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on Confederation of Independent States |
| By: | Garanina, Olga (BOFIT) |
| Abstract: | The objective of the paper is to study Russia's pattern of specialisation in the manufactures trade since 1998. Russia's global trade balance for manufactures is rapidly deteriorating. However, the trade pattern in manufactures should be differentiated according to Russia’s main trading partners: the European Union (EU), the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and China. On the basis of trade indicator analysis (revealed comparative advantages and Grubel-Lloyd index of intra-industry trade), we show that Russia is globally disadvantaged in the manufactures trade vis-à-vis the EU and China, and advantaged in the trade with the within the CIS. Russia is managing to expand its manufactured exports to other CIS countries. However, it is gradually losing its role of main supplier of capital goods in the post-Soviet space. |
| Keywords: | international trade; trade specialisation; revealed comparative advantage; intra-industry trade; Russia |
| JEL: | F14 |
| Date: | 2009–01–13 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:bofitp:2008_023&r=cis |
| By: | Gimpelson, Vladimir (CLMS, Moscow Higher School of Economics); Kapeliushnikov, Rostislav (CLMS, Moscow Higher School of Economics); Lukiyanova, Anna (CLMS, Moscow Higher School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | In order to remain competitive, firms need to keep the quantity and composition of jobs close to the optimal for their given output. Since the beginning of the transition period, Russian industrial firms have been widely reporting that the quantity and composition of hired labor is far from being close to optimal. This paper discusses what kinds of firms in the Russian manufacturing sector are not able to optimize their employment and why. Do they suffer from a labor shortage induced by rapid growth, or are they still struggling with employment overhang? What are the occupations and skills in which there is a supposed surplus or shortage? What factors affect the probability that a firm will report non-optimal employment and be unable to solve this difficulty? Where is the labor excess/shortage concentrated and what makes it persistent? Finally, we discuss the costs of non-optimal employment. The analysis presented in this article is based on the data from a large-scale survey of Russian manufacturing firms. |
| Keywords: | labour shortage, skills, training, transition economies, Russia |
| JEL: | J23 J24 |
| Date: | 2009–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp3934&r=cis |
| By: | Fungácová , Zuzana (BOFIT); Solanko, Laura (BOFIT) |
| Abstract: | The Russian banking sector has experienced enormous growth rates during the last 6-7 years. The rapid growth of assets has, however, contributed to a decrease in the capital adequacy ratio, thus influencing the ability of banks to cope with risk. Using quarterly data spanning from 1999 to 2007 on all Russian banks, we investigate the relationship between bank characteristics and risk-taking by Russian banks. The analysis of financial ratios reveals that, on average, the risk levels are still below those observed in Central and Eastern Europe. Combining the group-wise comparisons of financial ratios and the results of insolvency risk analysis based on fixed effects vector decomposition, three main conclusions emerge. First, controlling for bank characteristics, large banks have higher insolvency risk than small ones. Second, foreign-owned banks exhibit higher insolvency risk than domestic banks and large state-controlled banks are, unlike other state-controlled banks, more stable. Third, we find that the regional banks engage in significantly more risk-taking than their counterparts in Moscow. |
| Keywords: | bank risk-taking; banks in transition; Russia |
| JEL: | G21 G32 P34 |
| Date: | 2009–01–13 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:bofitp:2008_021&r=cis |
| By: | Shumilov, Andrei (BOFIT) |
| Abstract: | Transition economies like Russia lack properly functioning financial markets and institutions, which results in severe agency and information problems. Business groups in such markets have the potential to offer benefits to member firms, but they also may destroy value. Using a unique database on membership in Russian business groups, we analyze the relationship between group affiliation and firm performance on the basis of a large panel of manufacturing firms for the period 1999-2002. We find that group membership has a positive effect on productive efficiency, but gains from improved productivity in group affiliates do not adequately translate into higher profitability. This is consistent with the expropriation hypothesis, according to which controlling owners of groups extract private benefits by siphoning profits from their members. Among the different group categories delineated by type of controlling owner, the extent of profit dissipation is especially large in groups controlled by private domestic owners, who face a greater risk of possible future expropriation of property. Finally, we examine two potential sources of benefits of membership in business groups: mutual insurance among affiliated firms and preferential treatment from the state via subsidies and tolerated tax arrears. We find that, during the period studied, groups neither provided mutual insurance nor did they receive larger support from the state than unaffiliated firms. Together with findings from the previous literature indicating that, prior to the 1998 financial crisis, group firms benefited from more efficient allocation of capital within groups than in the rest of the economy but not after the crisis, our results suggest that the advantages of group membership recede as the economic and institutional environment gradually improves. |
| Keywords: | business groups; firm performance; transition economy; Russia |
| JEL: | G30 L20 |
| Date: | 2009–01–13 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:bofitp:2008_024&r=cis |
| By: | Gimpelson, Vladimir (CLMS, Moscow Higher School of Economics); Lukiyanova, Anna (CLMS, Moscow Higher School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | The paper starts with discussing institutional framework for public sector wage setting in Russia. Given that individual choice of the sector is endogenous to wages, the authors recommend alternative econometric techniques for the public-private wage gap estimation. Applying switching regression that allows correcting for non-random sector selection, the paper provides wage gap estimates for various demographic, occupational, and territorial population subgroups. As it is shown, there is significant cross-group variation in the wage gap. The paper concludes that to eliminate the negative gap wages in the public sector should be linked to the private sector wages at the regional level. |
| Keywords: | public sector |
| JEL: | J31 J45 |
| Date: | 2009–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp3941&r=cis |