Economists in Government

In the critical period of 1989–1991, characterized by profound political and social upheaval and acute economic difficulties in the Soviet Union, positions and programs on economic reform rapidly radicalized. Various groups of government and academic economists began to advocate a complete and rapid transition from socialism to a capitalist market economy. Significantly, the multiple issues and aspirations of the time crystallized around the object of the “economy,” during this period, leading to an economicization of discourses and an extraordinary political visibility and epistemic authority of economists. The critical conjuncture thus marked the promotion of economists to the upper echelons of political power, including the highest government positions, to lead the reform process. However, it also produced new fractures in the space of reform economics along generational, institutional, and political lines—as illustrated by the competition between different plans for economic reform. Since the substantive differences between different groups of radical reformers were not so significant, the success of one group or another was determined by political reasons and their place in the system of expert knowledge production and power.