The subsequent transition to capitalism did push a number of Eastern European economies to collapse. Russia, moving sporadically toward a more liberal economy, saw its average incomes almost halve after the end of the Cold War. Of course, models based on the Washington Consensus would suggest that Russia’s growth rate should have increased as it moved toward more market-friendly policies and institutions. Meanwhile, China’s gradualist approach to reform—the country remains officially communist—has ushered in the greatest decline in world poverty in history.
