How Latvia Came Through the Financial Crisis

Co-written by Dombrovskis, the Prime Minister of Latvia, and Aslund, a senior fellow with the Petersen Institute for International Economy, this work reports on how Latvia responded to the financial and economic crisis of 2008-2010, suggesting that the Latvian response, "internal devaluation" through severe cuts in wages and public expenditures, provides key lessons for other countries seeking to a find ways out of crisis. The authors describe pre- and post-crisis policies, Dombrovskis describes the policy making decision process, and the authors evaluate policy results, which they largely deem positive, as growth has returned and serious social unrest was avoided. Annotation c2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Anders Aslund was a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics from 2006 to May 2015. He examined the economic policies of Russia, Ukraine, and Eastern Europe, as well as the broader implications of economic transition. Aslund served as an economic adviser to the governments of Russia in 1991-94 and Ukraine in 1994-97. He is a leading specialist on postcommunist economic transformation with more than 30 years of experience in the field.

Valdis Dombrovskis has been the Prime Minister of the Republic of Latvia since March 2009. He was also Minister for Regional Development and Local Governments (November - December 2010) and Minister for Children, Family, and Integration Affairs (March - July 2009). From July 2004 to March 2009, he was member of the European Parliament and head of the Latvian delegation in ETP-ED group. From November 2002 to March 2004, Dombrovskis served as Latvia's Minister for Finance. He was a founding member of the political party New Era in February 2002. He was elected to the Latvian parliament in 2002 and 2010. He worked at the Bank of Latvia as macroeconomic specialist (1998-1999), senior economist (1999-2001) and chief economist (2001-02).