Corporate farm performance in Russia, 1991-1995: An efficiency analysis

In this paper, we consider how Russian corporate farm efficiency has change d in the period from 1991 to 1995 and why, using oblast level data. Both ti me series and cross-section efficiency results point to the overwhelming im portance of initial conditions in predicting farm efficiency performance. E fficiency scores can be explained by several economic and institutional fac tors, including farm size, softness of the budget constraint, deterioration in farm terms of trade and oblast-level specialization of production. The overall results of the study are more consistent with a corporate farm sect or that follows a policy of oblast self-sufficiency than with one engaged i n actual restructuring. (C) 1999 Academic Press.