Political Constraints on Modernization of National Economy

M. Urnov
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M. Urnov: National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia

Journal of the New Economic Association, 2015, vol. 28, issue 4, 183-188

Abstract: The main political constraints blocking modernization of Russian economy are a low quality of official concepts of modernization, prevalence of authoritarian values and attitudes in Russian political culture, and excessive military expenditures. The recently formulated economic doctrines tend to minimize the import of technology and to restrict access of foreign capital into the most attractive industries. The most likely effect of such doctrines (if implemented) is - at best - stagnation, and at worst - the prevalence of an archaic economy, which supplies low-quality products and maims the environment. In Russian political culture today one can see a prevalence of a conflicting mixture of right and left authoritarian value-orientations, poorly compatible with requirements of the XXI century modernization. In 2010-2014 Russian military expenditures increased steadily. Meanwhile, limited by the GDP size, these expenditures are not able to provide Russia with a place among the world leading military powers, but they can easily undermine the financial basis of Russian modernization. The presence of these constraints is largely due to the worldview of a significant part of Russian political elite. And this cultural problem is much more complicated than any political issue.

Keywords: economics; Russia; political constraints; concepts of modernization; political culture; military spending; quality of elite (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: H11 H19 H56 O52 P20 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
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