The vanishing rouble : barter networks and non-monetary transactions in post-Soviet societies / edited by Paul Seabright.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Seabright, Paul.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Barter--Former Soviet republics.

Barter.

Informal sector (Economics)--Former Soviet republics.

Informal sector (Economics).

Former Soviet republics--Commerce.

Former Soviet republics.

Physical Description:

xvii, 383 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Cambridge [England] ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 2000.

Summary:

A remarkable and unexpected product of the transition from central planning to the market economy in former Soviet societies has been the explosive growth of barter on an industrial scale - the exchange of all kinds of goods from aero-engines to potatoes to mining equipment, and the resort to payment in goods in settlement of debts. This is not only a strange and puzzling phenomenon in itself - running counter as it does to widespread expectations that the market economy would lead to increased use of monetary transactions in reasonably transparent markets. It also casts an intriguing light on the functions money performs in the more normal circumstances of a modern market economy. This volume brings together an unparalleled array of evidence from surveys and ethnographic accounts, as well as the theoretical tools of leading writers in economics, sociology and anthropology. It will be valuable reading for any social scientist wanting to understand what can go wrong when a planned economy tries to introduce money and markets without getting the basic conditions right.

Contents:

Introduction: barter networks and 'information islands' / Paul Seabright 1

I Theory

1 Some lasting thing: barter and the value of money / Jayasri Dutta 15

2 Barter relationships / Canice Prendergast, Lars Stole 35

3 An anthropological view of barter in Russia / Caroline Humphrey 71

II Large-scale empirical studies

4 Barter in post-Soviet societies: what does it look like and why does it matter? / Alena Ledeneva, Paul Seabright 93

5 The growth of non-monetary transactions in Russia: causes and effects / Simon Commander, Christian Mummsen 114

6 Barter in Russia / Sergei Guriev, Barry W. Ickes 147

7 The household in a non-monetary market economy / Simon Clarke 176

8 Barter in transition economies: competing explanations confront Ukrainian data / Dalia Marin, Daniel Kaufmann, Bogdan Gorochowskij 207

9 Barter and non-monetary transactions in transition economies: evidence from a cross-country survey / Wendy Carlin, Steven Fries, Mark Schaffer, Paul Seabright 236

III Ethnography

10 How is barter done? The social relations of barter in provincial Russia / Caroline Humphrey 259

11 Shadow barter: economic necessity or economic crime? / Alena Ledeneva 298

12 Surrogate currencies and the 'wild market' in Central Siberia / David G. Anderson 318

13 Bear skins and macaroni: the social life of things at the margins of a Siberian state collective / Nikolai Ssorin-Chaikov 345

Conclusion: what is to be done? / Simon Commander, Paul Seabright 362.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

0521795427

OCLC:

44736157