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VITA 
Nick Riley Cunningham 
Candidate for the Degree of 
Master of Arts 
Thesis: THE EFFECTS OF MACROECONOMIC FACTORS ON ECONOMIC 
GROWTH WITHIN THE FORMER SOVIET UNION 
Major Field: Political Science 
Biographical: 
Education:
Completed the requirements for the Master of Science/Arts in your major at 
Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma in December, May or July, 
Year. 
Completed the requirements for the Bachelor of Arts in Political Science at 
Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma in 2008. 
Study Abroad Language Program 
Petrozavodsk State University, Petrozavodsk, Russia in 2010. 
Experience: National Science Foundation Undergraduate Research Fellow: 
Democracy and World Politics Summer Research Program: May-August 2007 
Undergraduate and Graduate Research Assistant
Oklahoma State University, September 2008-Present 
Introduction to American Government Instructor 
Oklahoma State University, August 2009-Present
Professional Memberships:
Dobro Slovo Slavic National Honor Society 

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ADVISER’S APPROVAL: Dr. Joel Jenswold 
Name: Nick Cunningham Date of Degree: May 2011 
Institution: Oklahoma State University 
Location: Stillwater, Oklahoma 
Title of Study: THE EFFECTS OF MACROECONOMIC FACTORS ON ECONOMIC 
GROWTH WITHIN THE FORMER SOVIET UNION 
Pages in Study: 57 
Candidate for the Degree of Master of Arts 
Major Field: Political Science 
Scope and Method of Study: Since the mid-1990s, the fifteen countries that make up the 
former-Soviet Union have started to graduate from the economic problems that 
devastated the region after the dissolution of the USSR. While there is disparity 
in both the size and makeup of these separate economies, there are still common 
economic trends that can be observed. The goal of this thesis is to examine 
several macroeconomic variables from 1996-2008, in order to determine which 
have similar effects on economic growth throughout the region. I also want to 
determine whether or not these newly post-Communist economies respond to 
these factors in the matter that the literature suggests should be universal. 
Findings and Conclusions: Although there is much literature extolling the negative 
effects inflation and debt have on economic growth, I find little evidence of their 
short-term importance. Foreign direct investment and exports, however, both 
play a key role in determining economic growth rates. Additionally, I find 
support for the theory that World Trade Organization member-countries 
experience higher economic growth, and attempt to explain what about 
membership explains this trend. WTO countries have engaged in higher levels of 
overall trade, but have not experienced higher levels of FDI, exports, or 
institutional confidence than their non-WTO counterparts.