Anders Åslund
Project Syndicate
Washington, DC, United States
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Past articles by Anders:
Putin's Last Gasp?
Anders Åslund thinks the Russian president's saber-rattling against Ukraine is credible, if only because he is out of options. → Read More
How American Kleptocracy Works
Review: Casey Michel's book, “American Kleptocracy,” tells the tale of US financial secrecy via two of the world’s great kleptocrats. → Read More
The Case for Stronger Russia Sanctions by Anders Åslund
The claim that Western sanctions against Russia do not work or are unjustified does not hold water. Russia’s economy has been stagnant since Western sanctions were imposed seven years ago, and the Kremlin’s continued hybrid war against the West has made an even tighter sanctions regime an urgent priority. → Read More
The Economic Factor in Belarus by Anders Åslund
Because international investors have avoided Belarus and its authoritarian regime, the country has long suffered economic stagnation. But all the signs suggest that the rot is concentrated at the top, which implies that a change in political leadership could really change everything. → Read More
Putin’s Usual Suspects by Anders Åslund
Following Russia's sudden governmental shakeup last month, outside observers might have concluded that President Vladimir Putin has positioned his country for faster economic growth, in addition to consolidating his own hold on power. In fact, the new government will be no less corrosive to the economy than the one that preceded it. → Read More
The West’s Dirty Financial Laundry by Anders Åslund
Since revelations of Danske Bank's role in the largest-ever money-laundering scandal, the United States and the European Union have been squabbling over who is to blame for the persistence of illicit money flows in their respective economies. But rather than pointing fingers, the US and the EU should start sharing pointers. → Read More
[Opinion] Russia and money laundering in Europe
After Danske Bank, both the US and the EU need to abandon the principle in bank regulation that it is all right to be a crook as long as you are big. → Read More
Getting Serious About Russia Sanctions by Anders Åslund
The US Congress is considering new legislation that would introduce a broader and potentially more effective range of sanctions against Russia than ever before. The main question now is how President Donald Trump will react to this attack on his most important foreign supporter. → Read More
The Toll of Putin’s Wars by Anders Åslund
By intervening in Syria, annexing Crimea, and sustaining military presence in Eastern Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin seems to have overextended himself. With an annual growth rate of just 1.5%, Russia is now expending 5.3% of its GDP on its military budget, while losing another 3-4% to legal, civilian, and other costs. → Read More
Lessons for EU from the Greek tragedy
The Greek crisis showed the euro is more robust than people thought and that profligate states can write off public debt without leaving the currency. → Read More
Will EU join new US sanctions on Russia elite?
'Oligarch clause' in new US sanctions on Russia to start life on 29 January - but to what extent will the EU and US coordinate a blacklist of Putin's cronies? → Read More
Surveying the Damage of Low Interest Rates by Anders Åslund
Few would disagree that it was necessary to slash interest rates in the immediate aftermath of the 2008 global financial crisis. But after a decade of ultra-loose monetary policies across advanced economies, growth remains tepid, financial risks have proliferated, and middle-class savers have lost out. → Read More
Is Vladimir Putin Losing His Grip? by Anders Åslund
In recent decades, as President Vladimir Putin has entrenched his authority, Russia has seemed to be moving backward socially and economically. But while the Kremlin knows that it must reverse this trajectory, genuine reform would be incompatible with the kleptocratic character of Putin’s regime. → Read More
Ukraine should join central Europe trade club
With eight EU alumni, the EU integration expertise of the Balkan states, and an HQ in Brussels, the Cefta club is the perfect incubator for Ukraine's EU aspirations. → Read More
The Last Hurdle for Ukraine’s Recovery by Anders Åslund
Ukraine has made remarkable progress on reducing its fiscal deficit and public debt, positioning the economy for strong growth. But, as is so often the case in post-Soviet states, old-school clientelism could quickly smother the promise of prosperity. → Read More
The West has its eye on Vladimir Putin’s weak spot
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s authority is weaker than it seems. In fact, the bedrock of Putin’s power — the economic arrangements that he has consolidated over the past generation — has become the main threat to his political survival. The reason is simple: The lack of credible property rights under Putin’s system of crony capitalism forces senior Russian officials and oligarchs to hold… → Read More
The Achilles Heel of Putin’s Regime
Russia’s crony capitalism is weaker than it seems. In fact, President Vladimir Putin’s consolidation of power has created a major potential threat to his authority, because the lack of credible property rights forces senior Russian officials and oligarchs to hold their money abroad. → Read More
The nationalization of Russia’s elites
Under President Vladimir Putin, cronyism has replaced Russia’s once-burgeoning capitalism. If Putin lives by any motto, it is this: “To my friends, anything; for my enemies, the law.” In his 2000 “autobiography,” “First Person,” Putin reveals what “counts most” to him. “I have a lot of friends,” he tells an interviewer, “but only a few people are really close to me. They have never gone away.… → Read More
Russia’s Oligarchs-in-Waiting
Through a process of brazen nepotism, Russian President Vladimir Putin has nationalized his country's elites, and consolidated his own power. As the better-known children of Russia’s previous generation of oligarchs have steadily left the country, the offspring of Putin’s cronies have taken their place. → Read More
A magic wand for France?
Last month, Emmanuel Macron pulled the proverbial rabbit from the electoral hat. Against the odds, the independent centrist won the French presidency by a decisive margin, beating the far-right populist Marine Le Pen — and vanquishing the old guard of the French establishment along the way. Now, for his latest trick, Macron looks set to secure a huge majority in the French National Assembly. But… → Read More