|
on Confederation of Independent States |
| By: | Olga Lazareva (New Economic School (NES), Center for Economic and Financial Research (CEFIR), Center for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)); Konstantin Sonin (Stockholm School of Economics, Stockholm; Centre for Economic and Financial Research (CEFIR), Moscow) |
| Abstract: | The move of five million Russian and Russian-speaking people from the former Soviet Union countries to Russia which took place during 1990s has been studied by demographers, sociologists and to a lesser extent by economists. This paper presents a study of the labor market outcomes for the Russian migrants to Russia, using the data from a representative survey of the Russian population in 2004 and 2005. Author focuses on the location choice by Russian immigrants and tests the hypothesis of skill sorting across regions. It is shown that in the regions with low fraction of immigrant population immigrants are doing better in terms of employment opportunities than local population while in the regions with high fraction of immigrants they are doing worse than locals. This result is consistent with the hypothesis that immigrants choose regions where the demand for their skills is high and compete for the jobs with fellow immigrants rather than with locals. Wage premiums for the migrants are found in some occupations but not in others. The results of the analysis indicate that the Russian migration to Russia has played some equilibrating role in the regional labor markets in presence of high barriers for internal labor migration. |
| Keywords: | migration, regional labor markets, wages, employment |
| JEL: | J61 J31 |
| Date: | 2008–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cfr:cefirw:w0117&r=cis |
| By: | Osipian, Ararat |
| Abstract: | This study analyses the role of education in economic development in the republics of the former Socialist Bloc and more specifically the impact of human capital on per capita economic growth in transition economies in the Russian Federation, and Ukraine. The factors that are associated with the human capital in terms of education levels are analyzed in order to measure this impact. Our approach is to estimate the significance of educational levels for initiating substantial economic growth. We estimate a system of linear and log-linear equations accounting for different time lags in the possible impact of human capital on economic growth. |
| Keywords: | education; human capital; growth; transition; Russia; Ukraine |
| JEL: | O47 P24 J24 |
| Date: | 2007–01–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:8463&r=cis |
| By: | Natalia Kuznetsova; Irina Peaucelle |
| Abstract: | This article investigates the relationships between the evolution of Russian social psychology and the transformations of the modes of education in Russia. Social psychology is a science born the last century and also a status of the social conscience of people, forged historically on the basis of proper cultural artifacts. In Russia education is mainly the process of human development and, like wherever, it is the institution of knowledge transmission. We show on the case of Russian history that the scientifically proven educational practice can contribute enriching development of social conscience after ideological and economic shocks. |
| Date: | 2008 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pse:psecon:2008-23&r=cis |
| By: | Karas, Alexei (BOFIT); Schoors , Koen (BOFIT); Weill, Laurent (BOFIT) |
| Abstract: | We study whether bank efficiency is related to bank ownership in Russia. We find that foreign banks are more efficient than domestic private banks and – surprisingly – that domestic private banks are not more efficient than domestic public banks. These results are not driven by the choice of production process, the bank’s environment, management’s risk preferences, the bank’s activity mix or size, or the econometric approach. The evidence in fact suggests that domestic public banks are more efficient than domestic private banks and that the efficiency gap between these two ownership types did not narrow after the introduction of deposit insurance in 2004. This may be due to increased switching costs or to the moral hazard effects of deposit insurance. The policy conclusion is that the efficiency of the Russian banking system may benefit more from increased levels of competition and greater access of foreign banks than from bank privatization. |
| Keywords: | Bank Efficiency; State Ownership; Foreign ownership; Russia |
| JEL: | G21 P30 P34 P52 |
| Date: | 2008–04–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:bofitp:2008_003&r=cis |
| By: | Cerami, Alfio |
| Abstract: | This paper provides a brief description of the main systemic problems (strukturprobleme) of post-communist capitalism(s), as well as exploring the main changes occurring in the social structure and the subsequent new social risks and welfare state responses emerging. It shows that post communist societies are characterized by more intense strukturprobleme, which are resulting in the materialization of broader social risks types and groups. As a consequence of a difficult and still uncompleted process of recalibration (functional, distributive, normative and institutional), the welfare states in Central and Eastern Europe and in the Russian Federation are called to face a double burden of responsibilities: they must ensure protection against old and new social risks for a larger proportion of citizens than those in the West, while, simultaneously, dealing with the most serious social, economic and political challenges stemming from the transition. |
| Keywords: | Central and Eastern Europe; social policy; welfare state; welfare regime; transition economies; Russian Federation |
| JEL: | P30 D31 O10 N30 P51 D61 J18 P26 |
| Date: | 2007 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:8479&r=cis |
| By: | Osipian, Ararat |
| Abstract: | This paper considers corruption in higher education in Ukraine as reflected in the national media, including such aspects as corruption in admissions to higher education institutions and corruption in administering the newly introduced standardized test. The major focus is on the opinions of the leading figures of the education reform on corruption in education. The national media presents points of view of both supporters of the reform and those in opposition to the reform. Despite disbelief that the standardized test faces among the leading educators and legislators, including politicians and rectors of higher education institutions, the government continues implementation of the reform. Even though the standardized test is not expected to solve the problem of corruption in education, as follows from the media reports and comments, its full scale country-wide implementation at this point appears to be a question of time. |
| Keywords: | bribery; corruption; higher education; mass media; opinions; Ukraine |
| JEL: | P36 D73 P37 |
| Date: | 2007–01–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:8464&r=cis |
| By: | Osipian, Ararat |
| Abstract: | Corruption in higher education is a newly emerging topic in the field of education research. There is a phenomenal growth in the number of media reports on corruption in higher education over the last decade. However, the rigorous systematic research on education corruption is virtually nonexistent. This paper considers corruption in higher education as reflected in the world media, including such aspects of corruption as its prevalence, patterns, and dominating forms. It follows publications in the specialized and the non-specialized media outlets in the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Russian Federation. The publications are grouped depending on the particular problem they address. This criterion has been chosen as best addressing the issue of corruption internationally. Socio-economic context of educational reforms and changes in each country leaves its print on major forms of corruption in higher education. The findings help to determine which aspects of corruption in higher education should be given more consideration in the future research and which ones might be prioritized, as well as how the national systems of higher education can be improved. |
| Keywords: | corruption; higher education; media; Russia; UK; US |
| JEL: | I23 I21 K42 |
| Date: | 2007–11–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:8475&r=cis |
| By: | Kozluk, Tomasz (BOFIT) |
| Abstract: | In a broad sample of developed and emerging economies over the past ten years we apply the approximate factor model in a search for common global and regional driving-forces in stock market returns and volatility. We focus particularly on two emerging stock markets - Russia and China, because of their unique characteristics and performance in the past years. We find that while Russian markets, like the CEEC region, substantially increased their integration with global stock markets, both the Chinese A- and B-share markets continued to move largely independently from global movements and only slightly increased in comovement with regional forces. We provide evidence of a general increase in global comovement of stock markets over the past decade and a decline in the role of regional forces, which imply a decrease of the effectiveness of cross-country hedging strategies. |
| Keywords: | stock markets; financial integration; Russia; China; global and regional integration |
| JEL: | F36 G11 G14 |
| Date: | 2008–04–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:bofitp:2008_004&r=cis |