Policy then and now; The long-term outllok for production and consuption.

Russia's economic fate in the 21st century will be increasingly affected by international integration. Author Stephen K. Wegren focuses on Russia's food policies and their present and future effects on integration. Through an analysis of Russia's contemporary food policies and strategies, Wegren places Russia's economic development in a new international context.

This book analyzes the transition of Russia's agro-food sector from a centrally planned system to a market-oriented one. The chapters set out to explain the initial conditions of transition, describe the measures undertaken, survey the current situation, and offer perspectives on how best to continue with the reform. Hence, the book not only provides insights into Russia's food economy, it also gives very valuable information about the process of transition and the question: What next? Within the Russian context, the food economy is of special importance, due to the relatively high share it represents in the economy and its importance for employment. Furthermore, the privatization and the restructuring of the country's agro-food sector is one of the most controversial issues in the ongoing domestic political debate about the reform process. Russia is also important in that its reintegration into the world economy is at stake. Russia's Agro-Food Sector: Towards Truly Functioning Markets should increase the understanding of the issues causing the cumbersome implementation of reform measures and, in so doing, might provide scholars and policymakers with advice on how to improve the transition process. In fact, one of the most important lessons from the book is that markets will continue to malfunction as long as institutions are not functioning properly.

Peter Wehrheim analyses the economy-wide effects of various trade and economic policies that have affected Russia's transition from a planned economy to a market economy in the past decade.