Abstract
This paper provides an empirical analysis of the growing institutional divergence of systemic transformation in the countries of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. Based upon the institutional theory of economic and legal systemic change, we empirically analyse reforms in a sector where the transformation process proved to be particularly tough: the energy sector. We test to what extent reforms reflect the ideal types seen in Western contexts (e.g. Anglo-Saxon and French), and to what extent new models have emerged. By generalising the results from the energy sector, one key finding emerges: starting from similar reform projects, ‘transition’ in Eastern Europe has led to fundamentally different outcomes, of which we identify three ideal types: i) the reforming Central/Eastern European market economy; ii) the post-Soviet mixed economy; and iii) the Caspian state economy.
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Von Hirschhausen, C., Waelde, T.W. The End of Transition: An Institutional Interpretation of Energy Sector Reform in Eastern Europe and the CIS. MOCT-MOST: Economic Policy in Transitional Economies 11, 93–110 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1011378017940
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1011378017940