Abstract
The virtual economy was the system of informal rent distribution that arose in postSoviet Russia in the 1990s as nonviable Soviet-era manufacturing industries sought to protect themselves from the discipline of the market. Enterprise directors and their allies throughout the economy (including government officials) colluded to use nonmarket prices and various forms of nonmonetary exchange such as barter to transfer value from resource sectors to manufacturing industry. The article discusses the system’s historical roots, describes some of its characteristic phenomena, and outlines a model for behaviour of enterprises.
This chapter was originally published in The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics, 2nd edition, 2008. Edited by Steven N. Durlauf and Lawrence E. Blume.
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Bibliography
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Gaddy, C.G. (2008). Virtual Economy. In: The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95121-5_2316-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95121-5_2316-1
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Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Online ISBN: 978-1-349-95121-5
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