Prof. Dr. Sergei Guriev studies the impact of transition from plan to market in former communist countries on objective and subjective well-being. He has found clear evidence of the high social cost of early transition reforms: cohorts born around the start of transition are about 1 centimetre shorter than their older or younger peers. On the bright side, he has also shown that cohorts that experienced transition in their infancy are now better educated and more satisfied with their lives than their counterparts.

Sergei Guriev is professor and Scientific Director of the Master and PhD programmes in Economics at SciencePo (Paris). He received his Dr. Sc. (habilitation degree) in Economics (2002) and PhD in Applied Math from the Russian Academy of Science (1994). His research interests include political economics, labor mobility, corporate governance and contract theory.