State Capacity in Post-Communist Countries

Flashcards defining core concepts, indicators, and empirical findings regarding state capacity in post-communist countries based on Jessica Fortin's study.

State Capacity (Infrastructural Power)

The institutional capacity of a central state, despotic or not, to penetrate its territories and logistically implement decisions across its jurisdiction.

Scope of State Activity

The size of a state's social safety net and its level of involvement or repressiveness in citizens' lives, which is theoretically distinct from its institutional capacity.

Contract Intensive Money (CIM)

The ratio of non-currency money to total money supply, calculated as $\frac{M_2 - C}{M_2}$, which serves as a proxy for the quality of contract enforcement and trust in financial institutions.

Taxing Capacity Indicator

The ratio of tax revenue to GDP (excluding social contributions for health and pensions), used to evaluate a state's extractive capability and administrative reach.

Property Rights Protection Indicator

A metric assessed on a $0$ to $100$ scale measuring the ability of individuals to accumulate private property secured by clear laws fully enforced by the state's judiciary.

Corruption Perception Measure

An assessment scale tracking the perceived misuse of public power for private benefit, reflecting the degree to which state resources escape institutional control.

Infrastructure Transition Indicators

EBRD-compiled scores ranging from $1$ to $4$ tracking government progress in reforming electric power, railways, roads, telecommunications, water, and waste water systems.

Five-Item Index of State Capacity

An aggregated, standardized index combining tax revenue, property rights protection, contract intensive money, corruption levels, and infrastructure reform across $26$ post-communist countries.

Initial Level of State Capacity

The departure score at independence, found to be the strongest determinant of subsequent state capacity levels ($r = 0.87$) up to $2006$.

Comparison of State Capacity Scores (Time 0 vs. 2006)

A scatter plot demonstrating that state capacity levels across post-communist countries remained largely stable and persistent between their first year of independence and $2006$.