dependency theory – Elusive Development

The Capitalism of the Good: When the West Becomes a Victim of Its Own Virtue

Among analytical resources covering contemporary Russia, Re:Russia occupies a distinctive and important place. At a time when much commentary on Russia oscillates between ideological certainty and

Overvalued for Whom? The Ruble in a New Hierarchy of World Money

Here’s a piece in the Kyiv Independent trying to solve the riddle of the ruble’s strengthening in 2025. The ruble has strengthened despite what Konstantin Sonin calls the “classic macroeconom

From Billions to Trillions to Traps: Rethinking Development Finance from the Periphery

The failure of the “billions to trillions” agenda is not just a technical shortfall — it reflects deeper structural imbalances in global finance. While MDBs continue to mobilize capital throu

Serbia as super-periphery: Growth without quality and transformation

Democratic backsliding and growth in Serbia In a previous article, I critiqued this year’s Nobel Prize for its institutional theory on development, highlighting Serbia as a case where economic gr

Boris Kagarlitsky: China and Russia in the modern world-system — A dual challenge

This is one of those unique cases when I republish someone else’s article. But I feel compelled to do so. The article is written by my co-author Boris Kagarlitsky, currently serving a 5-year

Foreign Direct Investment: The Opium for Development

A Marxist Take on Investment Hopes Last week I presented our research (with Boris Kagarlitsky) at the annual meeting of the Armenian Economic Association in Yerevan. The research takes the Marxist

Russia’s Delinking from the West: The Great Equalizer

In this post, I discuss the recent trend towards more income equality in Russia. Mainstream economics explain it by the country’s transition to war economy. I apply Marxist analysis to demonstrat

Dependency, Corruption and Prison

It is always a pleasant surprise when your research comes with unexpected results. Getting confirmation of your ideas is somewhat boring but unexpected results challenge you intellectually, prompti

Dependency Theory After 50 Years: Development, United Nations, War in Ukraine and the Global Fragmentation

This book by the prominent Argentinian economist Claudio Katz explores the contemporary relevance of the dependency theory: to what extent does it explain today’s world? Dependency theory: the fu