Defense conversion, economic reform and the outlook for Russian and Ukrainian economics / edited by Henry S. Rowen, Charles Wolf, and Jeanne Zlotnik.

"A Rand study."

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction: Defense Conversion and Economic Reform / Charles Wolf, Jr., Henry S. Rowen and Jeanne Zlotnick -- 1. Problems with Soviet Statistics: Past and Present / Vladimir G. Treml -- 2. The Economic Situation in Russia, 1992 / Grigorii Khanin -- 3. Privatization, Conversion, Security: On the Wreck of the Socialist Mentality / Larisa Piyasheva -- 4. The New Role of Defense R&D in the Russian Economy / Vladimir Fal'tsman -- 5. The Experience and Prospects of Remodeling the Defense Industries in Russia / Yuri V. Yaremenko and Victor N. Rassadin -- 6. Market Reform and the Future of the Russian Economy / Evgeny G. Yasin -- 7. The August Coup d'Etat and Its Consequences / Vladimir Seleznev -- 8. Conversion of Military Industries in Ukraine / Victor I. Antonov -- 9. Ukraine's National Security and the Future of Military Buildup / Alexander N. Honcharenko -- 10. Sizing an Adequate Defense Establishment for Russia / Alexei G. Arbatov.

11. The Future Interrelations between Civilian and Military RDT&E / Valery A. Dementev -- 12. Economic Principles Concerning the National Security of Ukraine and Conversion Problems for the Military-Industrial Complex / Oleg Bodruk -- 13. Contemporary Military Education in Ukraine: Reform and Outlook / Yuri Prokofiev -- 14. Foreign Aid and the Role of the IMF and the World Bank in the Reform Process / Oleg T. Bogomolov -- 15. The New Strategic Context for Military Planning / Fred Charles Ikle.

Russia and Ukraine are struggling to change over from command to market economies. Both are heirs to protectionist policies that for years supported the weight of a mammoth military-industrial complex. This book investigates the defense sector's key role in the economies of these two countries, its fate in relation to political changes, and its impact on those same changes.

What sets this book apart from other analyses is that the contributors are mostly Russians and Ukrainians, rather than Westerners. As respected officials from government, the military, and the scholarly community, the contributors have first-hand knowledge of economic life in their respective countries.

The reader will discover more dissent than consensus among the authors in their debates of Russian and Ukrainian economic policy and security issues. However, above the din of argument, the editors promote a stance of "limited optimism" toward the economies of the two republics.

Although signs of poor economic health are evident, the gloomy forecasts made by some analysts today may be biased by overly optimistic accounts from the past and by data that fails to consider recent gains in the private sector.