The inter-enterprise debt explosion in the former Soviet Union: causes, consequences, cures

The reasons for the growth of inter-enterprise debt analyzed. It is suggested that it results mainly from the appearance of normal trade credit in a liberalized economy, and when a monetary squeeze is part of a non-credible stabilization attempt. In the latter case the results can be a sharp fall in output. Non-market and market solutions to this problem are analyzed, and the advantages of the latter over the former are stressed.