On November 7, 2013 the AESA NY-NJ Section hosted a lecture on “Economies of the former Soviet Union: Why Fiscal Policy Matters" by Dr. Aleksandr V. Gevorkyan. The event took place at Columbia University and was well attended by a large and diverse group of students, professionals and AESA members.
In his remarks, Dr. Gevorkyan discussed recent macroeconomic situations in the transition economies of the Former Soviet Union with an emphasis on the post-2008 crisis performance. As the world grapples with ongoing macroeconomic transformations, the post-socialist economies are set for yet another economic experiment. In fact, twenty years since the reforms, the question of what was the transition in the transition economies remains high on the agenda.
Some of the policy issues that were brought up in the discussion included questions of appropriate economic policy and role of the state in the context of the small economy with limited resources. The lecture also addressed some recent trends in Armenia’s financial markets and economy and country’s development path. Overall, while tempting, and perhaps easier, to bring in negatives, there is still some hope for an inclusive economic development in the region. The recipe is in an all encompassing, critical and objective analytical approach.
Dr. Gevorkyan, Assistant Professor of Economics at the Peter J. Tobin College of Business at St. John’s University, brings over fifteen years of combined professional and academic experience with a wide list of publications on problems of economic development, financial economics, macroeconomic policy and post-socialist transition experiences. Dr. Gevorkyan is the author of Innovative Fiscal Policy and Economic Development in Transition Economies (Routlefge, 2013 in paperback; 2011 in hardcover). He is also the Editor and Translator of How did I Survive? By Artavazd M. Minasyan (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2008).