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on Confederation of Independent States |
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Issue of 2015‒05‒16
ten papers chosen by |
| By: | Igor Gurkov (National Research University Higher School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | The paper presents the results of a medium-size survey of executives of Russian manufacturing subsidiaries of Western multinational corporations on relationship with the parents and sister-subsidiaries. Manufacturing subsidiaries are completely dependent on parents in financing development projects. At the same time, when the subsidiary receives substantial financing for development projects from the parent, it also gets from the parent intensive support in all stages of implementation of such projects. Intensity of cooperation with sister-subsidiaries strongly coincides with the intensity of support by the parent. However, high intensity of cooperation with sister-subsidiaries was observed only for subsidiaries established before 2009. Several practical implications for new entrants into ownership of Russian industrial assets are presented. |
| Keywords: | manufacturing, multinational corporations, subsidiaries, Russia |
| JEL: | F23 L60 M11 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hig:wpaper:37man2015&r=cis |
| By: | Shleifer, Andrei; Treisman, Daniel |
| Date: | 2015–04–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hrv:faseco:14844863&r=cis |
| By: | Pavel V. Derkachev (National Research University Higher School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | This article considers the uneven positions of school teachers in different regions of the Russian Federation. There exist numerous research works on the relation of school teachers’ salaries to the characteristics of regional educational systems and regional economies. A range of indicators is used to calculate school teachers’ salaries. It is necessary to consider the ratio of the teachers’ salary to the average salary in the region, the latter serving as a target indicator in government programs, in combination with other indicators, such as the ratio of the salary to the price of a fixed set of goods and services and the ratio of the teachers’ salary fund to total regional government expenditures. Research based on cluster data analysis statistical methods allowed the author to distinguish four types of regions. We used official data provided by Russian Federal State Statistics Service and the Russian Federal Treasury. The recommendations developed for each cluster of regions seek to improve the efficiency of the steps aimed at the implementation of the educational policy tasks through differentiating the support measures by the federal government. |
| Keywords: | Economics of education, labor market, salary, schools teachers’ status, general education, regional educational policy. |
| JEL: | H52 H73 I22 J31 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hig:wpaper:28/pa/2015&r=cis |
| By: | Anton Cheremukhin (Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas); Anton Golosov (Princeton University); Sergei Guriev; Aleh Tsyvinski (Yale University) |
| Abstract: | This paper studies structural transformation of Soviet Russia in 1928-1940 from an agrarian to an industrial economy through the lens of a two-sector neoclassical growth model. We construct a large dataset that covers Soviet Russia during 1928-1940 and Tsarist Russia during 1885-1913. We use a two-sector growth model to compute sectoral TFPs as well as distortions and wedges in the capital, labor and product markets. We find that most wedges substantially increased in 1928-1935 and then fell in 1936-1940 relative to their 1885-1913 levels, while TFP remained generally below pre-WWI trends. Under the neoclassical growth model, projections of these estimated wedges imply that Stalin's economic policies led to welfare loss of -24 percent of consumption in 1928-1940, but a +16 percent welfare gain after 1941. A representative consumer born at the start of Stalin's policies in 1928 experiences a reduction in welfare of -1 percent of consumption, a number that does not take into account additional costs of political repression during this time period. We provide three additional counterfactuals: comparison with Japan, comparison with the New Economic Policy (NEP), and assuming alternative post-1940 growth scenarios. |
| JEL: | E6 N23 N24 O4 O41 |
| Date: | 2013–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/382e4c7la19qb8m0mtvar753ei&r=cis |
| By: | Victor Khroul (Moscow State University, Journalism Faculty) |
| Abstract: | The terms describing vibrant and complex media and religion relations – interplay, interaction, dialogue, cooperation, competition, conflict, etc – more and more often find themselves under the ‘umbrella’ of the very new notion of the mediatization applied to religion (Hjarvard 2008).Recent research on Russian journalistic practices lead to the conclusions of 1) narrowing the debate on religion and religious values in mainstream media; 2) reducing the possibility for journalists to make public their position in cases when it differs from the position of media managers; 3) removing of the dialogue on values into uncensored and free area of Internet resources, mostly - to blogs or forums of similar value orientations users.Therefore media framing, gate-keeping and agenda-setting studies are essential for understanding of the religion mediatization in Russia.Results of empirical studies confirm the following trends of dysfunction and corruption in the religious life coverage in Russia:- lack of education and therefore lack of understanding the complexity and sensitivity of religious issues;- biased approach among journalists, tolerated by their colleagues;- marginalization of religious minorities;- introducing not competent persons as experts;- non-critical approach to myths and stereotypes about religion. Up to our conviction, there is a time to rediscover the basic normative principles of mediatization of religion, based all three stages (pluralism - dialogue - consensus) are described below. Religions must have values transparency, availability of texts representing their normative models; correct articulation, the use of adequate symbolic systems, language and cultural codes and recognition of the possible existence of other normative systems. Journalists - from their side - have to guarantee representativeness , qualitative and quantitative completeness of the spectrum of values and norms and optimization of broadcast channels. From the dialogue perspective, tolerance and mutual respect to other religious systems and commitment to participate in the dialogue is expected from religions with active presence of their advocates and experts in the public sphere. Media professionals have to search for new subjects of the dialogue, to present new models, create new forums for discussion and moderate them. Both - religions and media - have to put forward the seeking of common good as a basic principle. Otherwise tragic accidents as Charlie Hebdo shootings in Paris or Nemtsov killing in Moscow are hardly avoidable. |
| Keywords: | religion, mediatization, journalism, framing, agenda-setting, Russia |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sek:iacpro:1003877&r=cis |
| By: | Libman , Alexander (BOFIT); Vollan , Björn (BOFIT) |
| Abstract: | Anti-Western conspiracies are frequently used by Governments to strengthen their power. We investigate the impact of conspiracy thinking on expectations of collusion among individuals in Russia and China. For this purpose, we conduct a novel laboratory experiment to measure expectations of collusion and several survey items related to conspiracy thinking. Our survey results indicate that anti-Western conspiracy thinking is widespread in both countries and correlates with distrust. We find a significant effect of anti-Western conspiracy thinking in China: Anti-Western conspiracy thinking correlates with lower expectations of collusion. We explain this result by stronger ingroup feeling emanating from the anti-Western sentiment. Our paper provides a first step in analyzing the economic implications of conspiracy thinking for society. |
| Keywords: | conspiracy thinking; Russia; China; trust; collusion experiments |
| JEL: | C91 D83 O17 |
| Date: | 2015–04–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:bofitp:2015_014&r=cis |
| By: | Anna Pestova (National Research University Higher School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, I develop the leading indicators of the business cycle turning points exploiting the quarterly panel dataset comprising OECD countries and Russia over the 1980-2013 period. Contrasting to the previous studies, I combine data on OECD countries and Russia into a single dataset and develop universal models suitable for the entire sample with a quality of predictions comparable to the analogues of single-country models. On the basis of conventional dynamic discrete dependent variable framework I estimate the business cycle leading indicator models at different forecasting horizons (from one to four quarters). The results demonstrate that there is a trade-off between forecasting accuracy and the earliness of the recession signal. Best predictions are achieved for the model with one quarter lag (approximately 94% of the observations were correctly classified with a noise-to-signal ratio of 7%). However, even the model with the four quarter lags correctly predicts more than 80% of recessions with the noise-to-signal ratio of 25% can be useful for the policy analysis. I also reveal significant gains of accounting for the credit market variables when forecasting recessions at the long horizons (four quarter lag) as their use leads to a significant reduction of the noise-to-signal ratio of the model. I propose using the “optimal” cut-off threshold of the binary models based on the minimization of regulator loss function arising from different types of wrong classification. I show that this optimal threshold improves model forecasts as compared to other exogenous thresholds. |
| Keywords: | business cycles, leading indicators, turning points, dynamic logit models, recession forecast. |
| JEL: | E32 E37 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hig:wpaper:94/ec/2015&r=cis |
| By: | Maria Yurina (National Research University “Higher School of Economics”) |
| Abstract: | This research paper covers examples and problems arising from product placement and surreptitious advertising. Product placement and surreptitious advertising are so similar but absolutely different types of advertising, while product placement may not be considered advertising at all. The point at issue arises when it is difficult to determine the real object of advertising. A separate cluster of marketing is a publishing of advertisement information in consumer products, which are not directly available for advertising: for example motion pictures and texts of books. There is a practice when authors include in products mentioning of specific trademarks and its characteristics for consideration. However, in some cases, it is very difficult to distinguish advertising and a describing or information naturally included in the text and is not advertising. The author focuses on the regulation of product placement and surreptitious advertising in Russia, legality of such advertising under the legislation of different countries, lawsuits, risks and academic conclusions. The choice of the research topic is due to different interpretations of these concepts and mixtures with other types of advertising in the research works and contradictory practices and terms found in the regulations of the Federal Antimonopoly service and the decisions of the courts. This research paper will be useful for lawyers dealing with cyber and digital law and all persons interested in legality of advertising materials in mass media and mass entertainment. |
| Keywords: | Product placement, embedded advertising, law and advertising, surreptitious advertising |
| JEL: | K39 K00 Z00 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sek:iacpro:1003289&r=cis |
| By: | Ülle Säälik (University of Tartu) |
| Abstract: | Reading is considered an important skill not only for academic success, but also for active participation in society. International student literacy assessments report gender differences in reading performance in favour of girls. These reports also show that students from schools with a minority or majority language tend to perform differently: in PISA 2009 in well-performing Finland, the Swedish-speaking schools performed at a lower level compared to the Finnish-speaking schools; in Estonia, the Estonian-speaking schools outperformed the Russian-speaking schools, despite the tests having been translated into each language. How students learn is closely related to their results. In literacy, the more advanced thinking and learning skills known as metacognition enhance the results. Metacognitive awareness can be developed through instruction in the classroom, and this has also resulted in significant improvements for students with rather low learning abilities. As it is teachers’ and schools’ opportunity to help their students by teaching these skills, their awareness of useful strategies could presumably be dependent on the school. So far only the PISA 2009 study has included student awareness of different learning strategies; therefore, the data here enable us to analyse how learning strategies relate to reading, gender or school language. In the current paper, the issues of reading proficiency, learning strategies, gender and school language are considered jointly. Alongside the theoretical background, results from several analyses of PISA 2009 are discussed to show how student awareness and choice of different learning strategies could explain the variation in reading results in boys and girls at student and school levels, and predict their reading test results. The two-level modelling analysis was used as a research method, since it allows us to draw reasonable statistical inferences for regression-type analyses under a hierarchical data structure, and where the factor of individuals being influenced by the group they belong to is explicitly taken into account. |
| Keywords: | reading, learning strategies, gender, school language, multilevel modelling |
| JEL: | I29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sek:iacpro:1003055&r=cis |
| By: | Gatis Ozoli (University of Daugavpils, Latvia) |
| Abstract: | This report is based on sixty in-depth interviews that took place starting the end of 2012 till the beginning of 2013 in two major towns in Latvia – Riga and Daugavpils – within MYPLACE (Memory, Youth, Political Legacy And Civic Engagement) project with young people aged from 16 to 25. Three significant aspects of contemporary youth identity searching are studied in the project. Firstly, the understanding of contemporary Latvian youth about politics, political process and its impact on the society as well as opinion about political system and culture in Europe and Latvia are analysed. Secondly, particular attention is paid to history and memory concepts within everyday life; the importance of the identification of historical events in the growth of youth identity. Thirdly, the relation between political issues and the everyday life is closely connected to the process of the development of young people as individuals, their leisure activities, and system of values. In the highlight of the project is the impact of economic processes (for example, the economic recession) on: the youth way of living; youth views about the system of education, its quality and importance in career development; their family members, relatives, friends, schoolmates, teachers, etc. life quality; the economic situation in Latvia; unemployment, emigration, mistrust towards the political parties and the government as well as the importance of the economical processes in the growth of their identity. This paper emphasizes the youth understanding of political and economic processes, its influence on their everyday life, the way of living, the view about the future career and well-being, their involvement in internet activism (Have you ever been involved in internet activism?), their shopping habits (Does politics/economics ever influence what you buy?), the terms of film, book, music choice (Do you like films, books or music that have an obvious political message?) and in what way the different processes construct their identities. |
| Keywords: | Youth, Lifstyle, Identity, Political and economic processes |
| JEL: | Z10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sek:iacpro:1003393&r=cis |