Mirrors of the Economy: National Accounts and International Norms in Russia and Beyond (Cornell Studies in Political Economy)

As international institutions multiply and more governments sign on to standardized ways of organizing economies and societies, resistance to globalization persists. In Mirrors of the Economy, Yoshiko M. Herrera explores the variance in implementation of international institutions through an examination of the international System of National Accounts (SNA) and, in particular, the success of post-Soviet Russia and other formerly communist countries in implementing the SNA. The SNA is the basis for all national economic indicators, including Gross Domestic Product, and is therefore a critical institution for economic policy and development. Herrera tests existing theories of implementation of international institutions and proposes a novel theoretical concept, "conditional norms," to suggest that the conditions attached to norms may result in institutional change. On the basis of content analysis of statistical publications and more than seventy-five interviews throughout Russia—particularly in Moscow—and in Washington, she forms a clear picture of the implementation of the SNA in Russia in the early 1990s. In Soviet times a stable conditional norm delineated the appropriateness of statistical institutions based on the structure of the economy. The transformation of the economic system triggered a shift in support among Russian and Eastern European statisticians in favor of the SNA. Herrera's argument increases our understanding of the role of norms, structural conditions, and professional communities in institutional implementation. | As international institutions multiply and more governments sign on to standardized ways of organizing economies and societies, resistance to globalization persists. In Mirrors of the Economy , Yoshiko M. Herrera explores the variance in implementation of international institutions through an examination of the international System of National Accounts (SNA), and, in particular, the success of post-Soviet Russia and other formerly communist countries in implementing the SNA. The SNA is the basis for all national economic indicators, including Gross Domestic Product, and is therefore a critical institution for economic policy and development. Herrera tests existing theories of implementation of international institutions and proposes a novel theoretical concept, "conditional norms," to suggest that the conditions attached to norms may result in institutional change. On the basis of content analysis of statistical publications and more than seventy-five interviews throughout Russia—particularly in Moscow—and in Washington she forms a clear picture of the implementation of SNA in Russia in the early 1990s. In Soviet times a stable conditional norm delineated the appropriateness of statistical institutions based on the structure of the economy. The transformation of the economic system triggered a shift in support among Russian and Eastern European statisticians in favor of the SNA. Herrera's argument increases our understanding of the role of norms, structural conditions, and professional communities in institutional implementation.

As international institutions multiply and more governments sign on to standardized ways of organizing economies and societies, resistance to globalization persists. In Mirrors of the Economy, Yoshiko M. Herrera explores the variance in implementation of international institutions through an examination of the international System of National Accounts (SNA) and, in particular, the success of post-Soviet Russia and other formerly communist countries in implementing the SNA. The SNA is the basis for all national economic indicators, including Gross Domestic Product, and is therefore a critical institution for economic policy and development.

Herrera tests existing theories of implementation of international institutions and proposes a novel theoretical concept, "conditional norms," to suggest that the conditions attached to norms may result in institutional change. On the basis of content analysis of statistical publications and more than seventy-five interviews throughout Russia—particularly in Moscow—and in Washington, she forms a clear picture of the implementation of the SNA in Russia in the early 1990s. In Soviet times a stable conditional norm delineated the appropriateness of statistical institutions based on the structure of the economy. The transformation of the economic system triggered a shift in support among Russian and Eastern European statisticians in favor of the SNA. Herrera's argument increases our understanding of the role of norms, structural conditions, and professional communities in institutional implementation.

Frontmatter List of Tables and Figures (page ix) Preface (page xi) List of Acronyms (page xvii) Note on Translation and Transliteration (page xix) Introduction (page 1) 1. A System of National Accounts: The Postcommunist Transformation of Russian Statistics (page 16) 2. Accounting for Implementation: A Theory of Conditional Norms (page 44) 3. Accidental Hegemony: How the System of National Accounts Became an International Norm (page 64) 4. Efficiency, Resources, and Capacity in the Implementation of the SNA (page 94) 5. Cui bono? Politicians, Statisticians and International Organizations in Russian Implementation of the SNA (page 110) 6. Professionals in the Service of the State: The Organizational Identity of Russian Statisticians (page 137) 7. Statistics as a Mirror of the Economy: The SNA as a Conditional Norm (page 172) Conclusion (page 201) Appendix. SNA Milestone Assessment Guide (page 217) References (page 219) Index (page 243) Studies the changeover in postcommunist societies from the Material Product System of accounting to the System of National Accounts system in the early 1990s and adherence to the SNA norms thereafter by means of interviews with Russian statisticians and examination of the in-house journal of Goskomstat (Vestnik statistiki, which became Voprosy statistiki)