Russia and the effectiveness of economic sanctions between big players

Barbara Oegg, Kimberly A. Elliott, 8 October 2008

Should Western powers take more significant actions against Russia to punish its hostilities with Georgia? This column, based on analysis of all major sanctions episodes in the 20th century, argues that sanctions against Russia would be futile.

In early August 2008, hostilities broke out between Georgia and Russia over the breakaway region of South Ossetia. Russian troops quickly defeated Georgian forces in South Ossetia and marched far into Georgian territory, drawing widespread criticism from the international community.

Topics: Politics and economics
Tags: economic sanctions, Georgia, Russia

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Governance and growth: Why does Georgia lag behind Estonia?

Thorvaldur Gylfason, Eduard Hochreiter, 2 August 2008

The development gap between former Soviet states is striking – top performers like Estonia have joined the European Union while others, such as Georgia, lag far behind. What accounts for these differences? In the case of Estonia, this column attributes them to successful institutional reforms, good governance, and investments in education.

Looking at the fate of the fifteen states that emerged from the Soviet Union, it is striking how different their economic evolutions have been. The severity of the plunge around 1989 was closely related to the extent of the systemic failure of central planning as well as to local mismanagement.

Topics: Institutions and economics
Tags: Estonia, Georgia, institutions, reform