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on Confederation of Independent States |
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Issue of 2016‒10‒30
twelve papers chosen by |
| By: | Kožar, Maja; Pintar, Marjeta; Volk, Tina; Rednak, Miro; Rac, Ilona; Erjavec, Emil |
| Abstract: | The paper presents the agriculture and agricultural policies of eight countries emerging from the former Soviet Union: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Moldova, Ukraine, Russia, Georgia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. These countries hold a great agricultural production potential; nevertheless, some of them are still relatively unanalysed from the point of view of agricultural policy. One of the aims was to find out whether and how policies are converging, considering recent geopolitical developments. Policy analysis was conducted qualitatively (document analysis and literature review) and quantitatively by applying the OECD PSE approach to analyse sector policy support. The quantitative analysis of the agri-food sector was based on the data collected in the framework of the AGRICISTRADE project. The key issues in the region are food security and competitiveness; policy approaches range from strong interventionism to almost complete liberalisation. Budgetary support is relatively low compared to averages for EU and OECD countries. Transfers to producers dominate in all countries, especially input subsidies and on-farm investment support, whereas the support to rural development and for general services is weak. While the prices for crops are near world prices, prices for animal products are fairly high in some countries, indicating high developmental needs. Based on the results of the analysis, it is possible to discern four rough political/economic clusters of countries: Transcaucasia countries, Russia and Kazakhstan,Ukraine and Moldova and Belarus. |
| Keywords: | Eastern European Neighbourhood, CIS, agriculture, agricultural policy, producer support, PSE, AGRICISTRADE, Agricultural and Food Policy, |
| Date: | 2016–09–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaa155:245877&r=cis |
| By: | Wolf, Verena; Deppermann, Andre; Tabeau, Andrzej; Banse, Martin; van Berkum, Siemen; Haß, Marlen; Havlik, Petr; Philippidis, George; Salamon, Petra; Verma, Monika |
| Abstract: | Several economic models project global agricultural market developments. In each of these models, certain relevant aspects influencing agricultural markets are underrepresented. In order to overcome this, three economic models are linked to each other, namely GLOBIOM, AGMEMOD and MAGNET. The method to link these models consists of several parts: mapping, harmonization, data transfer, scenario development and successive model runs. The developed Model Junction Linkage Tool (MOJITO) facilitates and automates these parts. In addition to a common baseline scenario, two scenarios reflecting two important factors in the future development of wheat markets in Ukraine and Russia are analyzed. While the baseline results differ widely between the models the scenarios develop in a similar fashion. |
| Keywords: | Economic modeling, Wheat market, Russia, Ukraine, Yield gap, Trade policies, Agricultural and Food Policy, International Relations/Trade, |
| Date: | 2016–09–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaa155:245878&r=cis |
| By: | Epstein, David; Curtiss, Jarmila |
| Abstract: | The great diversity of farms with regard to production, ownership and/or corporate structure and significant initial undercapitalization characteristic for post-socialist countries can be assumed to form conditions that allowed for diverse farm development strategies. The aim of this paper is to identify significantly different farm capital growth trajectories that characterize structural development of Russian agriculture. Special attention is paid to financial performance and strategies of agriholding farms. We apply a semi-parametric group-based trajectory modelling approach on the financial statement data of agricultural enterprises from northwest Russia from 2001 to 2012. We identified five groups of farms with significantly different growth trajectories. Most representative for the analyzed region are farms with continuous close to zero capital growth, while other (smaller) groups of farms display high fixed capital growth of various levels. Most farms incorporated into holding structures, predominantly very large farms, are found to display high financial performance and secure gradual growth. |
| Keywords: | Financial performance, capital growth, group-based trajectory modelling, Russia, agroholdings, Agricultural and Food Policy, |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaa149:245112&r=cis |
| By: | Evgeny Yakovlev (New Economic School (NES)) |
| Abstract: | Alcohol abuse is widely blamed for the very high rate of male mortality in Russia. I specify and estimate a simple structural model of the demand for alcohol that incorporates two key features of the Russian context. First, alcohol use – particularly incidents of heavy drinking – often involves friends and (male) family members. Second, there is strong habit persistence in alcohol use: depending on the degree of forward-looking behavior by consumers, responses to a tax policy will depend on beliefs about the future path of prices. I estimate the model using panel data from the Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey (RLMS), and two alternative sources of variation in alcohol prices: a 2011 change that shifted the trend in the rate of growth of the excise tax for alcohol, and regional variation in alcohol regulations over the 1995-2014 period. To obtain direct information on peer use of alcohol, I exploit the clustered design of the RLMS, which enables me to find close neighbors for nearly all sample members. The estimation results confirm that both peer influence and habit persistence are critical determinants of the longer-run response of alcohol demand to price changes. One third of the predicted 30% reduction in the rate of heavy drinking caused by a 50% permanent increase in vodka prices, for example, is attributed to the social multiplier effect that emerges as groups of friends jointly reduce their consumption. Finally, I use the RLMS data to relate patterns of heavy drinking to mortality. The estimates imply that permanent increases in alcohol prices would yield significant reductions in male mortality. |
| Date: | 2016–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cfr:cefirw:w0221&r=cis |
| By: | Petrović, Dragan; Bukvić, Rajko |
| Abstract: | Serbian Abstract. У чланку се анализирају претпоставке и резултати у ратарској производњи у Волго-Вјатском рејону и у Србији. Један од дванаест економских региона Руске Федерације, Волго-Вјатски рејон налази се северно од широке зоне квалитетног чернозема у Русији, најквалитетније земље за аграр. Ипак, он и поред тога има прилично развијену пољопривреду, укључујући и ратарску производњу, док Србија спада међу водеће у аграру на Балканском полуострву. У Србији, због климатских, педолошких и неких других фактора, могућа је производња низа аграрних култура које иначе дају мање приносе у Волго-Вјатском рејону, а постоји и низ култура посебно кукуруз, воће и поврће, винова лоза, које тешко успевају или се уопште не гаје у Волго-Вјатском рејону. Стручна сарадња, али и трговинска сарадња двају ентитета може се одвијати на знатно ширем нивоу, два традиционално пријатељска народа и земље, што је и тема овог рада. English Abstract. The paper analyzes the existing conditions and current results in agricultural production in the Volga-Viatka Region and in Serbia. The Volga-Viatka Region is one of the twelve economic regions of the Russian Federation, it lies north of the vast high-quality chernozem area in Russia, covered by the highest-quality soil for farm production. However, it is characterized by quite developed agriculture, including the farm production, while the Republic of Serbia is amongst the leading farming regions in Balkan Peninsula. Due to their climatic, pedological and other factor, Serbia is suitable for the production of a number of cultures that yield less in the Volga-Viatka Region, as maiz, fruit and vegetables, vitis vinifera, and exist many cultures that can’t be produced. Professional as well as commercial and economic cooperation between the two entities can be elevated to a significantly higher level, as between the two traditionally friendly nations and countries, which is the subject of this paper. |
| Keywords: | Волго-Вјатски економски рејон, Република Србија, развој аграра, ратарска производња, физичко-географске предиспозиције, стручна и трговинска сарадња, Volga-Viatka economical region, Republic of Serbia, development of agriculture and processing industry, agricultural production, physical and geographical conditions, professional and commercial and economic cooperation |
| JEL: | O13 O57 R11 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:74739&r=cis |
| By: | Anna Grebenyuk (National Research University Higher School of Economics); Sergey Shashnov (National Research University Higher School of Economics); Alexander Sokolov (National Research University Higher School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | The paper discusses practices of science and technology priority setting with respect to national and global challenges. General approaches to priority setting with particular focus on types of priorities, selection criteria, methodologies and formal procedures are illustrated on international experience (for Germany and the UK). Recent developments and problems to be resolved in S&T priority setting are analysed in detail for the case of Russia. The solutions suggested target ensuring practical applicability, objectivity, and transparency of priority setting procedures and results. |
| Keywords: | priority setting, science and technology, socio-economic challenges |
| JEL: | O3 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hig:wpaper:67sti2016&r=cis |
| By: | Fedoseeva, Svetlana |
| Abstract: | This paper is a back-of-the-envelope attempt to assess the losses that German agri-food exporters encountered due to the Russian import ban that was introduced in August 2014 and recently has been extended for at least one more year. Looking at exports in a time-series perspective it is shown that exporters’ losses due to the boycott itself are not that severe if two earlier episodes of rather drastic export reductions are taken into account: first, due to Russian import restrictions of meat and milk products in 2013 and second, due to an increased uncertainty in European-Russian trade relations as the Ukrainian conflict escalated and sides exchanged the very first sanctions. The results suggest that although the import ban had a negative impact on German agri-food exports to Russia, its extent was not as large as one may guesstimate without considering a broader picture of trade barriers imposed by Russia on German exporters in the recent years. |
| Keywords: | Sanctions, import ban, Russia, Germany, agri-food exports, International Relations/Trade, |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:gewi16:244867&r=cis |
| By: | Romets, Dmytro; Menrad, Klaus |
| Abstract: | Investments in biogas technologies are regarded with increasing interest as an effective instrument for natural gas substitution, accelerating the recovery from the recent financial crisis in Ukraine. Yet, despite economic, environmental and social advantages of biogas and regulations implemented to support it, biogas investments remain below expectations. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the investment behaviour of Ukrainian agricultural companies regarding biogas and their reactions to the support measures. This paper aims to empirically analyse the willingness-to-invest in biogas of large Ukrainian agroholdings. Top-managers of 68 agroholdings in Ukraine were interviewed personally. We proposed and tested a conceptual model that examines the institutional and individual factors affecting the investment behaviour of agricultural companies in the context of biogas. Our findings reveal that, confirming a rational evaluation of investment opportunities, primarily financial factors affect the willingness-to-invest in biogas in Ukraine. The investment behaviour of interviewed companies is mainly influenced by payback period, investment costs and subjective perception of relative advantages of biogas. Furthermore, other decision relevant parameters like feed-in tariff and natural gas price seem to play only minor roles. However, there are systemic problems which hamper biogas investments, such as lack of capital, geopolitical uncertainty and non-reliable legislative framework for biogas production. Our results shed new light on impact of institutional and individual factors on biogas investments in the agricultural sector of Ukraine and have meaningful implications for policy actions. |
| Keywords: | Investment behaviour, agricultural sector, biogas technologies, Agribusiness, Farm Management, |
| Date: | 2016–09–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaa155:245876&r=cis |
| By: | Andrea Ascani (The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)); Riccardo Crescenzi (The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)); Simona Iammarino (The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and The John H Dunning Centre for International Business (Henley Business School, University of Reading)) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates how the location behaviour of Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) is shaped by the economic institutions of the host countries. The analysis covers a wide set of geographically proximate economies with different degrees of integration with the ‘Old’ 15 European Union (EU) members: New Member States, Accession and Candidate Countries, as well as European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) countries and the Russian Federation. The paper aims to shed new light on the heterogeneity of MNE preferences for the host countries’ regulatory settings (including labour market and business regulation), legal aspects (i.e.protection of property rights and contract enforcement) and the weight of the government in the economy. By employing data on 6,888 greenfield investment projects, the randomcoefficient Mixed Logit analysis here applied shows that, while the quality of the national institutional framework is generally beneficial for the attraction of foreign investment, MNEs preferences over economic institutions are highly heterogeneous across sectors and business functions. |
| Keywords: | multinational enterprises, economic institutions, location choice, European Union |
| JEL: | F23 P33 L20 R30 |
| Date: | 2015–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rdg:jhdxdp:jhd-dp2015-07&r=cis |
| By: | Ryzhenkov, Mykola |
| Abstract: | The paper studies resource misallocation in Ukraine’s food industry and its impact on industry’s total factor productivity during the period of 2002-2010. Applying Hsieh and Klenow (2009) framework to the dataset of 8,410 Ukrainian food producers, I found that optimal allocation of resources can potentially increase the productivity of this sector by 166-400%. The extent of misallocation in the manufacturing of food and beverages is not uniform across industries, as well as across regions of Ukraine. Results also show that in the case of optimal allocation of resources, small and medium enterprises should have a higher role in food production sector. |
| Keywords: | resource misallocation, food industry, total factor productivity, output distortions, capital distortions, Productivity Analysis, D24, D61, L66, O12, Q18, |
| Date: | 2016–09–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaa155:245173&r=cis |
| By: | Koen Schoors (National Research University Higher School of Economics); Maria Semenova (National Research University Higher School of Economics); Andrey Zubanov (University of Wisconsin-Madison) |
| Abstract: | We analyse whether depositor familiarity with a bank affects depositor behaviour during a financial crisis. We measure familiarity by looking for regional or local cues in the bank’s name. We measure depositor behaviour by the their sensitivity to observable bank risk (market discipline). Using 2001–2010 bank-level and region-level data for Russia, we find that depositors of familiar banks become less sensitive to bank risk after a financial crisis relative to depositors of unfamiliar banks. To check that the results are not driven by any implicit support of banks with regional cues in their names by regional governments, but indeed by familiarity bias, we interact the variables of interest with measures of trust in local governments and regional affinity. We find that the flight to familiarity effect is strongly present in regions with strong regional affinity, while the effect is rejected in regions with more trust in regional and local governments. This indicates our results are driven by familiarity and not by any implicit protection from a trusted regional or local government |
| Keywords: | Market discipline, Bank, Personal deposit, Region, Russia, Flight to familiarity, Trust, Implicit guaranty, Regional authorities. |
| JEL: | G21 G01 P2 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hig:wpaper:58/fe/2016&r=cis |
| By: | Natalia M. Dolgorukova (National Research University Higher School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | The paper analyses the first French critiques of the two Mikhail Bakhtin’s monographs and the careful exploration of these reviews enables to explain why they presented him as a formalist. It also traces the reasons of irrelevance of the thinker’s ideas in the early French reception |
| Keywords: | M.M. Bakhtin, French reviews, Y. Kristeva, Russian formalists |
| JEL: | Z |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hig:wpaper:17/ls/2015&r=cis |