In the first session, Richard Ericson discusses the Harriman Institute's response to the collapse of the Soviet Union and its efforts at reformation in the immediate post-Soviet period. He explains the challenges faced by Harriman in re-evaluating its purpose, methods, and funding as the end of the USSR caused a sharp decline in the kind of deep area training that it had provided during the Soviet Era. Ericson discusses internal divisions within Harriman on the direction of the Institute, and he stresses the importance of Harriman's continuing work in the current era of US-Russia relations. In the second session, Ericson describes his writing at the time of the fall of the Soviet Union. He talks about his dissertation and data issues involved in that research. He considers the potential policy impact of his work. He narrates his path to Columbia University and to the directorship of the Harriman Institute. When he arrived, the Institute was grappling with questions about its geographical focus. Ericson speaks to the relationship between economics and area studies. He returns to data issues in studying the economics of the Soviet Union, and the roles of various disciplines in explaining the Soviet Union's collapse. Ericson discusses his travels in the Soviet Union/Russia and how they affected his work. He describes the key figures for whom the Harriman Institute hosted talks, and his relationships with some of his colleagues and students. Finally, Ericson speaks to the decline of area studies, especially where economists were concerned
College teachers; Area studies; Economics--Study and teaching; Russia (Federation) Study and teaching; Soviet Union Study and teaching; Soviet Union Politics and government 1985-1991; Soviet Union Economic conditions; Ericson, Richard Eric; Harriman Institute
Format
oral histories
Genre
Interviews
Date
2016
Physical Description
147 pages
Note (Biographical)
Richard Ericson was one of the leading economists studying the Soviet Union at the time of its collapse, and has continued to be an authoritative source on the Russian economy since that time. Ericson was Director of the Harriman Institute in the earl y post-Soviet period before leaving Columbia University to chair the Economics Department of East Carolina University in 2003. Ericson's work has long straddled the border between area studies and economics, and he has published extensively in these fields
Note
Interviewed by Graeme Robertson on May 11, 2016 and Mary Marshall Clark on October 10, 2016
Note (Provenance)
Richard Ericson, Gift, transferred from Columbia Center for Oral History Research 2018