Institutional competition in the post-Soviet space

Institutional competition is often discussed as an instrument of market creation and preservation in transition and development economies. The post-Soviet space offers an interesting case study for the analysis of this problem: increasing international investment flows and absent policy coordination establish an environment for intensification of institutional competition among jurisdictions. Nevertheless, in the post-Soviet world the quality of institutions seems to remain low. This paper deals with potential effects of interjurisdictional competition on institutional quality in the post-Soviet space while addressing two levels of analysis: rational choice factors (economic inequality and learning effects) and interplay of formal and informal institutions (perception of free markets, trust to the public authority and interaction of deep and shallow institutional levels)