The Relative Levels and the Character of Institutional Development in Transition Economies

Peter Murrell

Electronic Working Papers from University of Maryland, Department of Economics

Abstract: At present, there is no generally accepted accounting of the institutional strengths and weaknesses of the transition economies. The first goal of the paper is to fill this gap by assessing current levels of institutional development. The second is to examine which types of institutional mechanisms make relatively strong contributions. Extensive empirical evidence shows that institutional quality in transition countries is roughly as expected given per capita incomes. Institutions are improving continuously. Given prevailing assumptions that the institutional situation is dismal, the developments giving rise to this surprising finding must be investigated more fully. This investigation begins by cataloging the mechanisms that could have improved institutional indexes. Then, evidence is examined on the relative strengths of each of these mechanisms. Formal institutions have contributed more than informal ones. The largest contributions have come from formal institutions separate from the state administrative structure. Political institutions, legal systems, and independent governmental agencies have been important.

Keywords: Institutions; transition; law; legal systems; administration; social capital (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: K0 N4 O57 P5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 35 pages
Date: 2003-03
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:umd:umdeco:03-003

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