|
on Confederation of Independent States |
| By: | Vernikov, Andrei |
| Abstract: | We assess the effects from the industrial policy of growing state-controlled national champions on the Russian banking system, its concentration and competitiveness. Some light is shed on comparative financial performance of state-controlled banks versus other market participants. We also show that direct stare ownership is being replaced by indirect ownership and control. The period of observations spreads from 2000 through 1Q 2012. We modify the method of calculating the indicators of market concentration to reflect public ownership of the core market players. As a result of this modification, most market segments cross the threshold of high concentration (HHI ≥ 0.25), whereas household deposits market becomes close to monopoly. Supremacy of public banks enhances their market power and enables collecting rent that boosts profitability. In terms of institutional dynamics, we find a growing similarity between the Russian case and the evolution of the Chinese banking industry. |
| Keywords: | Russia; state-owned banks; public sector; industrial policy; national champions; market structure; concentration; Herfindahl-Hirschman Index |
| JEL: | L13 G28 G21 |
| Date: | 2012–07–23 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:40236&r=cis |
| By: | Muravyev, Alexander; Berezinets, Irina; Ilina, Yulia |
| Abstract: | This article studies the link between corporate governance conflicts on the one hand, and employment and wage policies of companies on the other. We use data on publicly traded Russian companies with dual class stock (common and preferred shares), which allows us to use the concept of voting premium for measurement of corporate conflicts and private benefits of control. Our analysis suggests a link between the severity of corporate governance problems between shareholders and managers and the company’s wage policies. In particular, managers who try to consume private benefits and expropriate shareholders, have to resort to more generous policies regarding workers’ wages. Importantly, this link is apparent only in companies with relatively dispersed ownership, in which managers have considerable discretion and are not constrained by obligations before large shareholders. In contrast, the link between extraction of private benefits of control and wage policies is not visible in companies with a majority shareholder. |
| Keywords: | corporate governance; private benefits of control; dual class stock firms; employment and wage policies; Russia |
| JEL: | G30 J30 |
| Date: | 2012–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:40215&r=cis |
| By: | Harrison, Mark (University of Warwick) |
| Abstract: | The paper examines the range of national experiences of communist rule in terms of the aspiration to ‘overtake and outstrip the advanced countries economically’. It reviews the causal beliefs of the rulers, the rise and fall of their economies (or, in the case of China, its continued rise), the core institutions of communist rule and their evolution, and other outcomes. The process of overcoming a development lag so as to approach the global technological frontier has required continual institutional change and policy reform in the face of resistance from established interests. So far, China is the only country where communist rule has been able to meet this requirement, enabled by a new deal with political and economic stakeholders. The paper places the “China Deal” on a spectrum previously limited to the Soviet Big and Little Deals |
| Keywords: | Beliefs, China, communism, convergence, growth, institutions, modernization, policy reform, Russia |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cge:warwcg:91&r=cis |
| By: | Olga Aleshina |
| Abstract: | Northern territories in Asian Part of Russia hold significant mineral resource abundance. This region can also be viewed as an outstanding geopolitical and military potential of Russia. On the other hand, economic development here is embarrassed with severe climatic conditions, underpopulation and unavailability of infrastructure. Targeting to proportion costs and benefits of the rising economic activity on the territory we analyze its prospects and challenges. For the central point would be taken intricacies with transport component when running projects of the local deposits deployment. As non-ferrous metals are the most likely to form the essential branch of Northern industry, they will originate substantial material flow in the area. This leads us to the point local transportation lines should be improved by far. Sea carriage is almost exclusive mode of transportation available for the purposes of Arctic littoral regions and furthermore the list expensive. Therefore reinforcement of Northern Sea Route (NSR) plays the vital role in developing of in question regions’ economy. Multisectoral multi-regional model allows to link growth of non-ferrous metals complex and progress of sea transport corridor (NSR). Suppose the whole country is oriented for the maximization of public welfare and economic growth rate. In these terms our investigation led to a key-note conclusion: long-term goals of the whole country are attained superior when running active economical policy in the North. The crux is large non-ferrous metals sector companies are ready to enter the area if the government provides substantial financial support for infrastructure improvements. Simultaneously, in our case economic development should not implicate people to settle the territory. Rotation system is implied. All potential resource abundant zones are to be attached to the congruent NSR harbors, thereby regional centers. The system of aqua-territorial industrial complexes is suggested as an efficient form of economic life in Northern regions of Asian Russia. |
| Date: | 2011–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa10p410&r=cis |
| By: | Evgeniya Kolomak |
| Abstract: | Aims of the study are to estimate 1) contribution of infrastructure capital in productivity growth in Russia, and 2) level and spatial extension of the spillovers for different categories of infrastructure. We measure stock of the traditional infrastructure sectors: railways, highways, communication. We use data for 79 Russian regions, covered period is 1992 - 2007. The basic idea of econometric estimates is to expand a production function including infrastructure capital stock. We examine several different categories of public capital. The log-linear Cobb-Douglas form of the production function gives empirical model. We assume existence of spatial spillovers of the infrastructure elements and dependence of regional productivity on public capital of neighboring regions introducing into the model spatial weights matrix and a spatial lag component. There are several problems of econometric estimates relating to the model. The first one is correct specification of the spatial dependence, what includes construction of the spatial weights matrix. The proposed strategy is to run series of regressions using different spatial weighs matrixes. The second one is common trends of output and public capital. One of the proposed ways to resolve the problem is to use some forms of differences. The third problem involves missing variables; panel data and taking of the differences to some extent lessen this problem. Another problem is causality: does absence of progress in infrastructure capital reduce economic growth or does low growth of output decrease the demand for infrastructure? The endogeneity poses question of instrumental variables, the choice of a spatial lag of the predicted values of the dependent variable or of spatially lagged exogenous variables is considered. Infrastructure capital is a public good however its effects can be distributed uneven among different sectors of economic activity. To take this fact into account the proposed set of growth model estimations are done for two alternative production functions focusing on gross regional product and on manufacturing sector only. The results are as follows: - estimates of contribution of infrastructure capital in productivity growth in Russia; - evidence of infrastructure externalities; - estimates of infrastructure spatial spillovers for different categories. |
| Date: | 2011–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa10p471&r=cis |
| By: | Arabsheibani, Reza (Swansea University); Staneva, Anita V. (Swansea University) |
| Abstract: | Finding an instrument that is orthogonal to the disturbance term in the wage equation has been a topic of great deal of debate. Recently, Chesson et al. (2006) proposed that higher discount rates are significantly associated with a range of sexual behaviours, including having sex before age of 16 years. Following their paper, we use unprotected sexual behaviour and earlier age of sexual intercourse as alternative instrumental variables to account for endogeneity in schooling. The Bound et al. (1995) F-test indicates that our instruments are strongly correlated with schooling. We fail to reject the test of over-identifying restrictions, which demonstrates that the proposed instruments are valid and not correlated with the current earnings. In line with previous studies, our results suggest that the IV estimates of the returns to schooling are higher than the OLS estimates. In addition to the conditional mean, the proposed instruments are applied over the wage distribution using Chernozhukov and Hansen (2008) instrumental variable quantile approach. |
| Keywords: | return to education, risky sexual behaviour, instrumental variables |
| JEL: | I20 I22 J30 |
| Date: | 2012–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp6726&r=cis |