Three years after the Revolution of Dignity, has Ukraine genuinely reformed or merely talked about reforms? This book offers food for thought rather than ready-made answers.

In our view, Ukraine needs institutional reforms. Institutions are crucial because they shape social and economic interactions. Robust institutions create proper incentives at the micro level, thereby enhancing overall economic efficiency. Sustainable economic growth is unlikely when extortion is more profitable than production and fakes triumph over truth. Inclusive institutions foster honest business practices and minimize the expected gains from corruption and fraud. Ukraine’s current institutions do not perform these functions particularly well — which is hardly surprising, as it is impossible to reform in a few years what took decades, if not centuries, to entrench.

However, we do observe meaningful changes — in the central bank, public procurement, the energy sector, and local governance. These reforms have stabilized the economy and significantly improved the management of public finances. In the White Book of Reforms 2017 by the Kyiv School of Economics, we discuss which reforms succeeded and which not (yet). We are publishing it on the Vox Ukraine website, as many of its co-authors are members of the Vox Ukraine editorial board and experts with the Reform Index project.

Introduction

Banking Sector and the National Bank of Ukraine

Tax System and Fiscal Decentralization

Deregulation

Public Procurement

State Asset Management

Energy Production and Consumption

Land Market

Healthcare

Education and Science

Pension system

Anti-Corruption

The KSE team is grateful to Zhenia Oliinyk and Oleksii Pyliov for their talent, hard work, and patience in creating the illustrations. We also thank KSE Communications Manager Kseniia Alekankina for her invaluable contribution to the production of this book.

The White Book of Reforms 2017 is part of a broader ongoing initiative aimed at providing a comprehensive review of reforms in Ukraine. All previous editions of the White Book are available here.