. In the 13th century, Kublai Khan issued the first-ever currency to circulate widely despite not being backed by commodities or precious...

This occasional paper provides an overview of the economic reform experiences of the Central Asian states of the former Soviet Union since their independence at the turn of the decade. The choice of countries reflects not only a geographical grouping, but also similarities in the types of transition challenges faced by these countries notwithstanding considerable variations in their sizes, ethnic composition, resource endowments, and economic structures. The paper attempts to identify a numbe...

The crisis threatens the welfare of about 160 million people in the Europe and Central Asia (ECA) region who are poor or are just above the poverty line. Using pre-crisis household data along with aggregate macroeconomic outturns to simulate the impact of the crisis on households transmitted via credit market shocks, price shocks, and income shocks this report finds that adverse effects are widespread and that poor and non-poor households alike are vulnerable. By 2010, for the region as a who...

"This is a very timely book. With the recapitalization and reform of China's banking sector now well under way, the banks are on the brink of a new era of growth and expansion. This work is the definitive reference on the banking sector in China, and is an essential tool for anyone seeking to understand the dynamics of financial intermediation on the Mainland. It sets out the facts, free of the judgment calls that so often cloud the true picture of the health of China's banking system."

This paper provides a detailed account of Hong Kong on the eve of its reintegration into China as a special administrative region. It analyzes recent economic development and provides a clear overview of Hong Kong's economic, financial, institutional, and political circumstances, as well a brief look at its history over the last hundred years. It suggests the changes the economy will undergo in the transition process and what it can expect in the future.