Oral history interview with Richard Ericson, 2016

Biographical Note

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 early 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

Scope and Contents

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

Subjects

• Area studies.
• Clark, Mary Marshall, interviewer.
• College teachers--Interviews.
• Economics--Study and teaching.
• Ericson, Richard Eric,--Interviews.
• Harriman Institute.
• Interviews.
• Oral histories (literary works)
• Robertson, Graeme, interviewer.
• Russia (Federation)--Study and teaching.
• Soviet Union--Economic conditions.
• Soviet Union--Politics and government--1985-1991.
• Soviet Union--Study and teaching.

Access Conditions

Copyright by the Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York, 2019