Building States and Markets After Communism : The Perils of Polarized Democracy

"Timothy Frye's Building States and Markets After Communism is a superb addition to the growing literature on the political economy of postcommunism. Frye develops a powerful and original model to explain the level of comprehensiveness and coherence of economic reform in 25 postcommunist countries. Frye subjects his theory to a variety of empirical tests, using evidence from surveys of business people in the region, data on economic performance, and thorough case studies of Russia, Bulgaria, Poland, and Uzbekistan. Written in a clear and accessible style, the book will stand as an authoritative analysis of the political and economic development of the postcommunist region."- Thomas F. Remington, Emory University

"Frye's account of the diverse fortunes of postcommunist states distinguishes itself through attention to a critical intervening political mechanism: the greater or lesser partisan polarization around questions of economic reform that shapes the behavior of politicians, economic producers, and voters in the postcommunist polity. Frye also explains how polarization comes about, is reproduced at the micro-level in the investment behavior of firms, and persists overtime. Such quantitative analysis is complemented by meticulous case studies highlighting the empirics of centrifugal and centripetal political competition and its political-economic consequences. This carefully crafted investigation will command the attention of anyone who plans to study the political economy of postcommunism."- Herbert Kitschelt, Duke University

Tim Frye's book provides a major new perspective on the political economy of investment and growth in the countries of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. His analysis of the effects of party system polarization pushes well beyond earlier theories of partial and inconsistent market reforms. His theoretical claims are built on an impressive combination of econometric analysis, original survey research, and new case studies. This ground-breaking study makes a significant contribution to our understanding of postsocialist countries and will be an important point of reference for analyses of economic reform in other parts of the developing world."- Robert Kaufman, Rutgers University

"Drawing on his deep knowledge of the postcommunist experience, Tim Frye demonstrates that history can overwhelm attempts to get the institutions right. Conceptually bold and meticulously researched, Building States and Markets After Communism should be read by anybody who wants to understand the political economy of economic reform."- ScottGehlbach, University ofWisconsin, Madison

"Timothy Frye makes a signal contribution to the study of Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and to the political economy of reform, with this study of how political polarization explains the distinct patterns of economic reform and growth since the fall of communism."- Philip Keefer, Development Research Group, The World Bank.