Understanding Barter in Russia

Abstract

This paper analyses the incidence and growth of non-monetary transactions - barter, veksels, debt offsets, tax offsets and other monetary surrogates - in Russia. The empirical backbone of the paper is a survey of 350 - predominantly industrial - firms, carried out in October and November 1998. The paper provides an analytical framework for understanding both firm-level incentives for using barter and the reasons for its phenomenal growth since 1993. Having examined some of the costs of Russia's non-monetary economy, the paper discusses a number of policy options.