Post-Soviet Agricultural Restructuring: A Success Story After All?

Abstract Challenging the initial expectation that all post-Soviet economies will evolve from collective toward fully individualized farming, I argue they separated into two different reform paths. In European successor countries and Kazakhstan, corporate family farms coexist, labor exited agriculture, capital inflow boosted productivity (a “Westernization”). Transcaucasian other Central Asian countries, complete farm individualization did not increase much, in turn keeping rural incomes depressed “Southernization” akin to Global South). Future policies should promote income alternatives agriculture improve flexibility transparency of consolidation processes.