Social Capability, History and the Economies of Communist and Post-Communist States

Brown University Economics Working Paper No. 2005-04

40 Pages Posted: 18 May 2005

See all articles by Louis Putterman

Louis Putterman

Brown University - Department of Economics

Peter Iliev

Pennsylvania State University - Department of Finance

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: 2005

Abstract

It has been shown, for non-Communist developed and developing countries, that earlier development of agriculture, a dense population, and a state-level polity is associated with a higher income and more rapid economic growth in the late 20th Century. We investigate whether this was also the case for countries under Communism and for the same countries in transition to a market economy. Our findings are generally affirmative, with an interesting pattern for the Eurasian socialist core countries involving higher growth nearer their west European and east Asian poles. We also find that ethnic fractionalization, which is correlated with late pre-modern development, shows harmful effects in the transition era but not under Communism.

Keywords: economic growth, transition, Communism, history, ethnic fractionalization

JEL Classification: P27, N10, O40

Suggested Citation

Putterman, Louis G. and Iliev, Peter, Social Capability, History and the Economies of Communist and Post-Communist States (2005). Brown University Economics Working Paper No. 2005-04, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=724242 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.724242

Louis G. Putterman (Contact Author)

Brown University - Department of Economics ( email )

Box B
Providence, RI 02912
United States
401-863-3837 (Phone)
401-863-1970 (Fax)

Peter Iliev

Pennsylvania State University - Department of Finance ( email )

348 Business Building
University Park, PA 16802
United States

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