nep-cis New Economics Papers
on Confederation of Independent States
Issue of 2015‒02‒28
fourteen papers chosen by



  1. ICT Investment and Internationalization of the Russian Economy By Grigori Feiguine ; Julia Solovjova
  2. Significance of Foreign Direct Investment for the Development of Russian ICT sector By Grigori Feiguine ; Julia Solovjova
  3. ICT Modernization and Globalization: Russian Perspectives By Grigori Feiguine ; Julia Solovjova
  4. The Reanimation Of Piracy: Challenges Of Adapting International Law Norms Into Russia’s Legal System By Anton A. Varfolomeev
  5. GDP Growth in Russia: Different Capital Stock Series and the Terms of Trade By Kaitila, Ville
  6. Anomie And Alienation In The Post-Communist Area: A Reapplication Of The Middleton Scale In Russia And Kazakhstan By Ekaterina I. Lytkina
  7. System of Indicators of Eurasian Integration II By Vinokurov, Evgeny
  8. Catching up of Emerging Economies: The Role of Capital Goods Imports, FDI Inflows, Domestic Investment and Absorptive Capacity By Alexander Glas ; Michael Hübler ; Peter Nunnenkamp
  9. Russian University Students And The Combination Of Study And Work: Is It All About Earning, Learning Or Job Market Signaling? By Sergey Roshchin ; Victor Rudakov
  10. Does Conceptual Decision-Making Style Make School Principal An Efficient Reforms Promoter By Rustam F. Bayburin ; Nadezhda V. Bycik ; Nikolay B. Filinov ; Natalya V. Isaeva ; Anatoly G. Kasprzhak
  11. A New Money Exchange System: The World Calorie Currency (WCC) By Zhou, Xinyi Jimmy
  12. Assessing potential growth in emerging countries after the global financial crisis By Enrica Di Stefano ; Daniela Marconi
  13. Why is intercountry adoption declining worldwide? By Jean-François Mignot
  14. Acquiring Control in Emerging Markets: Foreign Acquisitions in Eastern Europe and the Effect on Shareholder Wealth By Sharma, Abhijit ; Raat, Erwin

  1. By: Grigori Feiguine (Europäisches Institut für Internationale Wirtschaftsbeziehungen (EIIW) ); Julia Solovjova (Europäisches Institut für Internationale Wirtschaftsbeziehungen (EIIW) )
    Abstract: In this paper the influence of ICT investments on the international activities of Russia is analyzed. Firstly, ICT investments are considered as a factor of the international competitiveness of the Russian economy (in comparison with some other countries). Dynamics of both export volumes and openness of national economies are used as the main criteria for comparison. Then, the role of ICT in the development of international activities on the regional level is analysed. Cluster analysis is performed for the set of data on the Russian regions. Finally, the accession of Russia to the WTO is considered in the context of the development of the ICT sector and the international activities of the Russian economy.
    Keywords: ICT, Investments, Russian economy
    JEL: R10 L63 L86
    Date: 2013–09
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bwu:eiiwdp:disbei196&r=cis
  2. By: Grigori Feiguine (Europäisches Institut für Internationale Wirtschaftsbeziehungen (EIIW) ); Julia Solovjova (Europäisches Institut für Internationale Wirtschaftsbeziehungen (EIIW) )
    Abstract: The paper contains an overview of main FDI theories. The focus is on the role of FDI inflows within development of national ICT sector (case of Russia). General trends (volumes, structural distribution) in FDI inflows in Russian ICT sector are identified and summarized. Some recommendations regarding the opportunities to attract FDI in Russian ICT sector are given.
    Keywords: FDI, Regulation, Telecommunication, EU, Russia, Innovation, Convergence
    JEL: L43 L96 N14 O31
    Date: 2014–05
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bwu:eiiwdp:disbei198&r=cis
  3. By: Grigori Feiguine (Europäisches Institut für Internationale Wirtschaftsbeziehungen (EIIW) ); Julia Solovjova (Europäisches Institut für Internationale Wirtschaftsbeziehungen (EIIW) )
    Abstract: The development of ICT is considered as an important indicator of globalization. The main hypothesis is that the development of ICT and global activities of both countries and regions are positively correlated. As criteria for global activities the exports and FDI-inflows are taken. The hypothesis is tested with the example of the world economy, post-socialist countries and Russia. Russian regional differences in ICT development in the context of the global activities of Russian regions are analyzed.
    Keywords: Regulation, Telecommunication, EU, Innovation, Convergence
    JEL: L43 L96 N14 O31
    Date: 2014–05
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bwu:eiiwdp:disbei199&r=cis
  4. By: Anton A. Varfolomeev (National Research University Higher School of Economics )
    Abstract: This study focuses on the dissonance between the definition of piracy in Russia’s Criminal Code (disposition of Article 227) and piracy as defined by international law (Article 101 of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, 1982). This can create obstacles in the appropriate qualification of piracy acts and lead to a certain discord between the two (national and international) law systems. At least four areas of possible disagreements were identified: contradictions over a place to commit an act of piracy; over the object of crime; a purpose, and over a crime’s objective aspect. The paper also investigates the potential competitions between jurisdictions, including situations in Russia’s exclusive economic zone and on board a vessel registered at a Russian port.
    Keywords: piracy, criminal prosecution, universal jurisdiction, collision of jurisdiction, Russia.
    JEL: K33
    Date: 2014
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hig:wpaper:44/law/2014&r=cis
  5. By: Kaitila, Ville
    Abstract: There are different academic assessments as to what lies behind Russia’s GDP growth: total factor productivity or fixed capital investments. Studies that reconstruct capital stocks for Russia using gross fixed capital formation and the perpetual inventory method tend to lean towards the former answer, while capital services datasets that have recently been made available lean towards the latter. We reconstruct a capital stock series for Russia for 1995–2013, and compare the results to two capital services time series using the Solow growth model. We also take into account terms of trade developments that have lent strong support to the economy.Finally, we use these tools to construct four possible scenarios for Russia’s economic growth up until 2030.
    Date: 2015–02–25
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rif:wpaper:28&r=cis
  6. By: Ekaterina I. Lytkina (National Research University Higher School of Economics )
    Abstract: Unlike commonly used, anomie and alienation not only have different theoretical backgrounds, but also different indicators and predictors. I examine the highly institutionalized alienation scale originally introduced by Middleton (1963), reapplied as a measurement of alienation (Seeman, 1991) and anomie (Huschka and Mau 2005, 2006) in a very relevant context for an anomic situation – the post-Communist countries Russia and Kazakhstan (round six of the World Values Surveys fielded the alienation question in just these two countries). Based on confirmatory factor analysis and multiple group comparisons, I find that the scale consists of two dimensions, which can be described as an anomie and alienation. The anomic dimension consists of indicators “normlessness” and “powerlessness,” whereas the alienative one is comprised by “social isolation”, “meaninglessness,” and “job dissatisfaction.” Though the structure proves to have full invariance in both countries, the predictors for anomie and alienation are different. For both countries, only income is an important predictor for anomie, and though to a lower degree, for alienation. In Kazakhstan, the level of urbanization also provides an impact on the level of anomie. Apart from income, in Russia alienation can be predicted by gender, and type of occupation (manual or intellectual), whereas in Kazakhstan it can be predicted by age
    Keywords: anomie, alienation, Russia, Kazakhstan, measurement invariance
    JEL: B14 C38 C39 P20
    Date: 2015
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hig:wpaper:32psy2015&r=cis
  7. By: Vinokurov, Evgeny
    Abstract: The System of Indicators of Eurasian Integration” (SIEI) has a long-term status. It presents the results of regular monitoring and assessment of the pattern and key vectors of Eurasian integration and cooperation in the CIS region. SIEI is acknowledged as one of top-3 systems of regional integration analysis globally. It is based on official statistics. The analysis covers a wide range of areas of the countries’ integration — from macroeconomic policies to student mobility.
    Keywords: regional integration, economic integration, post-Soviet, Russia, Eurasia, European Union, Eurasian Economic Union
    JEL: F13 F15 F5
    Date: 2014
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:61853&r=cis
  8. By: Alexander Glas ; Michael Hübler ; Peter Nunnenkamp
    Abstract: We assess the role of capital goods imports and inflows of foreign direct investment (FDI) as transmission channels through which major emerging economies (BRICs, i.e., Brazil, Russian Federation, India and China) could catch up with advanced source countries in terms of total factor productivity (TFP). We find that the importance of these transmission mechanisms depends on the BRICs’ local capacity to absorb superior technologies and on domestic investment
    Keywords: total factor productivity; imports; foreign direct investment; absorptive capacity; BRICs
    JEL: F14 F21 O47
    Date: 2015–01
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kie:kieliw:1990&r=cis
  9. By: Sergey Roshchin (National Research University Higher School of Economics. ); Victor Rudakov (National Research University Higher School of Economics )
    Abstract: The issue of how Russian students combine work and study can be analyzed through the quality of university, the quality of students and a number of financial, academic, social and demographic factors. These factors may have an effect on student employment and student labor supply, and help shed light on what motivates students to enter the labor market. We discovered that 64.7% of Russian students combined study and work and most of them begin working during their 3rd year of study. Our results indicate that factors associated with the quality of students, such as studying in a top university and participating in research activities, positively affect the probability of student employment, but negatively affect the labor supply. Financial motivations for student employment are also significant. However, we found no evidence that combining study and work affects students’ academic achievements
    Keywords: higher education, student employment, combining work and study, job market signaling, human capital
    JEL: E32
    Date: 2015
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hig:wpaper:24edu2015&r=cis
  10. By: Rustam F. Bayburin (National Research University Higher School of Economics ); Nadezhda V. Bycik (National Research University Higher School of Economics ); Nikolay B. Filinov (National Research University Higher School of Economics ); Natalya V. Isaeva (National Research University Higher School of Economics ); Anatoly G. Kasprzhak (National Research University Higher School of Economics )
    Abstract: The paper attempts to contribute to the ongoing debate on the impact of executive’s behavioral pattern on the speed and effectiveness of the organizational transformation. Authors consider the large-scale reform of school education system launched in the Russian Federation and look at the principals’ decision-making behavioral patterns. The use of A.Rowe’s Decision Style Inventory (DSI) gives the opportunity to get fast results for a large and representative set of principles and compare these to that of similar study undertaken earlier in Canada. In spite of the fact that the two nations exhibit substantially different cultural characteristics some important conclusions about the principals’ behavior and its potential influence do coincide, which makes authors think that these have to do not with the national culture, but rather with some generic features of the school as an organization. Practical implication of the research is seen in providing assessment of the cadre of principals as agents of change at the current stage of reforms of the Russian educational system
    Keywords: school principal, school leadership, decision-making style, education system's reform potential
    JEL: I21 M12 D81
    Date: 2014
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hig:wpaper:34man2015&r=cis
  11. By: Zhou, Xinyi Jimmy
    Abstract: The current ruble crisis causes much trouble for many of those eastern European countries like Russia and its neighbour countries: Strong ruble depreciation and high inflation for consumer goods are its most negative consequences. Because the ruble is only a national currency, but not a world currency, some people might ask if we introduce a new global currency, the World Calories Currency (WCC) or "Cal-Money", that currency would be less vulnerable and less crisis-prone. In this short paper, I firstly present the 4 main criteria of a successful and widely accepted currency: 1. Fair valuability & high inflation security, 2. high trust and acceptance among the users, 3.high distribution over the world and 4. high supportiveness of the real economy. After I compared the strength & weaknesses of the World Calorie Currency and present some concrete measures to make the Cal-Money implementation more smoothly, I then came to conclusion that all 4 main criteria of a successful, world wide applicable currency would be fulfilled by the WCC.
    Keywords: New Money Exchange System, World Calorie Currency (WCC), Real economy supportive, Ruble, currency crisis, world currency, CalorieCoin, Central bank supported, Hard currencies, BRICS, Food and energy sector, health supportive
    JEL: E40 E41 E42
    Date: 2015–02–22
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:62320&r=cis
  12. By: Enrica Di Stefano (Bank of Italy ); Daniela Marconi (Bank of Italy )
    Abstract: We examine the growth performance of six emerging economies (Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Russia and Turkey) in the last two decades and examine whether domestic structural constraints are affecting their present and future growth potential. In order to assess better the determinants of the recent synchronized slowdown of these economies, we concentrate on the dynamics of labor productivity (value added per worker, a synthetic measure of capital deepening, labor quality and total factor productivity) and of employment. We find that the ongoing slowdown in EMEs is largely structural, but there is still ample room for catching up in terms of output composition, reallocation of labor across sectors and within-sector productivity improvements. The scope for further reform and reform priorities differs across countries. In the longer run other structural factors will weigh on potential growth, particularly the evolution of the size and quality of the labor force.
    Keywords: emerging markets, growth, potential growth, productivity
    JEL: E32 O47 O57
    Date: 2015–01
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bdi:opques:qef_256_15&r=cis
  13. By: Jean-François Mignot
    Abstract: In the early 2000s there were around 40,000 intercountry child adoptions worldwide, most of them concentrated in a few countries of origin (China and Russia) and a handful of receiving countries (headed by the United States). Between 2004 and 2013, the number fell by two-thirds in France and throughout the world. The shortage of adoptable children is due to a decline in the number of orphaned or abandoned children and an increase in domestic adoptions in countries of origin, but also to a range of political measures to eradicate child trafficking through stricter controls on intercountry adoption. Most of the children available for international adoption now have “special needs”.
    Date: 2015
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:idg:posoce:519&r=cis
  14. By: Sharma, Abhijit ; Raat, Erwin
    Abstract: This paper examines stock market reaction to cross-border acquisition announcements that involve Eastern European emerging-market targets. Using a unique and a manually collected dataset, we identify 125 cross-border acquisitions in which developed-market firms from France, Germany, Netherlands, and the United Kingdom acquire ownership stakes in emerging as well as developed-markets in Europe during the period January 2000 through December 2011. In line with previous findings on foreign cross-border merger and acquisitions (M&As) in emerging- markets, evidence suggests that when the target firm is located in either the Czech- Republic, Hungary, Poland, or Russia, cumulative abnormal return (CAR) to the acquiring developed-market firm shows a statistically significant increase of 1.26% over a three day event window, following the announcement. Thereby, the relative size of the acquirer to the target appears to be the only significant factor that contributes to positive acquirer returns. The result is robust to the inclusion of controls for country, industry, as well as acquirer, target, and firm specific characteristics. Moreover, cross-border M&As involving an emerging-market target result in higher value creation for the acquiring shareholders than cross-border transactions into developed-markets.
    Keywords: cross border, merger and acquisition, Eastern Europe, cumulative abnormal returns
    JEL: G34
    Date: 2014–12
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:62360&r=cis

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