Non-commodity Exports Can Boost Russia’s GDP Growth
Data from Rosstat and the Federal Customs Service suggest that import substitution – not limited to substituted Ukrainian imports – has played a major role in keeping the Russian economy from recession in the first half of 2014. However, Russia cannot expect to achieve a sustained and dynamic GDP growth without boosting exports, in particular its non-commodity exports, according to expert analysis in Comments on State and Business published by the HSE's Centre for Development.
Poor Health Keeps Pensioners from Working
A satisfactory health condition and a low pension could theoretically be what make pensioners continue working in the first years after beginning their well-deserved relaxation. The main medical factors that keep older individuals from working are disability, the aftermath of strokes and frequent hospital treatment, Ekaterina Maltseva, a Research Assistant at HSE’s Laboratory of Economic Research of the Public Sector, said in the study, 'The Impact of Health on the Labour Supply of Pensioners'.
Banks Hinder Industry Development
Despite its thriving banking sector, Russia's industrial production remains stagnant, as financial institutions are failing to support development in the real sector. Vassilisa Makarova, Associate Professor at the HSE's Department of Financial Markets and Financial Management (Faculty of Economics, St. Petersburg), and Andrei Krylov, postgraduate student at St. Petersburg State University of Economics, examined the controversial relationship between Russian banks and industry.
Growing Demand Revives Retail
A seasonal revival in consumer demand stimulated an increase inretail trade in Q2 2014. Food retail showed the best results, but intensified moods to save household earnings, a slowdown in income growth, high inflation, and difficulties in obtaining consumer credit might soon change the situation, according to experts from the Centre for Business Tendency Studies at the Institute for Statistical Studies and Economics of Knowledge at the Higher School of Economics in their latest monitoring of the retail business climate.
The Natural Gas Deal with China Won't Help Russia's Economy
Russia's cooperation with China on a natural gas deal over the next few years will marginally improve Russia's economic performance and bring additional revenues, but is unlikely to offset the country’s sluggish economic growth rates, according to the recent issue of 'New Comments on the State and Business' published by the HSE Centre of Development Institute.
No 'Culture of Poverty' in Russia Yet
Despite the wide income gap between the rich and poor in Russia, their basic values and attitudes are not dissimilar. However, there are indications of an impending rift, says Svetlana Mareeva, Associate Professor of the HSE's Sub-department of Socio-Economic Systems and Social Policy, based on her findings from a survey of poor Russians.
Food as a Weapon
The ability to provide enough food for yourself, and have a surfeit to sell for export, is becoming a way for states to influence world politics and the economy, says Alina Savelyeva, assistant to the Dean at the HSE Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs. In the lecture she delivered at the HSE’s XV April International Conference 'The role of food potential in modern international politics', Savelyeva considers the mechanisms of how food can be a weapon.
The Importance of a Good Diagnosis
Sebastian Galiani, Professor of Economics at the University of Maryland and Visiting Professor at Universidad de San Andres, will deliver a public lecture at the HSE’s XV April International Academic Conference on Economic and Social Development. In advance of next week's Conference, the HSE News Service conducted this brief interview with Professor Galiani.
One Person in Two Lives in Debt in Russian Small Towns
Some 45% of residents in Russia’s small towns live with loans, and 23% have problems with repayments. A lack of financial literacy is the main cause of the problem. Formal credit has replaced informal borrowing and lending between community members and local retailers, Grigory Yudin and Ivan Pavlyutkin found in their study 'Debt and the Community: Two Debt-driven Economies of Small Towns'.
Economics and Gender
On Wednesday, December 11, 2013, Nancy Folbre, Professor of Economics, University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA, will give a talk at the Faculty of Sociology of the HSE within the International Research Seminar Series ‘Sociologies of Morality’. She is a feminist economist who focuses on economics and the family (or family economics), non-market work and the economics of care. We spoke to Nancy Folbre before the lecture.