Crisis as a Normal State of Affairs
Strategies for Adapting to Stagnation in Russia
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
Russia is in a deep economic crisis. Companies, jobholders, and households are being forced to adapt to a new reality. Companies are lowering their expectations. Households are cutting back on spending. Large companies with access to the political world are betting on state intervention on their behalf. Some sectors, such as agriculture, are calling for protectionist measures. Smaller companies and their employees are engaging in the shadow economy. A sharp rise in unemployment is not to be expected. Adaption will ensue by means of inflation, which will lead to lower real wages. Households will have to reduce expenditures, as they have nothing to expect from the state. How the state reacts to the crisis depends in large part on the behaviour of its employees. They can enter into a competition of exceeding dirigiste targets or undermine these targets by means of corruption.
(Osteuropa 5/2016, pp. 81–94)