Working Papers
Inequality in Belarus from 1995 to 2007
Income and consumption inequality increased in all transition economies, albeit to very different levels. The existing literature suggests that countries that were slow to undertake pro-market reforms experienced the largest increases in inequality, with the notable exception of Belarus, one of the least reformed ex-Soviet republics, that nevertheless has inequality comparable to the most advanced and least unequal transition countries of Central Europe. This paper studies the evolution of inequality in Belarus in 1995-2007, decomposes inequality by sources of income, and provides a comparison of Belarus and Ukraine, which suggest that the large difference in inequality is due to different income policies of the two countries: Belarus not only avoided mass privatization, but also kept many of the old-style Soviet social security features.