Doctoral Dissertation Research: Out of Chaos? Business Elites and the Rule of Law in Russia

本论文的研究分析了俄罗斯商业精英在发展市场经济的法律的框架中的作用。 近年来，社会科学家、法律的学者和政策制定者几乎达成了共识，即保障产权对经济增长至关重要。 关于保护财产权的制度如何产生的争论仍在继续，但许多学者认为，在有效的法律的框架中有利害关系的强大社会行为者的存在是制度发展的一个关键决定因素。 然而，如果安全的财产权对经济繁荣至关重要，为什么在许多社会中对法治的需求如此微弱？ 该项目所依据的论点是，商业精英对法律的发展的支持取决于他们保护和获取资产的战略。 具体而言，它审查了这些战略与社会对体制发展需求的两个相关要素之间的联系：（1）商业团体游说支持市场的法律，如保护投资者的立法和有效的仲裁程序守则的程度;（2）私营部门行为者依赖法律的制度的程度。 为了解决这些问题，该项目包括对俄罗斯公司所有者和管理人员的原始调查。 这项调查补充了项目的其他组成部分，包括定性实地调查和正式建模。定性部分包括俄罗斯法律的改革的案例研究，俄罗斯商业和政治精英的半结构化访谈，以及商业协会和政府文件的内容分析。 这种定性研究为正式模型的假设和结构提供了信息，该模型分析了企业支持或反对改革的微观逻辑。 该项目的研究结果将有助于社会科学家和法律的学者理解建设法律的机构的政治，使他们了解哪些行为者最有可能支持法律的改革，哪些改革最有可能取得成功。 因此，它们将有助于有关安全产权的政策辩论，这是促进发展中国家增长的美国专家和寻求经济多元化的俄罗斯政策制定者的核心利益。

This dissertation research analyzes the role of Russian business elites in developing the legal framework for a market economy. In recent years a near consensus has emerged among social scientists, legal scholars, and policymakers that secure property rights are essential for economic growth. Debate continues as to how institutions that protect property rights emerge, but many scholars argue that the existence of powerful societal actors with a stake in an effective legal framework is a key determinant of institutional development. Yet if secure property rights are vital for economic prosperity, why is the demand for the rule of law so weak in many societies? The project builds on the argument that business elites' support for legal development depends on their strategies for protecting and acquiring assets. Specifically, it examines the link between these strategies and two related elements of societal demand for institutional development: (1) The extent to which business groups lobby for market-supporting laws, such as legislation for investor protection and effective arbitration procedural codes; and (2) The degree to which private sector actors rely on the legal system. To address these issues, the project includes an original survey of Russian firm owners and managers. This survey complements the other components of the project, including qualitative fieldwork and formal modeling. The qualitative component consists of case studies of Russian legal reforms, semi-structured interviews with Russian business and political elites, and content analysis of business association and government documents. This qualitative research informs the assumptions and structure of the formal model, which analyzes the micro-level logic underlying firms' decisions to support or oppose reforms. The project's findings will contribute to social scientists' and legal scholars' understanding of the politics of building legal institutions, offering insights into which actors are most likely to support legal reforms and which reforms are most likely to succeed. They will thereby contribute to policy debates about secure property rights, an issue that is of central interest to U.S. experts promoting growth in developing countries and to Russian policymakers seeking to diversify their economy.