Leonid Polishchuk

Associate Director

Key Qualifications

Dr. Leonid Polishchuk is an economist with broad experience in research, policy analysis, technical assistance and teaching at graduate and undergraduate levels. His main areas of professional expertise include institutional reform and development, federal-provincial relations, political economy of transition, public sector economics and economics of regulation. Since 1994 Dr. Polishchuk has been conducting policy analysis, research and technical assistance projects on various aspects of economic transition and development, public policy making, legal and regulatory reform. Many of these efforts were aimed at strengthening domestic capacity of transition and developing countries for high quality economic research and education. He participated in and/or supervised collaborative studies of policy-relevant issues, such as privatization, fiscal and public sector reform, social programs and poverty reduction, economic regulation, political economy of transition, etc. He also worked with newly-established universities and think tanks to introduce modern standards and tools of economic analysis, management and accounting procedures, and facilitate creation of national and international networks of think tanks and policy analysts. In 2004 he participated in ADB-contracted Country Governance Assessment for Uzbekistan, and in 2003 performed an assessment of the UNDP program in support of the Center for Economic Research in Tashkent. His other country experience includes Russia, Ukraine, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Indonesia, Kazakhstan and Romania. He has authored or co-authored over 40 publications.

Educational Background

Ph.D. Economics, Institute of Economics and Industrial Organization, USSR Academy of Sciences, 1981

M.S. Applied Mathematics, Novosibirsk State University, 1973

Relevant Experience

Project Director, Research Associate and Associate Director, Center for Institutional Reform and the Informal Sector, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 1994 – Present. Projects include:

Participation in Uzbekistan Country Governance Assessment for ADB (2004).

Co-director of Regional Partnership Program (October 2001-present), a three-year USAID-funded program with a budget of $3 million, implemented by IRIS Center in cooperation with KPMG/Barents Group. The program’s objective is to foster professional partnership between Russian, East European and US think tanks, to jointly implement policy studies, and increase quality and efficiency of independent policy studies in transition countries through joint analytical and outreach projects. The program’s ultimate objective is to support development of a region-wide market for reform policies.

Participation in a project on legal and regulatory reform in Romania ( May 2001-present), including developing curriculum for regulatory impact assessment training for government officials and business community, and analyses of government regulations and fiscal arrangements.

Consultant in charge of evaluation of UNPD-funded program supporting the Center for Economic Research (CER) in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, and assisting CER in elaboration of its sustainable development strategy (2003). The assignment provided for extensive consultations with international donors (including ADB), government officials and policy experts in Uzbekistan.

Work with think tanks and policy experts in Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia on collaborative policy reform and capacity building projects.

Director of Economic Curriculum Reform Project (September 2000-present), implemented jointly with the New Economic School (Moscow). The project assists Russian universities in establishing modern graduate level courses in public choice, economics of federalism, political economy, economics of regulation and anti-trust. The project is funded from a World Bank’s loan to the Russian government.

Co-director of Strengthening Program for Economic Think Tanks in the Russian Federation (1999-present), a USAID-funded $3.4 million project implemented by the Moscow Public Science Foundation in cooperation with the IRIS Center. The program supports development of Russian economic think tanks by strengthening their professional, institutional and outreach capacities, and by facilitation of professional cooperation and exchanges of Russian policy analysts with each other and with their Western colleagues. The thematic scope of the program covers a broad spectrum of policy issues, such as pension reform, economic de-regulation, intergovernmental finance, corporate control, exchange rate policies, etc.

Participation in World Bank’s Country assistance evaluation in Russia (2002-3)

Participation in “Russian Social Science - New Perspective” program (sociology, political science, economics and law). Collaborative research projects, professional development, workshops and lecture series (1996-present).

Participation in various programs in social science research, education and curriculum reform in Russia (1996-present). Consulting and collaborative work with newly established Western-type universities in Moscow - Moscow School of Economics and Social Sciences, New Economic School, and Higher School in Economics. Development of professional networks for Russian social scientists.

Participation in a training course on decentralized government for Indonesian experts and government officials (2000).

Work on a USAID-funded project on business support institutions for small and medium-size businesses in Russia; preparation of an analytical report on the institutional environment for small businesses in Russia (1999-2000).

Participation in USIA Regional Scholar Exchange Program with the New Independent States. Consultations for NIS scholars, evaluation and reviews of grant proposals, panel discussions, policy recommendations (1995-2000).

Participation in a World Bank’s project on decentralization of government in Ukraine, including reform of subnational budgets and equalization formulas (1998, 1999)

Director of project in support of Russian Constitutional Union, a grassroots nation-wide network of legal and economic professionals and public servants with professional interests in constitutional reform, decentralized government and rule of law. The project was implemented in 1997-1999 with a grant from Mott Foundation

Participation in USIA program on federalism in Russia. Consultations and lectures for Russian regional leaders and policy makers (1995-1998).

Work on US Academy of Science Task Force on Economies in Transition. Participation in the Task Force's series of conferences on the Russian transition (1995-1998).

Director of the project on Economics and Institutions in Russia. Support for Policy Development During the Transition (1994-1998), supported by a USAID grant ($1.9 million) and implemented in cooperation with the Institute for Economy in Transition (Moscow). The project supported collaborative research of privatization, social services and safety nets, economic restructuring, regional development, public sector reform etc., for conferences and workshops on policy issues. The project also offered support to competitively selected younger Russian economists and policy experts.

Report for the World Bank on Russian Civil Society (1997), which covers the development of Russian non-governmental organizations, including legal and institutional frameworks, incentives, sources of funding, records of performance and recommendations for international donor organizations.

Visiting Professor of Economics, New Economic School, Moscow, Russia, 1996 – 2004.

Visiting Professor of Political Science, California Institute of Technology, CA, Winter and Spring 1996.

Associate Professor, Department of Economic, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, 1991 – 1994.

Senior Research, Head of Laboratory of Regional Economic Analysis, Institute of Economic and Industrial Organization, Novosibirsk, Russia, 1976 – 1991.

Professor of Economic, Department of Economic, Novosibirsk State University, Novosibirsk, Russia, 1977 – 1983.

Selected Publications

Spontaneous (Non) Emergence of Property Rights (with A. Savvateev). Economics of Transition, v. 12 (1) , 2004, pp. 103-127.

Decentralization in Russia: Impact on Quality of Governance. In: M. Kimeneyi and P. Meagher, Eds., Devolution and Development. Governance Prospects in Decentralizing States. Ashgate, 2004, pp. 307-344.

Legal Initiatives of Russian Regions: Determinants and Effects. In: P. Murrell (Ed.), The Value of Law in Transition Economies, Univ. of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor, 2001, pp. 330-368.

Small Business in Russia: Institutional Environment. IRIS Working Paper 240, 2001

Political Economy of Scale and Endogenous Rule of Law. EERC, 2001.

Missed Markets: Implications for Economic Behavior and Institutional Change. In: J. Nelson, Ch. Tilly, and Lee Walker (Eds.), Transforming Post-Communist Political Economies, National Academy Press, Washington, D.C., 1998, pp. 80-101.

Russian Civil Society. IRIS Working Paper 202, 1997.

Russian Federalism: Economic Reform and Political Behavior. California Institute of Technology, 1996.

Input Market Development, Property Rights, and Extra-Market Re-Distribution. California Institute of Technology, 1996.

Languages

Language	Speaking	Reading
English	Fluent	Fluent
Russian	Fluent	Fluent