How and why Russia needs to reform

The need for economic reform in Russia is now widely accepted. However, a key point that is often overlooked is that a comprehensive programme of reform that takes in a wide range of different areas is needed if Russia is to achieve the type of growth rates of 4% or so a year that history suggests is possible for economies at its current stage of development. By contrast, piecemeal measures are unlikely to make much of a difference and could even make things worse.