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TERRA ECONOMICUS

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  • Towards the theory of monetary degradation, or Post Keynesian analysis of monetary problems of the Russian transitional economy in 1991–1998

Towards the theory of monetary degradation, or Post Keynesian analysis of monetary problems of the Russian transitional economy in 1991–1998

TERRA ECONOMICUS, , Vol. 14 (no. 1),

The paper develops Post Keynesian theory of endogenous money and applies it to analysis of changes in monetary circulation in the Russian transitional economy in 1991–1998. These changes were characterized by displacement of bank deposits by cash, barter and inter-firm arrears as special means of payment. Author treats this process as «monetary degradation» because it created additional barriers to financing investment, made for criminalization and contributed to cost-push inflation. All this could be ruinous for creation of monetary capitalist economy in Russia. The main cause of monetary degradation is associated with inability of the government to enforce effectively contracts due to sharp institutional changes generated by shock therapy policy. The paper also focuses on the «legacies» of monetary degradation which matter at the present time. These are low coefficient of monetization, large M0/M2 ratio and absence of such monetary aggregates as M3 and M4. All these phenomena are the barriers to rapid and steady economic growth not based on rising oil prices. So, money structure can be considered as both institutional feature and macroeconomic variable.


Keywords: Post Keynesian economics; monetary degradation; economy of Russia; money; barter; endogenous money; economy in transition; shock therapy

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Publisher: Southern Federal University
Founder: Southern Federal University
ISSN: 2073-6606