Branko Milanovic, a Presidential Professor at the CUNY Graduate Center, reviews “Mixed Fortunes: An Economic History of China, Russia, and the West”, by Vladimir Popov. The Econlit abstract of this book begins: “Provides an interpretation of the ""Great Divergence" and the ""Great Convergence" stories, analyzing why Western countries grew rich and developing countries struggled to keep up, focusing on China and Russia. Discusses how the West became rich--stylized facts and a literature review; why the West became rich first and why some developing countries are catching up, while others are not; Chinese and Russian economies under central planning--why the difference in outcomes?; Chinese and Russian economies since reforms--transformational recession in Russia and acceleration of growth in China; and growth miracles and failures--lessons for development economics. Popov is with the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations, Professor Emeritus at the New Economic School in Moscow, and Professor in the Graduate School of International Business at the Russian Presidential Academy of the National Economy and Public Administration in Moscow.”
The postsocialist transformation in Central and Eastern Europe