‘We have Formed a Unique Partnership Network of Some of the Strongest Think Tanks in the World’
The research and development of new approaches to antitrust regulation in the digital sector, the agro-industrial sector, the pharmaceutical industry, and other markets remain the main focus of the work of the BRICS Competition Law and Policy Centre, which operates within HSE University. The Centre's Supervisory Board recently endorsed its work conducted over the past year and supported its agenda for this year.
The Centre's experts continue to work in several areas of research, said Alexey Ivanov, Director of the BRICS Competition Law and Policy Centre, at the meeting of the Supervisory Board. For example, the topic of revising approaches to antitrust regulation in digital markets has become particularly relevant following the economic turmoil of 2020, which became a new growth driver for global digital companies. The rapid build-up of power by digital giants in global and national markets requires a flexible and responsive regulatory response, he noted.
Another important BRICS Centre’s research project focuses on global food chains. Agricultural producers are now in the grip of an oligopoly of companies providing the means of production on the one hand and large trading houses on the other. A large-scale monopolisation of the production of seeds, agrochemicals and fertilisers has occurred on the world market. Already today, this has a significant impact on the development of the Russian agricultural sector, increasing its global vulnerability, and in the long term we can discuss even greater challenges for the Russian agricultural sector.
How can we change the balance of power in global food markets? Last year, the Centre's empirical study on combating cross-border cartel experiences served as the methodological basis for the formation of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Working Group on Cartel Control. A second phase of the study has now commenced, which will identify further challenges in distinguishing and investigating cross-border cartels and propose ways to overcome them. The problem of cartels has attracted attention at the highest level. President of Russia Vladimir Putin appealed to the Prosecutor General's Office on March 17 this year to closely monitor cartels. According to the president, they lead to higher prices on the market, which causes suffering to ordinary people.
The pharmaceutical market is another important area of work for the Centre. How can a balance be struck between the availability of the latest drugs on the one hand and the commercial interests of big pharma on the other? This is a question to which the experts are looking for an answer.
The Centre has also launched a new research project to develop cyber tools and methods for antitrust agencies. These will facilitate a more accurate assessment of complex relationships in markets and will be actively used to analyse relationships in a digital economy built on access to large data sets.
Alexey Ivanov
We have formed a unique partnership network of some of the strongest think tanks in the world, which includes both BRICS research institutes and recognised Western research organisations. We have recently launched a comprehensive project with the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis IIASA, based in Vienna. As a result of this work, we expect to build a comprehensive mathematical model that will allow us to describe the complex and multidirectional processes that take place in the contemporary digital environment. We hope to use it to identify crisis phenomena in the industry and implement mechanisms for proactive anti-trust regulation, including at the level of international cooperation.
The project is a continuation of research work on the regulation of digital platforms that forms part of the Centre's expert support of the BRICS Working Group on Research on Competition Issues in Digital Markets. The results of the research will be presented at the VII BRICS Competition Conference to be held in September 2021 in Chengdu, China.
Commenting on the Centre's work, Andrey Zhulin, Vice Rector, Director of the Office for Expert Analysis at HSE University, noted that the Centre is actively developing an interdisciplinary approach as part of its research agenda, which is particularly valuable. ‘For example, the project to develop cybernetic methods for identifying new antitrust challenges in the digital environment is being implemented at the intersection of information technology, mathematics, economics and law, and with an international partner,’ he said.
Andrey Tsarikovsky, Deputy Head of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Russian Federation (FAS), pointed out that COVID-19 has forced adjustments to the busy agenda of the Centre in 2020 and suggested that the focus in 2021 should be on outreach work. ‘We should talk about the importance of the BRICS International Centre itself as well as about interesting case studies of the BRICS antitrust agencies.
The BRICS Competition Law and Policy Centre was established following the VI BRICS Competition Conference, which took place in 2019. Last September the Russian Government supported the development of BRICS Competition Law and Policy Centre at HSE University. The Centre was established as an independent structural unit of HSE University at the initiative of the Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service and with the support of the BRICS antimonopoly authorities. At last November's XII BRICS summit, held via video conference, the Centre was hailed as a success for the Russian Chairmanship in Competition Protection and recognised as a promising area of cooperation. The Centre's Supervisory Board includes Andrey Zhulin, Vice Rector and Director of the Office for Expert Analysis at HSE University, Andrey Tsarikovsky, Deputy Head of the Russian FAS, and Pavel Snisorenko, Director of the Department for International Financial Relations of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation. The meeting of the Supervisory Board, to summarise the past year’s results and approve plans for 2021, was held on March 26 this year.
See also:
‘Seeing Moscow Ranked First among the Cities of BRICS Countries Is Pleasant, but Not Surprising’
An international consortium of research organisations from China, India, and Russia, including HSE University’s Faculty of Urban and Regional Development represented by experts from the Vysokovsky Graduate School of Urban Studies and Planning and the Centre for Social Research and Technological Innovation (CITY), is developing an index of technological and spatial urban development (the Urban & Innovation Environment Index). Recently, a list of the top 10 largest cities of the BRICS countries was published on the project’s website. The Russian capital took the first place in the ranking, followed by Beijing, Shanghai, Sao Paulo, and Guangzhou.
‘The BRICS Centre will Help Transfer Best Practices in Antitrust Regulation to Africa’
At the Russia-Africa Forum held last week, HSE University’s International BRICS Competition Law and Policy Centre, in collaboration with the Federal Antimonopoly Service of Russia, organised a discussion on ‘The Fight against Anticompetitive Practices of Large TNCs, Cross-Border Cartel Combatting, and International Cooperation.’
‘The BRICS Strategic Partnership Offers the World Creative, Unifying, Forward-Looking Initiatives’
Today, BRICS has become an influential factor in modern international relations and is perceived as one of the pillars of a more just world order. This association is not based on one party’s dominance, but instead, is built on a sound balance of interests. The role of the association was discussed by the participants of the plenary session ‘BRICS Development Strategy: Equal Opportunities in an Unequal World’at the XXIV Yasin (April) International Academic Conference.
BRICS, W20 and Negotiations with Universities: Highlights of the HSE Delegation's Visit to India
An HSE University delegation led by Vice Rector Victoria Panova made a working visit to India in March 2023. HSE representatives took part in the eighth Raisina Dialogue multilateral conference, spoke at a meeting within the framework of the Women 20 (W20), and also held a number of bilateral meetings with leading Indian universities.
Russia Strengthens Its Position in the International Antitrust Community
India is playing a special role on the international stage this year. Apart from chairing the G20, in October the country is hosting the VIII BRICS Competition Conference, which is held every two years. The HSE International BRICS Competition Law and Policy Centre is involved in developing the programme and organising the conference. Alexey Ivanov, Director of the Centre, recently became a member of the International Advisory Board of India's Centre for Competition, Investment and Economic Regulation—CUTS.
Pivot to the East: A Comprehensive Study of the Cultural and Civilisational Centres of the Non-Western World is the Top Priority
China and the Chinese world, South Asia, Southeast Asia, the Arab countries, Iran, Turkey, Central Asia and Africa are gaining new significance in Russia’s foreign policy. However, we do not know enough about the Eastern countries. It is necessary to change the priorities in education, starting from grammar school. Prospects for the development of domestic Oriental studies in the context of the new stage in the development of the system of international relations were discussed at a round table at HSE University.
‘I Admire HSE Students’ Eagerness to Learn, to Discuss, to Broaden Their Perspectives’
Robert Romanowski was a ‘Digital Professor’ at HSE University in November 2021. In his interview for the HSE News Service, he talked about the specifics of online teaching, his course on Strategic Branding, and the skills that are essential for marketing professionals today.
Russia and Africa: Time to Expand Cooperation
There is major potential for economic and humanitarian cooperation between Russia and African countries. Particularly, Russian organisations and universities can help transfer competencies and knowledge in the fields of agriculture, energy, industrial production, environmental management, climate change, and public administration. Experts and representatives of African embassies in Russia discussed these issues at the round table ‘Russia-Africa Sharing Knowledge’ hosted by HSE University.
The Brain in Space: Investigating the Effects of Long Spaceflights on Space Travellers
As part of an international project conducted with the participation of Roscosmos and the European Space Agency, a team of researchers used differential tractography to analyse dMRI scans ofcosmonauts’ brains and found significant changes in brain connectivity, with some of the changes persisting after seven months back on Earth. The paper is published in Frontiers in Neural Circuits.
HSE University-Perm and the Training Centre of the Uzbek Ministry of Finance Sign Cooperation Agreement
HSE University in Perm has become the first academic partner of the Training Centre under the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Uzbekistan. The parties have signed a cooperation agreement in education and research.