The Belarusian Development Path: From Command Economy to State Capitalism?

Belarus was among the few post-communist countries to resign from comprehensive market reforms and that tried to improve the efficiency of the economy through administrative means, leaving market mechanisms only an auxiliary role. Since its inception, the so-called Belarusian economic model has undergone several revisions of a de-satisfaction and de-regulation kind, but still the Belarusian economy remains dominated by the state. The following chapter analyzses the characteristic features of the Belarusian economic system and its evolution over time. The tentative conclusion is that during the post-Soviet period, the Belarusian economy evolved from a quasi-Soviet system based on state property, state planning, support to inefficient enterprises, and the massive redistribution of funds to a more flexible hybrid model where the state still holds “commanding heights” in the economy. The economic system of Belarus may be described as a hybrid one, with elements of state capitalism and a Soviet-type command economy.