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on Confederation of Independent States |
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Issue of 2015‒08‒01
ten papers chosen by |
| By: | Ichiro Iwasaki (Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, using panel data of industrial firms obtained from unique questionnaire surveys conducted all over the Russian Federation in 2005 and 2009, we trace structural change in corporate governance systems before and after the global financial crisis and empirically examine their determinants. We found that, during this period, Russian firms improved the quality of corporate governance across the entire industrial sector. Furthermore, our empirical evidence strongly supports a hypothesis regarding the relationship between outside ownership and board composition as well as that concerning the impact of outside directorship on the audit system. Meanwhile, our estimation results also indicate the possibility that the global financial crisis has brought about asymmetric changes, in the sense that it enhanced the independence of corporate boards, while it deteriorated the independence of the audit system, thus, partially rejecting our prediction with respect to the disciplinary effect of the crisis on the corporate governance system. |
| Keywords: | global financial crisis, ownership change, evolution of corporate governance, board composition, audit system, Russia |
| JEL: | D22 G01 G34 M42 P34 |
| Date: | 2015–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kyo:wpaper:925&r=cis |
| By: | Djuric, Ivan; Götz, Linde; Glauben, Thomas |
| Abstract: | In this paper we analyze the impact of the Russian ban on import of pig meat originating in the EU on the domestic pig meat price developments in Russia. We use a regime-switching price transmission model in order to identify possible changes in the long-run equilibrium between the pig meat prices of Russia and its main non-EU trading partners. Our results indicate the reduction of transaction costs in pig meat trade between Russia and its main non-EU trading partners, followed by the increase in transmission of price changes in the long-run. Though, our results indicate completely opposite results concerning domestic price relations between wholesale and end consumer pig meat prices in Russia. Overall, faced with the scarcity of pig meat on the domestic market, Russian consumers bear the biggest burden from the ban in the medium term by being faced with the significant increase in end consumer pig meat prices. |
| Keywords: | import ban, pig meat, price transmission, Russia, Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Demand and Price Analysis, Food Security and Poverty, International Relations/Trade, C22, I31, P22, Q11, Q17, Q18, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea15:205330&r=cis |
| By: | Sierz Naurodski; Uladzimir Valetka |
| Abstract: | Eurasian Economic Union, an ambitious project intended to benefit the countries in the post-soviet zone, evokes questions about its future. Is pulling together regional cooperation and tightening its relationship with Russia beneficial to Belarus in the long run? Having analyzed the recent trends in trade, labor and capital flows, Sierž Naurodski and Uladzimir Valetka shed light on the highly questionable nature of potential benefits the Union could bring to Belarussian economy within its current macroeconomic and institutional framework |
| Keywords: | Trade, economic integration and globalization, Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia |
| JEL: | F10 F15 |
| Date: | 2015–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sec:bresem:0138&r=cis |
| By: | Eduardo R. Gomes |
| Abstract: | Ao enfocar as relações entre Estado e sociedade em países como Brasil, Rússia, Índia, China e África do Sul (BRICS), tomados como exemplo de economias emergentes, este texto analisa os conselhos de assessoramento ao Executivo do Brasil, África do Sul e Índia como meios de expansão das capacidades estatais de interação do Estado com a sociedade, eventualmente propiciando ideias para políticas de desenvolvimento no contexto pós-neoliberal. Em termos gerais, argumenta-se que as diferentes formas pelas quais se estruturaram e a igualmente diversa dinâmica de funcionamento dos conselhos estudados fazem variar o potencial de expansão das capacidades estatais. Ao final, enfatizam-se as contribuições dos conselhos da Índia e África do Sul para aperfeiçoar as experiências brasileiras By focusing on the relationship between state and society in countries like Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS), taken as an example of emerging economies, this paper analyzes the advisory counsel to the Executive from Brazil, South Africa and India as a means of expanding state capacity state interaction with society, eventually providing ideas for policy development in the post-neoliberal context. Overall, it is argued that the different ways were structured and the equally diverse working of the studied advice do vary the potential for expansion of state capacity. Finally, we emphasize the contributions of India and South Africa councils to improve the Brazilian experiences. |
| Date: | 2015–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipe:ipetds:2102&r=cis |
| By: | Imamverdiyev, Nizami; Anders, Sven; Glauben, Thomas; Perekhozhuk, Oleksandr; Prehn, Sören |
| Abstract: | The objective of this study is to analyze the trade duration patterns of Kazakhstan’s wheat exports between 1995 and 2012. Using 4-digit HS code trade flow data we employ a discrete-time duration framework and probit models explicitly testing for unobserved heterogeneity across bilateral trade relationships. The empirical results indicate that trade cost, local production factors, price competitiveness and experience significantly explain the short duration of Kazakhstan’s wheat exports. The results imply that the stability and thus sustainability of Kazakhstan’s wheat exports critically depend on the market share of Russian wheat exports, abolishing restrictive export policies, and maintaining good trade relationships with traditional trading partners, especially post-Soviet Union economies. |
| Keywords: | Wheat exports, trade duration analysis, probit, Kazakhstan, Agricultural and Food Policy, International Relations/Trade, C41, Q17, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea15:205391&r=cis |
| By: | Momin, Ebaad; Masih, Mansur |
| Abstract: | ‘When the United States sneezes, the world catches a cold. And when America recovers, the planet has a spring in its step’ – For decades together, this metaphor has seemed an accurate description of the global economy. Through this paper we have tried to examine the short and long term dependence structure between the stock markets of emerging markets and influential global factors (US economic policy uncertainty, the global risk aversion and the cheap borrowing costs in the US) using the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) as a case study. The study applies the ‘Auto-Regressive Distributed Lag’ (ARDL) technique (Pesaran, Shin, &Smith, Journal of Applied Econometrics, 2001) which has taken care of a major limitation of the conventional cointegrating tests, in that they suffer from the pre test biases. Based on the above rigorous methodology, our evidence tends to suggest that although there have been studies which indicate the impact of the disturbances stemming from the developed world, in the long- run there is a limited impact of these on the BRICS equity markets. These findings are plausible and have strong policy implications for portfolio investing and diversifications by investing in the emerging markets as the BRICS equities could function as a hedge against negative shocks from the developed economies. |
| Keywords: | US Policy Uncertainty, Risk Aversion, Leverage, Emerging Market Equities, BRICS |
| JEL: | C22 C58 E44 |
| Date: | 2015–06–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:65834&r=cis |
| By: | Olegs Krasnopjorovs (Bank of Latvia) |
| Abstract: | Whether current unemployment in Latvia is mostly structural or cyclical recently provoked an intense debate among policy makers and academic researchers. This paper follows the method proposed by Barlevy (2011) to estimate natural and cyclical components of unemployment from the Beveridge curve model. It finds that at the end of 2014 unemployment in Latvia was quite similar to its natural rate. Zero cyclical component of unemployment suggests that aggregate-demand-stimulating policies would not bring unemployment down without creating inflationary pressures and competitiveness loss and, therefore, are not a preferred option. Instead, raising matching efficiency between the unemployed and vacancies would decrease natural unemployment from its current high of about 11%. Moreover, it was found that the lowest matching efficiency between the unemployed and vacancies is present among workers (compared to managers and professionals) and typical for Latgale region. This might reflect significant structural problems rather than low business cycle synchronisation with the other occupational groups and regions. |
| Keywords: | unemployment, vacancies, Beveridge curve, cyclical unemployment, natural unemployment, structural unemployment |
| JEL: | J63 J64 E24 E60 |
| Date: | 2015–07–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ltv:dpaper:201502&r=cis |
| By: | Bashorat, Ismailova |
| Keywords: | International Development, International Relations/Trade, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, |
| Date: | 2013–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:ugidic:189912&r=cis |
| By: | Kulyk, Iryna; Herzfeld, Thomas |
| Abstract: | According to prospects of international organisations like OECD and FAO, Ukraine will be one of the important suppliers of agricultural products on the world market in the coming decade. Thus, Ukrainian agricultural production and exports are important elements in sustaining global food security. However, the country threatens global food security as well as its own agricultural development when applying grain export restrictions, as happened several times in recent years. Therefore, any impediments to grain trade in the country should be carefully inspected. In this paper we analyse recent developments of Ukrainian agricultural policy influencing grain trade. We show that any export restriction brings large welfare losses compared to a free trade situation. We support our claim by a comparative analysis of the different export policies applied by the Ukrainian government on the domestic wheat market between 2006 and 2014. Additionally, we suggest and discuss alternative policy responses to realise the policy goal of domestic food security. As the policies applied, export tax, export quota and tax reimbursement, cannot be compared directly we quantify the tax equivalent of each trade policy measure. Under a set of specific assumptions the tax equivalent can be used to compare the effects of policies theoretically and empirically. Our findings go along with theory and show that export quotas in 2006 and in 2010 had a more restrictive effect on export than export taxes in 2011. Effects of non-reimbursement of VAT are very close to the effects of export tax in 2011 (at the level of 9%), mainly because most of the time these two measures were implemented simultaneously. We also calculated tariff equivalent of VAT non-reimbursement excluding the period of export taxes. Based on these results, the measure corresponds to a slight decline of the tariff equivalent in absolute terms. As an alternative policy option for the Ukrainian government to respond more efficiently to increasing world market prices in the future it is advised to use consumer-oriented measures for the most vulnerable groups of people instead of distorting market mechanisms. |
| Keywords: | export restrictions, non-tariff barriers, Ukraine, wheat trade, Agribusiness, |
| Date: | 2015–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iefi15:206218&r=cis |
| By: | Elena Jarocinska; Anna Ruzik-Sierdzinska; Theo Nijman; Andres Vork; Niku Määttänen; Robert Gál |
| Abstract: | Life expectancies are rapidly increasing and uncertain in all countries in Europe. To keep pension systems affordable, policy reforms are to be implemented which will encourage individuals to work longer. In this paper we analyze the impact of working and living longer on pension incomes in five European countries and assess the impact of these policy reforms on the financial well-being of the elderly. The paper shows the diversity of the policy measures taken in these countries. Furthermore, we analyze the financial incentives for working longer and postponing claiming pension benefits and we assess the attractiveness of these options. Lastly, we study how increases in life expectancies and survival probabilities affect pension incomes. |
| Keywords: | pension benefits, life expectancy, retirement age, policy reforms |
| JEL: | H55 J11 J26 |
| Date: | 2014–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sec:cnstan:0476&r=cis |