Measuring progress towards a market economy

This article presents the results of empirical research into the transition of the Russian economy to a market system. The article uses results from data collected under the Russian Economic Barometer, a survey conducted at the micro level to serve as an instrument for monitoring and analysis of the processes going on at the microlevel in the course of the reform. The article examines the movement of Russian industry from state control to market control, and from soft to hard budget constraints. It follows the movements from the objective function characteristic of enterprises in the planned economy to a market objective function. The peculiarities of the transition crisis are traced. On the basis of these results a theoretical analysis is offered tracing the relationships between market reform, economic crisis, and enterprise behaviour.