15. Sergei Guriev on the value of governance, inclusion & the internet for anti-corruption efforts

This episode we are excited to welcome Sergei Guriev (Twitter: @sguriev), the chief economist at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Academic work: The interview kicks off with a discussion of Sergei’s academic work in the early 2000’s. In it Sergei and Andrei Rachinsky studied the Role of oligarchs in Russian capitalism and showed that oligarchs owned around 40% of the Russian industry (see Guriev & Rachinsky, 2005). Since then his academic and policy work remained related to corruption issues. Transitions: The interview covers the question why some Post-Soviet countries have transitioned successfully into a market economy while others haven’t, touching on the importance of institutional quality, experience of democracy, critical free press and inclusion. Challenges to study corruption: The two also discuss the challenge to study corruption, both from a methodological standpoint but also from a political standpoint, when working in a multi-lateral international organizations that are funded by governments. Positive examples: Matthew and Sergei touch on several anti-corruption examples that give reason to hope, such as the public e-procurement system, Pro Zorro (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prozorro) in Ukraine or the political transformation in Georgia in the early 2000’s. Bride between academia and policy: As part of Sergei’s job, he communicates corruption research to for policy makers, emphasizing in particular the need for more research on the nexus between populism and corruption. 3G Internet and Confidence in Government. Finally, the two discuss Sergei’s most recent work on the impact of 3G Internet access on attitudes and perceptions about corruption, illustrating on the one hand that internet access can indeed make citizens more critical of corrupt regimes, but on the other hand the dangers of internet censorship or rising populism. If you want to find out more about Sergei, you can check out his Wikipedia Article https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergei_Guriev or follow him twitter (@SGuriev). References Guriev, S., & Rachinsky, A. (2005). The role of oligarchs in Russian capitalism. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 19(1), 131-150. Guriev, S., Melnikov, N., & Zhuravskaya, E. (2019) 3G internet and confidence in government. European Bank for Reconstruction and Development Working Paper No. 233, https://t.co/xElidfbOkw?amp=1