INFORMAL INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS & THE ADAPTATION OF RUSSIAN PEASANT HOUSEHOLDS TO A POST-SOVIET ECONOMY# By David J. O'Brien*, Valeri V. Patsiorkovski** & Larry D. Dershem* *Department of Rural Sociology, University of Missouri-Columbia **Institute for the Socio-Economic Studies of Population, Russian Academy of Sciences Prepared for the annual meetings of The International Society for New Institutional Economics Washington, D. C. September 16-18, 1999 # The research upon which this paper is based was funded by the National Science Foundation (SBR 9409936), in cooperation with the Russian Academy of Sciences. Additional funds were provided by the University of Missouri Research Board, University of Missouri Office of Development, University of Missouri Brown Fellowship and the International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX). Address communications to David J. O'Brien, Department of Rural Sociology, University of Missouri-Columbia, 114 Sociology Building, Columbia, MO 65211 USA. Email: obriendj@missouri.edu