The Policy-Making Process and Social Learning in Russia: The Case of Housing Policy(St Antony's Series)

Centering its study around three explanatory variables - actors, institutions and ideas - this book argues that Russia's hybrid institutional environment reduces the competition of policy ideas, both at the stage of policy elaboration by the community of state and non-state policy experts, and also at the stage of policy adoption by parliament.

Table of Contents:
List Of Tables And Figures Preface List Of Abbreviations 1. Introduction 2. Development Of Reform Ideas In Soviet Housing Policy (1960s-1991) 3. Housing Policy Sub-System, Late Soviet - Early Post-Soviet Period 4. Reform Of Housing Property Rights In Post-Soviet Russia: From Owner-Occupation To The Diversity Of Housing Tenure Forms 5. Reform Of Russian Housing And Utility Services 6. Development Of The New System Of Housing Finance 7. Conclusion Appendixes List Of Interviews References Index

About the Author :
Marina Khmelnitskaya holds a degree in Russian and East European studies and Doctorate in Politics from the Department of Politics and International Relations, University of Oxford, UK. She is the author of a number of articles on Russian politics and policy-making, housing policy and housing finance.

Review :
'This book offers fascinating insights into Russian and earlier Soviet policy-making and the role of social learning in one crucial domain, housing policy. Marina Khmelnitskaya's rich and insightful analysis moves the discussion on policy-making in contemporary Russia and social learning further and deserves to be considered carefully.' Martin Lodge, Professor of Political Science and Public Policy, London School of Economics, UK 'Khmelnitskaya shows how Russia's hybrid-authoritarian political model has inhibited the development of effective policy in the all-important housing sector. Housing policy was pulled back and forth between market reforms, bureaucratic resistance and social opposition. This is one of just a handful of works analyzing public policy in post-soviet Russia.' Peter Rutland, Professor of Government, Wesleyan University, USA 'In this important new book, Marina Khmeinitskaya provides a theoretically informed, historical analysis of the transformations in housing policy in post-Soviet Russia. Her analysis employs and adapts Peter Hall's highly influential 'social learning' model of policy change to identify and explain paradigmatic policy shifts. Drawing on this framework, she presents a fascinating account of divergent patterns of change in three critical areas of housing policy in post-Soviet Russia: housing property rights, mortgage finance and the management of utility services in apartment blocks. An enjoyable and insightful book, it is essential reading for scholars and students interested in housing policy and especially in the ways in which it has changed in Russia in the post-Soviet era.' Peter A. Kemp, Professor of Public Policy, Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford, UK