nep-cis New Economics Papers
on Confederation of Independent States
Issue of 2020‒03‒23
fifteen papers chosen by



  1. USING DISSERTATION REVIEWS FOR STUDYING ACADEMIC CONVENTIONS (RUSSIA, LATE 19th – EARLY 20th CENTURIES) By Ksenia M. Belik
  2. Kazakhstan Financial Markets and the Development of SDR Denominated Financial Products By Dominique de Rambures
  3. The Centenary of Poland's Independence. A Note on Infrastructure Convergence By Laurent Guihéry; Michal Taracha
  4. Interdependence as a lever for national hybridization: The EU-Russia gas trade By Mehdi Abbas; Catherine Locatelli
  5. Financing nascent industry : Leverage, politics, and performance in Imperial Russia By Gregg, Amanda; Nafziger, Steven
  6. Russian Federation–East Asia Liquefied Natural Gas Trade Patterns and Regional Energy Security By Rasoulinezhad, Ehsan; Taghizadeh-Hesary, Farhad; Yoshino, Naoyuki; Sarker, Tapan
  7. ロシアにおける地域発展政策の有効性 : 経済特区制度を中心に By カン, ビクトリヤ
  8. Regional Determinants of Marriage Rates in Russia: A Dynamic Panel Data Analysis By Iwasaki, Ichiro; Kumo, Kazuhiro
  9. PLANNING OF INTELLIGENCE OPERATIONS SUPPORTING MILITARY ACTIONS By Valerica PIROSCA
  10. Fiscal Incidence in Ukraine : A Commitment to Equity Analysis By Bornukova,Kateryna; Leshchenko,Nataliia; Matytsin,Mikhail
  11. The Construction And Usage Of The Past In The Strategies Of Urban Development – Totma As A “Town Of Sailors” By Alexei V. Kraikovski; Margarita M. Dadykina; Mikhail A. Vsemirnov
  12. Land reform and child health in the Kyrgyz Republic: By Kosec, Katrina; Shemyakina, Olga N.
  13. Autonomy, Performance And Efficiency: An Empirical Analysis Of Russian Universities 2014-2018 By Tommaso Agasisti; Ekaterina Shibanova
  14. The Long-lasting Effects of Living under Communism on Attitudes towards Financial Markets By Christine Laudenbach; Ulrike Malmendier; Alexandra Niessen-Ruenzi
  15. Pension Funds with Automatic Enrollment Schemes : Lessons for Emerging Economies By Rudolph,Heinz P.

  1. By: Ksenia M. Belik (National Research University Higher School of Economics)
    Abstract: At the turn of the XIX – XX centuries scientists focused on the procedure of the dissertation research’s scientifically verifications, create expert forms for assessing the quality of scientific work. One of these procedural forms became peer review. The article examines the culture of dissertation reviews at Russian universities in the designated period. The author, using an examples from specific texts of reviews, focuses on the formation of conventions, on criteria for assessing the quality of research, identifies the basic requirements for the degree of scientific texts. The main conclusion of the article is that the assessment texts contributed to the conclusion of academic agreements and their maintenance (retention).
    Keywords: Russian Empire, reviews, educational traditions, academic degrees, academic culture, university research.
    JEL: Z
    Date: 2020
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hig:wpaper:188/hum/2020&r=all
  2. By: Dominique de Rambures (Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne)
    Abstract: Kazakhstan is located at the crossroads of Russia, China and India spheres of influence. On top of the Almaty financial center, the economic capital of the country, the government is considering starting up a new financial center in Astana (AIFC or Astana International Financial Center), the new capital city (2008) located in the northern part of the country. The creation and development of a Stock Exchange is a long-term venture that requires vision, continuity and innovation. The development of SDR markets, starting with SDR Eurobond issues, is a way to diversify the range of financial products, initiate a worldwide SDR market and attract international investors.
    Keywords: Kazakhstan, financial markets, SDR, financial products, Astana, Stock Exchange
    Date: 2019–01
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:afh:wpaper:1291&r=all
  3. By: Laurent Guihéry (UCP - Université de Cergy Pontoise - Université Paris-Seine); Michal Taracha
    Abstract: Poland plays an important role in the European Union. After many years of occupation until regaining the independence in 1918, in its long history, Poland is now a bridge between Western Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States and Ukraine. The country is largely benefiting from this situation: Poland is the first beneficiary of the EU Cohesion Policy funds, well ahead of Italy and Spain (Appendix 1). New roads are being built, railway tracks are being renovated, city centers and other degraded districts are being revitalized. Polish countryside and the main cities are flourishing. In the field of transport infrastructure, the paper shows that the regional policy of the European Union has reduced the original inequalities in the rail and road infrastructure development inherited from the Partitions of Poland between Prussia, Austria and Russia. With regard to the railway infrastructure, we notice that track closures is also significant in this convergence. The paper also indicates a problem with the accessibility of medium-sized towns that lost their status of a voivodeship capital in 1999. One of the functional problems of these cities, apart from the demographic and financial problems, is their poor road and rail accessibility. The paper is then expressing some critics on the model of polarization-diffusion model in the European regional development policy, especially for Eastern Poland which is not so much benefiting from the regional policy of the EU. In conclusion, convergence towards the EU average still occurs in Poland.
    Keywords: N14,N13,H76,R58,Mots-clés Pologne,Infrastructures,Convergence,Politique régionale,Union Européenne Keywords Poland,Infrastructure,Regional policy,European Union Classification JEL : R4
    Date: 2019–08–27
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-02306359&r=all
  4. By: Mehdi Abbas (Pacte, Laboratoire de sciences sociales - UPMF - Université Pierre Mendès France - Grenoble 2 - UJF - Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 - IEPG - Sciences Po Grenoble - Institut d'études politiques de Grenoble - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UGA - Université Grenoble Alpes); Catherine Locatelli (GAEL - Laboratoire d'Economie Appliquée de Grenoble - Grenoble INP - Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology - INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UGA - Université Grenoble Alpes)
    Abstract: Les interdépendances entre l'UE et ses fournisseurs extérieurs en matière de gaz naturel au premier rang desquels la Russie posent la question de la confrontation de préférences contradictoires des acteurs impliqués dans l'échange. Elles interrogent également l'impact transformatif de l'interdépendance lié à des processus d'hybridation entre acteurs asymétriques. L'article montre que la norme concurrentielle agit comme levier d'une hybridation des régulations à la fois du secteur gazier russe et de la politique énergétique de l'UE. Ainsi, le conflit de préférences UE-Russie naît de tentative européenne d'exportation de sa régulation concurrentielle au secteur gazier russe. Si celle-ci s'avère être un échec, l'importance du marché européen conduit toutefois à une adaptation du modèle russe de gouvernance gazière. Mais celle-ci implique en retour une transformation du modèle européen.
    Keywords: Russie,Union Européenne,Echanges gaz naturel
    Date: 2019–12–31
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-02472141&r=all
  5. By: Gregg, Amanda; Nafziger, Steven
    Abstract: This paper explores the dynamics of corporate finance during the early stages of industrial growth by examining a newly constructed panel database of Imperial Russian industrial corporations’ balance sheets. We document large differences in financial strategies and outcomes across industries, over time, over firms’ life cycles, and between two Russian corporation types. Russian corporations’ profits and dividend payouts followed the Russian business cycle. Russian corporate debt ratios mostly follow modern capital structure theories, but tangible assets were not associated with higher debt levels, suggesting that Russian corporate debt was short-term, that collateral was irrelevant, or that agency problems dominated. We also find evidence that investors needed to be compensated for poor protections, since dividends were valued and widely-held corporations enjoyed greater returns. While the evidence suggests the presence of these and other frictions, our findings are consistent with the Imperial Russian financial system functioning well enough to enable early industrial development.
    JEL: N23 N63 G32
    Date: 2020–03–08
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bof:bofitp:2020_007&r=all
  6. By: Rasoulinezhad, Ehsan (Asian Development Bank Institute); Taghizadeh-Hesary, Farhad (Asian Development Bank Institute); Yoshino, Naoyuki (Asian Development Bank Institute); Sarker, Tapan (Asian Development Bank Institute)
    Abstract: East Asia has remained the biggest market for liquefied natural gas (LNG) in 2018. The Russian Federation has a clear vision to develop its East Asia LNG projects to provide a bigger share of Asian LNG imports. We model Russian Federation–East Asia LNG trade patterns via the gravity trade theory, which is shown to fit well with energy trade patterns. Our findings reveal that a 1% increase in population growth in the People’s Republic of China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea increases Russian Federation LNG exports by nearly 3.43%, and economic growth by 6.16%, while any increase in geographic distance decelerates LNG exports to the selected East Asian economies by nearly 7.3%. This means that the close proximity of the Russian Federation to East Asia is an advantage for its LNG exports. Furthermore, the West’s sanctions against the Russian Federation are a positive influencing factor on the latter’s LNG export volume to East Asia. We recommend some policies such as construction of a gas trading hub in Asia, increasing regional pricing power, and energy import diversification and shorter distances between the Russian Federation (exporter) and East Asia (importer) to improve energy security in this region.
    Keywords: gravity trade modeling; LNG trade; energy security; Russian Federation; East Asia
    JEL: F14 Q37 R11
    Date: 2019–06–10
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:adbiwp:0965&r=all
  7. By: カン, ビクトリヤ
    Abstract: The aim of the paper is to shed some light on the effectiveness of regional development policy in Russia. Particular attention is paid to the challenges and existing problems of special economic zones (SEZ). The results of the comparative analysis of different regional development policy instruments implemented in Russia, such as industrial parks, technological parks, industrial clusters, zones of territorial development (ZTR), territories of advanced socio-economic development (TOR) and free port of Vladivostok(FPV), reveal some important insights about the effectiveness of SEZ in particular and implications for the reginal development policy of Russia as the whole.
    Keywords: Special Economic Zone, Regional Development Policy, Russia, SEZ
    Date: 2020–03
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hit:cisdps:687&r=all
  8. By: Iwasaki, Ichiro; Kumo, Kazuhiro
    Abstract: This study examines the regional determinants of marriage rates in Russia using panel data from 2005 to 2015. The estimation results of a system generalized method of moments (GMM) dynamic model strongly supported our predictions concerning the impact of migration inflow, employment, educational opportunities, and housing supply, on marriage rates. Further, significant differences exist between the estimation results for the entire federation and those for federal district groups, indicating considerable difficulties in designing effective nationwide policy measures to promote family formation.
    Keywords: marriage rates, regional determinants, dynamic panel data estimation, Russia
    JEL: C23 J11 J12 P25 R23
    Date: 2020–03
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hit:rrcwps:85&r=all
  9. By: Valerica PIROSCA ("CAROL I" National Defense University)
    Abstract: At the beginning of the XXI century the world is marked by some regional conflicts that affect directly or indirectly the regional international relations at the regional and global level. Globally, these conflicts attracted the main security actors and in their political approaches to situations there are many differences which have led to the creation of new interstates agreements. Also, the differences could be observed in the approaches of the military operations, having in this sense two great approaches, on the one hand NATO whose main engine is the USA, and on the other hand the Russian Federation and its allies. No matter the NATO or non-NATO operational approaches, Intelligence plays a major role in the planning and development of military operations. In turn, Intelligence operations require careful planning followed by a deployment that will provide competitive Intelligence products to military leaders in a timely manner.
    Keywords: military operation, intelligence operations
    Date: 2019–11
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rom:km2019:13&r=all
  10. By: Bornukova,Kateryna; Leshchenko,Nataliia; Matytsin,Mikhail
    Abstract: The paper employs the Commitment to Equity framework to present a first attempt at a comprehensive fiscal incidence analysis for Ukraine, encompassing the revenue and expenditures components of the fiscal system, including direct and indirect taxes, as well as direct, indirect, and in-kind transfers. The fiscal system in Ukraine has high redistribution effects, decreasing the Gini inequality index by 21 percentage points, and the official measure of poverty incidence by 27.6 percentage points (considering all fiscal interventions including in-kind transfers). As in many other countries in the region, pensions are the main contributor to the redistribution effect of fiscal policy. However, Ukraine stands out due to the relatively high equalizing effect of direct transfers. Fiscal policy in Ukraine is pro-poor, with the lowest income decile benefiting the most. Overall, 60 percent of the population of Ukraine are net recipients from the fiscal system, the main categories of recipients being households with two or more children, single-parent households, and retirees.
    Keywords: Inequality,Social Protections&Assistance,Educational Sciences,Health Care Services Industry,Public Finance Decentralization and Poverty Reduction,Public Sector Economics,Macro-Fiscal Policy,Economic Adjustment and Lending
    Date: 2019–03–05
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:8765&r=all
  11. By: Alexei V. Kraikovski (National Research University Higher School of Economics); Margarita M. Dadykina (National Research University Higher School of Economics); Mikhail A. Vsemirnov (National Research University Higher School of Economics)
    Abstract: The different levels of the tourism service system are not just another intermediary between the heritage and the visitor, but an important aspect which influences the construction of heritage and past discourses. Noel Salazar suggested considering natural and cultural-historical heritage sites as the basis for constructing "imaginary realities". We explored the formation of a visual tourist space through the example of a small old Russian town, Totma. In the tourist space of Totma we identified several alternating or complementary tourist narratives, based on an appeal to different themes from the past, from the representation of the city as a salting center and monastery center to the construction of the image of Totma as a "city of sailors". The study showed how, and under what influence, the different local tourist narratives about Totma are now intertwined in modern representations of the city.
    Keywords: Historical heritage tourism, usable past, "touristic imaginaries", touristic narratives
    JEL: Z
    Date: 2020
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hig:wpaper:187/hum/2020&r=all
  12. By: Kosec, Katrina; Shemyakina, Olga N.
    Abstract: Does the establishment of private property rights to land improve child health and nutrition outcomes? We exploit a natural experiment in the Kyrgyz Republic following the collapse of socialism, whereby the government rapidly liquidated state and collective farms containing 75 percent of agricultural land and distributed it to individuals, providing 99-year transferrable use rights. We use household surveys collected before, during, and after the privatization reform and spatial variation in its timing to identify its health and nutrition impacts. We find that young children aged 0-5 exposed to land privatization for longer periods of time accumulated significantly greater gains in height and weight, both critical measures of long-term health and nutrition. Health improvements appear to be driven by increases in consumption of home-produced food—suggesting that increased private control over household production may translate into increased consumption and thus health dividends for young children.
    Keywords: KYRGYZSTAN, CENTRAL ASIA, ASIA, land reform, agrarian reform, land, health, children, child health, nutrition, child nutrition, land ownership, private ownership, human capital, I10 Health: General, J10 Demographic Economics: General, O10 Economic Development: General,
    Date: 2019
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1904&r=all
  13. By: Tommaso Agasisti (National Research University Higher School of Economics); Ekaterina Shibanova (National Research University Higher School of Economics)
    Abstract: This paper studies the relationship between university institutional autonomy (both formal and informal) and their performance and efficiency using multi-stage empirical methodology. First, we measure an “autonomy-in-use” index, and then we employ Data Envelopment Analysis in order to evaluate institutional efficiency. Lastly, we use a panel fixed effect regression and an instrumental variable approach to provide robust evidence for the relationship between institutional autonomy, performance and efficiency. We find that formal status of autonomy does not predict higher publication activity or efficiency. However, the findings also reveal that informal autonomy is positively associated with efficiency scores, and advanced practices in staff management can contribute to increases in publication activity and overall institutional efficiency
    Keywords: autonomy, higher education management, composite indicator, efficiency analysis
    JEL: I22 I23 I28
    Date: 2020
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hig:wpaper:224/ec/2020&r=all
  14. By: Christine Laudenbach; Ulrike Malmendier; Alexandra Niessen-Ruenzi
    Abstract: We analyze the long-term effects of living under communism and its anticapitalist doctrine on households’ financial investment decisions and attitudes towards financial markets. Utilizing comprehensive German brokerage data and bank data, we show that, decades after Reunification, East Germans still invest significantly less in the stock market than West Germans. Consistent with communist friends-and-foes propaganda, East Germans are more likely to hold stocks of companies from communist countries (China, Russia, Vietnam) and of state-owned companies, and are unlikely to invest in American companies and the financial industry. Effects are stronger for individuals exposed to positive “emotional tagging,” e.g., those living in celebrated showcase cities. Effects reverse for individuals with negative experiences, e.g., environmental pollution, religious oppression, or lack of (Western) TV entertainment. Election years trigger further divergence of East and West Germans. We provide evidence of negative welfare consequences due to less diversified portfolios, higher-fee products, and lower risk-adjusted returns.
    JEL: D03 D14 D83 D84 E21 G11
    Date: 2020–03
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:26818&r=all
  15. By: Rudolph,Heinz P.
    Abstract: Since the introduction of the KiwiSaver scheme in New Zealand in 2006, several countries have implemented, or are in the process of implementing, voluntary funded pension systems with automatic enrollment features. Since most of the literature has focused on countries with the common law tradition, including the United Kingdom and the United States, this note analyzes cases of countries with the civil code tradition, including Turkey, Poland, the Russian Federation, Chile, Brazil, and the Province of Quebec in Canada. This sample includes mostly emerging economies, with reforms at different stages, from those that have already been completed to those that are about to start discussions in their parliaments. Although they are not a substitute for necessary parametric reforms, automatic enrollment schemes offer the possibility of improvements in future retirement income for a significant part of the labor force. This note stresses that the paternalistic approach of automatic enrollment schemes imposes a great degree of responsibility on governments and requires careful consideration of the design of the system, including the industrial organization of the pension fund industry and default investment strategies. Sufficient time and resources for preparing communication and educational campaigns has played a key role in achieving high rates of participation.
    Date: 2019–02–05
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:8726&r=all

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