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on Confederation of Independent States |
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Issue of 2017‒01‒08
twenty papers chosen by |
| By: | Olga Tarasova |
| Abstract: | Arctic vector of economic development is now a strategic imperative for the Russian Federation. Apparently, severe climatic conditions, low population density, lack of infrastructure leave all Arctic projects outside the market and allow only nodular economic development of the Russian Arctic territories. The internal structure of these patches of economic activity should be justified with the help of economic-mathematical modeling. This becomes of particular importance given that all Arctic investment projects will for sure employ administrative and financial resources of the state along with private initiative. Views on state participation in the economy are different: from the invisible hand of Adam Smith's market to a tight state policy of Soviet administrative economy. On the other hand, it is impossible to use templates in the Russian Arctic: PPP best practices might not give results in risky northern conditions. Each group of projects should be simulated and all effects forecasted on the series of evaluative scenario calculations. Certain results in this direction have been obtained and described by the authors in previous works. The aim of the present work was to search for opportunities as well as to implement modifications of economic-mathematical models used for the assessment in order to improve the convenience of predictive scenario calculations and expand the analytical capabilities of instruments. The simulation model was modified in the following areas: 1. introduced an opportunity to observe the project?s effects in dynamics. It is important when choosing a combination of measures of state support when taking into account the correlation of their effectiveness in various stages of implementation; 2. added a variability of projects? productivity; 3. added an option to specify the result year (up to which a forecast of the development ought to be done, and accordingly, all effects to be shown). The idea was that for different actors of the project different length of the forecast period could be important. Furthermore, long-term, medium-term and short-term period calculations may be required at once, and late on their correction would need on a regular basis; 4. added a possibility of variation of the construction period (two discrete provisions "handing on time" and "delay"). This is done for the convenience of reference in time of the projects in the case of a delay occurred on one of them and searching a mechanism to respond to such delays. With the help of the modified simulation model the authors generated a pack of scenarios, obtained their quantitative assessment and attempted to determine the optimal trajectory of Taimyr-Yakut ATPC?s development. Key projects here are Tomtor and Popigai fields and the ports included in the logistic maintenance scheme - Tiksi, Khatanga, Yuryung-Khaya (provided transportation for export and Zheleznogorsk for processing). These projects are strategically important for Russia: having a wide range of applications in high-tech industries, those minerals could give rise to the Russia? innovative development. |
| Keywords: | Arctic investment projects; simulation modeling; scenario modeling |
| JEL: | C63 O18 R58 |
| Date: | 2016–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa16p196&r=cis |
| By: | Alina A. Shenfeldt (National Research University Higher School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | The article sheds light on the scope of transparency in the Russian Official Development Assistance (ODA) and anti-corruption compliance that has been forged by Russian authorities in the field of international development aid. Analysis of official documents, reports and available statistical sources shows quite poor performance of the Russian Federation, especially with regard to the international standards on open aid data and OECD members’ experience. First, the article lays out the evolution of transparency and accountability standards in international development assistance and highlights the best practices in forging anti-corruption compliance of leading donor organizations and countries. Though it cannot be said with certainty that the level of corruption globally in development aid has diminished, it is obvious that major OECD donor organizations have improved their integrity and managed to render their aid transparent. This research has been focused on Russian development assistance. Analysis of published information on Russian ODA such as reports by the Ministry of Finance, web-sites of the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Rossotrudnichestvo, Concepts on ODA and other published documents showed that apart from procurement mechanisms, Russian authorities have not still forged anti-corruption compliance of its agencies in the filed of international development assistance. Moreover, Russia does not account for its ODA in a sufficient manner. First, the reports of the entitled authorities published on the official websites do not present precise information on Russian projects in development assistance. Though some information is publicly available, it is rather difficult to access to it as it is dispersed across various sources. Second, the functions on ODA are divided among agencies which makes the accountability process more complex. Third, Russia does not meet international standards outlined by the Busan Partnership on enhancing transparency in development aid: Russia does not report neither to the DAC Creditor Reporting System, nor to Forward Spending Survey, nor to the International Aid Transparency Initiative. Though the failure to publish detailed data stem from the lack of institutional capacity of the system of Russian development aid, still more transparency and accountability should be enhanced to enable civil society and scholars to contribute to the development of Russian aid. The paper concludes with recommendations to Russian responsible authorities on how to make Russian development assistance transparent |
| Keywords: | official development assistance (ODA), transparency, accountability, anti-corruption standards, OECD donor countries, Russia |
| JEL: | F35 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hig:wpaper:28/ir/2016&r=cis |
| By: | Muravyev, Alexander (Higher School of Economics, St. Petersburg branch) |
| Abstract: | This paper provides new evidence on the structure, dynamics and performance effects of corporate boards in publicly traded companies in Russia. It takes advantage of a new and unique longitudinal dataset of virtually all Russian companies whose shares were traded in the RTS/MICEX/MOEX over 1998-2014. The analysis highlights a number of strong trends in the evolution of boards of directors, such as the declining participation of insider directors and the increasing participation of foreign and female directors. It also shows that board characteristics are linked to company performance (the market-to-book ratio, Tobin's Q, ROE and ROA), suggesting that boards of directors play a non-trivial role in corporate governance in Russia. Testing for structural breaks in the relationship between board composition and firm performance provides some evidence of the changing role of corporate boards over time. |
| Keywords: | board of directors, publicly traded companies, corporate performance, Russia |
| JEL: | G34 L22 |
| Date: | 2016–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10436&r=cis |
| By: | Gilmundinov, Vadim; Bozo, Natalia; Melnikov, Vladimir; Petrov, Sergei |
| Abstract: | The paper describes recent results connected with extension of the general equilibrium input-output model of Russia with aggregated markets (Gilmundinov et al, 2015). Consideration of economic policy’s influence on a variety of macroeconomic and structural policy goals is an aim of this extension. For this purpose we add into GE-IO model sectoral fixed capital investment’s sub-models and sub-model of dynamic optimization of economic policy. Sectoral sub-models of fixed capital investments are based on the assessments of sectoral production functions with variable degree of capacity use. Sub-model of dynamic optimization of economic policy is based on extension of basic approaches suggested by H. Theil (1954, 1964), J. Tinbergen (1952) and R. Mundell (1962) with dynamic social losses function and accounting of influence of economic policy on sectoral structure of national economy. The suggested modification allows to simulate impact of different variants of economic policy on national economy, aggregated markets and main sectors. That is very helpful for estimation of consequences of various internal and external shocks and development of optimal economic policy and gives more advantages in comparison with standard DSGE or CGE models. The preliminary results of simulations based on suggested model for the Russian economy show considerable dependence of the Russian economy dynamic and structure on economic policy. Optimal economic policy should be hybrid with combining structural policy with sectoral credit policy of Central Bank. According to the basic scenario of simulation with neutral economic policy the Russian GDP in constant prices will decline at 1.8% in 2016 in comparison to 2015 and almost have no changes in 2017 in comparison to 2016. Stimulating economic policy allows to raise growth rates of the Russian economy at 2-3%. |
| Keywords: | Economic Policy, Optimization, Input-Output, Economy of Russia, Forecasting, General Equilibrium |
| JEL: | C61 C63 C67 E52 |
| Date: | 2016–05–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:75597&r=cis |
| By: | Anna Bufetova |
| Abstract: | The introduction of market mechanisms regulating the economy in the Russian Federation has led to change of spatial distribution of economic activity and further increase of regional economic development disparities. All the approaches to the regional policy declared by the Government in the last decades didn't succeed. So the question of evolution of spatial distribution of economic activity and regional disparities remains very actual. The aim of this work was to analyze the evolution of spatial distribution of economic activity in the Russian Federation and the role of space in the inequality of regional development. We study the evolution of spatial distribution of economic activity and convergence process among regions from the change of the region relative position inside the cross-sectional distribution of regions in terms of gross regional product (GRP). The growth process is modeled as a first-order Markov chain. Spatial effects in our study are introduced within the Markov chain framework using regional conditioning and spatial Markov chain. By applying this technique we achieve a more detailed picture of the evolution of distribution of economic activity and spatial disparities than in other studies on the topic. These tools also allow studying how the economic performance of a region and its position inside the GRP distribution can be explained by its geographical environment. The results of the analysis, based on a data set for 79 Russian regions over 2001-2013 period suggest that the process of economic growth has been characterized by the continuing concentration of economic activity. Along with the preservation and strengthening of positions of the former centers, a number of new ones emerged, and at the same time some centers with resource specialization to some extent weakened their positions. The study showed a progressive bias toward a poverty trap. The ergodic distribution of the regions in terms of economic activity, achievable while maintaining trends of study period, shows the formation of a sufficiently large pole of relative poverty and pole of wealth that concentrates a significant proportion of manufacturing value added. Emerging group of regions with an average level of development is relatively small. Regional conditioning and spatial Markov chain clearly indicate that location and physical geography matter to explain growth and convergence process. The changes of the relative position of a region in the cross-sectional distribution are highly constrained by its geographical environment. Regions of almost all level of development have better evolutionary perspectives when surrounded by rich neighbors (but not less developed regions) and worse perspectives when surrounded by poor neighbors so that progressive bias towards poverty trap has a strong spatial explanation. In such circumstances, regional policy aimed at stimulating the developed regions, can reinforce the ongoing process of polarization. And policy aimed at smoothing the uneven territorial development in order to avoid excessive deepening of regional disparities and inequalities seems to be more adequate. |
| Keywords: | spatial distribution of regional economic activity; regional disparities; Markov chains |
| JEL: | R11 R12 |
| Date: | 2016–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa16p104&r=cis |
| By: | Mikhail Pogorelov (National Research University Higher School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | The article examines the role of degeneration theory in Russian medical and public discourses at the turn of the 20th century. Drawing on a wide range of historiography and primary sources, including archival records and medical writings, the article aims to outline different contexts of the concept’s usages: from rhetorical idioms to “scientific”, clinical and instrumental applications. Then, it seeks how psychiatrists defined the category of “socially dangerous” and tried to modify the existed institutional and legal framework. This focus could explain degeneration theory influence on social policy and the late imperial institutional system. |
| Keywords: | deviant, socially dangerous, psychiatry, degeneration theory, Russia |
| JEL: | Z |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hig:wpaper:139/hum/2016&r=cis |
| By: | Raisa Akifyeva (National Research University Higher School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | This working paper is based on the results of a study of the child-rearing practices of Russian-speaking women in the context of a migration perspective focusing on their migration experience, language, and other features that are perceived as cultural and an integration context as determining many important aspects of child-rearing. The analysis shows that a mother’s choice of structured activities for the child can be caused by structural factors, such as the national peculiarities of the system of school and pre-school education, family policy, the specifics and set of programs offered at schools and available in the area. Regardless of the social segment, in which migrants are incorporated, children begin to prefer speaking Spanish than Russian if there is not any special effort from the adults. This leads to the fact that the study of the Russian language in some families affects all spheres of life, and many aspects of child-rearing. Many women develop and share ideas about the differences in the parenting approach and style of women from the post-Soviet space and from Spain. Women perceive the stylistic features of the behavior of Russian women as highly demanding and share the view of the low demands of Spanish parents, yet differ in how they perceive their level of responsiveness to them. |
| Keywords: | child-rearing practices, Russian-speaking migrants, structured activities, parenting practices, Spain |
| JEL: | F22 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hig:wpaper:140/hum/2016&r=cis |
| By: | Svetlana Yu. Toldova (National Research University Higher School of Economics); Elizaveta I. Ivtushok (National Research University Higher School of Economics); Kira M. Shulgina (National Research University Higher School of Economics); Mira B. Bergelson (National Research University Higher School of Economics); Mariya V. Khudyakova (National Research University Higher School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | This work is devoted to the distribution of different referential devices in spoken discourse produced by healthy speakers and people with aphasia and its comparison to written discourse. We discuss some special annotation issues for the corpus of Pear film retellings (Russian CliPS) by people with aphasia (PWA), right hemisphere damage (RHD), and healthy speakers (HP for healthy people) of Russian. The study summarizes the comprehensive annotation schema developed for this task and the preliminary research of the referential choice features based on the corpus. Comparing retellings and written texts, we found a significant difference in the use of basic coreferential expressions between the two. Firstly, there is a significant difference in the distribution of basic NP types. Speakers use reduced devices such as zero anaphora or bare nouns in retellings more frequently than in written texts. There are also differences in the distribution of more granulated features such as the word order within an NP, the use of anaphoric and reduced expressions (demonstratives or zero NPs) for the first mention of an entity, and the inclusion of epistemic markers into NPs. We also found that the retellings produced by PWA and HP do not differ much in terms of the distribution of basic NP types. However, a detailed analysis within different NP types and taking into consideration various disfluencies reveals some prominent differences between the two populations. These include a difference in zero subject distribution, the frequency of non-referential NP links, the frequency of co-reference errors. While adapting the initial coreference annotation scheme we concluded that besides referential ambiguity, which is normally taken into account in spoken discourse analysis, and basic taxonomy of the referential devices (full NP vs. anaphoric pronoun vs. anaphoric zero), other features need to be considered |
| Keywords: | coreference annotation, retellings corpus, discourse, brain damage, aphasia |
| JEL: | Z |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hig:wpaper:50/lng/2016&r=cis |
| By: | Mariya V. Khudyakova (National Research University Higher School of Economics); Maria M. Shapiro (National Research University Higher School of Economics); Maria A.Grabovskaya (National Research University Higher School of Economics); Maria A. Alexeeva (National Research University Higher School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | Coherence is a semantic property of the text to make sense to readers or listeners and is crucial for any text. Various coherence measures have been developed for assessment of discourse abilities in different clinical populations. However, the results of decades of research on coherence of speech of individuals with brain damage have yielded contradictive results. We suggest that this might be due to the different sensitivity of the methods. In this study we two measures of global coherence and five measures of local coherence on the same set of texts by healthy speakers of Russian and people with dynamic aphasia in order to find which methods allow to distinguish between the two groups and how these results correlate. The material for the study is texts from the Russian CliPS corpus which is a collection of oral retellings of the pear film by individuals with brain damage and healthy speakers of Russian language |
| Keywords: | coherence, discourse macrostructure, aphasia, oral corpora |
| JEL: | Z |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hig:wpaper:48/lng/2016&r=cis |
| By: | Nat Moser (UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines enterprise performance in Russian oil companies between 1992 and 2012. The analysis is based upon longitudinal trend output data, and distinguishes between four different types of owners - outsider private, insider private, federal state and regional state. In comparison with previous studies which considered just 1999-2004, and identified outsider private companies as the best performers, this paper finds that over the longer period 1992-2012 federal state and insider private owned companies actually performed best. The explanation for this relates to ‘institutions’ and the business environment. |
| Keywords: | Oil; Russia |
| Date: | 2015–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:see:wpaper:2015:133&r=cis |
| By: | Dmitrii Dubrov (National Research University Higher School of Economics); Alexander Tatarko (National Research University Higher School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the role of the place of living (rural or urban) and its socio-cultural context in determining the parent-adolescent child value similarity. We interviewed representatives of two generations: parents and adolescent children from 90 families in Moscow and 62 families in villages (n=304 people). Our findings indicate the influence of the socio-cultural context on the transmission of values. Conservation values are primarily transmitted from parents to children in more traditional, rural contexts. Openness to change, Self-Enhancement and Self-Transcendence values are transmitted from parents to children mainly in urban contexts. The perceived psychological closeness between parents and adolescents (adolescent perception) predicts value transmission in urban and rural contexts. All values of adolescents are more similar to the values of peers than parents, in both urban and rural contexts. |
| Keywords: | individual values, intergenerational transmission of values, value similarity, socialization, parents, adolescents |
| JEL: | Z |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hig:wpaper:68psy2016&r=cis |
| By: | Ilya Solntsev; Anatoly Vorobyev; Elnura Irmatova; Nikita Osokin |
| Abstract: | Increasing investments into various dimensions of sports draw a significant amount of attention to the way these resources are being managed and which organizations achieve development goals with higher efficiency. This paper reviews the methodology of designing an efficiency rating model for assessing sports entities, focusing on the experience of Russian football. The Russian Regional Efficiency of Football Development model aims to evaluate the regional federations of the Football Union of Russian via 5 dimensions. The scoring method of the model is based on the three-sigma rule of distribution. Support factors in the form of population density and climate were also included, since Russian regions significantly differentiate in these aspects. The findings of this paper showcased that not a single region was able to achieve a maximum 5- star rating, while regions set to host the 2018 FIFA World Cup did not score better compared to others. In conclusion the authors provide various suggestions on further developing and implementing rating models within global sports organizations. |
| Date: | 2016–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:1612.07543&r=cis |
| By: | Irina V. Ubozhenko (National Research University Higher School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | The paper gives the author’s view on the cognitive political discourse analysis procedure by researching the case of teaching creative translation. Of a particular interest is the fact that the research material is based on the example of the discourse analysis of modern political terminology and other non-equivalent vocabulary within the bounds of political contexts. Unlike traditional approaches connecting creativity to literary texts studies, the paper deals with the methodology of comprehending and translating foreign academic and scientific texts. Cognitive study of the aspects of contextual actualization of political concepts in the English and Russian discourses by means of comparative analysis is aimed at professional explanation of motivation in choosing translation equivalents. The algorithm of making up an associative thesaurus based on cognitive signs of lexical marking has been used as the major tool of political discourse analysis as well as the foundation for the original creative model of teaching translation suggested by the author. |
| Keywords: | political discourse, cognitive discourse analysis, associative thesaurus, push-word methodology, teaching translation creativity |
| JEL: | Z |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hig:wpaper:41/ps/2016&r=cis |
| By: | Bekiros, Stelios; Boubaker, Sabri; Nguyen, Duc Khuong; Uddin, Gazi Salah |
| Abstract: | There is evidence to suggest that gold acts as both a hedge and a safe haven for equity markets over recent years, and particularly during crises periods. Our work extends the recent literature on hedging and diversification roles of gold by analyzing its interaction with the stock markets of the leading emerging economies, the BRICS. Whilst they generally exhibit a high growth rate, these economies still experience a pronounced vulnerability to external shocks, particularly to commodity price fluctuations. Using a multi-scale wavelet approach and a GARCH-based copula methodology, we mainly show evidence of: i) the time-scale co-evolvement patterns between BRICS stock markets and gold market, with some profound regions of concentrated extreme variations; and ii) a strong time-varying asymmetric dependence structure between those markets. These findings are essential for risk diversification and portfolio hedging strategies amongst the investigated markets. |
| Keywords: | Equity markets; Copulas; Gold; Time-scale analysis. |
| JEL: | C14 C32 C51 G1 |
| Date: | 2015–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:75740&r=cis |
| By: | Hakimov, Rustamdjan |
| Abstract: | We conduct a field experiment with 302 workers of the microcredit company in Russia to study the effects of the different designs of a contest for monetary prizes at the workplace. We consider a standard all-pay auction design with two and four prizes of different size and compare it to "parallel" contests with the same prizes, but where participants have to choose the prize prior to the start of the competition and then the winner is selected only among the players who chose the same prize. Despite the theoretical predictions, the parallel contests lead to higher efforts for all players, but mainly by lower-ability players. Division of prizes leads to the predicted effects. In parallel contests, too many players choose the higher prize than equilibrium suggests. Overall, the parallel version of contests appeared to be more profitable for the firm. |
| Keywords: | contests,incomplete information,all-pay auctions,field experiment |
| JEL: | C78 I21 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:wzbmbh:spii2016211&r=cis |
| By: | Kirill A. Levinson (National Research University Higher School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | This article analyzes changes in contemporary Latvian historical culture as regards the place it assigns to Baltic Germans in the country's past. During most of the twentieth century, their past presence in the region was represented as not really important. German noblemen and burghers were reckoned to the exploitative classes and, as such, received negative appraisal. After Latvia became independent from the USSR, German heritage came to be cherished as a symbol of Latvia’s Europeanness and a major attraction for international tourists, which is especially visible in Riga. In smaller towns, such as Koknese, partnership with a German town may originate from historic ties linking former Baltic Germans to the place, but this does not necessarily involve a historical policy emphasizing their positive presence in the history of the town. In the rural community of Irsi, a transformation of the local historical culture largely takes place under the influence of the so-called ‘homesick tourists’ from Germany who come to visit the former German colony Hirschenhof that existed between 1766 and 1939 |
| Keywords: | history, historical culture, Baltic Germans, Latvia, homesick tourists |
| JEL: | Z |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hig:wpaper:141/hum/2016&r=cis |
| By: | Maria Zarifyan; Anastasia Melnik; Anastasia Vyrenkova (National Research University Higher School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | This paper presents a set of drills that train students' competence in using the adjectives that belong to the semantic domain of FAR. The drills are based on and exemplify theoretical results of a study focusing around the comparison of synonymous adjectives across six languages and aim at granting students with a systematic and holistic picture of the domain in question. The training materials highlight the basic semantic parametres governing the correct lexical choice as well as the relevant distributional and grammatical patterns. Exemplified here are the drills for Russian and English languages. |
| Keywords: | Multilinual Database of Synonyms, foreign language acquisition, lexical drills |
| JEL: | Z |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hig:wpaper:49/lng/2016&r=cis |
| By: | Sophie Wintgens; Arnaud Zacharie |
| Abstract: | [fr] Depuis les années 2000, la montée en puissance des pays émergents -- et plus particulièrement de la Chine, des pays d'Asie orientale et des BRICS -- a modifié les rapports de force au sein du système de gouvernance économique mondiale. Dans un monde de plus en plus multipolaire, les politiques extérieures des principaux pays émergents visent davantage à légitimer leur statut de puissances régionales qu'à promouvoir un multilatéralisme véritablement démocratique. Ce faisant, le basculement du monde met le multilatéralisme à l'épreuve. Bien que les pays émergents aient revendiqué plus de place dans les organisations économiques internationales, nombre de leurs demandes n'ont pas été entendues par les puissances traditionnelles occidentales, ce qui les a incités à lancer leurs propres initiatives. Il en résulte une fragmentation croissante des règles financières et commerciales internationales qui rend plus complexes les conditions politiques de réguler efficacement le système international. Bien que les pays émergents aient contribué à remettre en cause la légitimité de l'architecture existante de la gouvernance économique mondiale, ils n'ont jusqu'ici pas réussi à en modifier la nature, ni à le rendre plus cohérent. |
| Abstract: | [en] Since the 2000s, the rising power of emerging countries -- China, East Asian countries and the BRICS in particular -- changed the balance of power within the system of global economic governance. In an increasingly multipolar world, external policies of the main emerging countries are aimed more at legitimizing their status of regional powers rather than at promoting a truly democratic multilateralism. By doing so, the global shift in wealth puts the multilateralism to the test. Although emerging countries have claimed more room in the international economic organizations, many of their demands have not been heard by the Western traditional powers, which prompted them to launch their own initiatives. This creates an increasing fragmentation of international financial and trade rules, which makes more complex the political conditions for effectively regulate the international system. Although emerging countries have contributed to challenge the legitimacy of the global economic governance architecture, they have so far failed to change its nature or to make it more consistent. |
| Keywords: | pays émergents; gouvernance économique mondiale |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ulb:ulbeco:2013/241502&r=cis |
| By: | Tuyara Gavrilyeva |
| Abstract: | The huge territory and long distances between settlements (up to 700 km) determine the complex structure of the energy system of Yakutia. The average duration of the heating season in the region is 8-9 months, and 12 months in the Arctic. Electricity generation is carried out mostly by low-capacity boilers using coal and diesel fuel. About 85% of fuel is imported from outside of Yakutia. The northern provision is seasonal, due to a complicated transport scheme. The time of fuel delivery reaches 18 - 30 months. As a result, the net cost of electricity generation in the Arctic is higher than in Central Yakutia in 7-40 times. There are considerable territorial disparities of net costs of heating generation too. The settlements of Yakutia are not compact, have a large area because of the specific agricultural specialization. Construction of new buildings of public services increases the number of low-capacity boilers. There are 1355 heating units operating in villages and cities of Yakutia. The share of houses with central heating varies greatly. In settlements with significant proportion of houses with stove heating there is a reduction in forest area within a radius of 20-40 km, which leads to an increase in environmental problems. Yakutia obtains a certain effect from programs of local energy optimization systems and implementation of energy saving measures, including gasification of settlements, but budget costs are still very significant. This is a common problem for all northern countries. At present the system of cross-subsidization of energy consumption changes. It meant that a part of the energy consumption costs of economic agents have been paid by other economic agents, including the state. Its main reason is population poverty. Actually Inhabitants compensate by own funds only 25.5% of the real cost of central heating, 78.2% - of electricity. It is considerably lower than in Russia in general. The transition to rates, based on real costs, will lead to a rapid loss of population in the Arctic and other remote areas. At the same time the crisis in Russia dictates the necessity of reform of the energy sector, in particular by reducing energy consumption. Some programs envisage the improvement of urban planning, concentration and increase in the density of population in large settlements and towns of Yakutia. Concentration allows to get a significant saving in energy costs, however it leads to an increase in the anthropogenic impact on the environment. Areas, where the largest power plants are located, provide the highest CO2 emission. These are Serebryany Bor (Neryungri district), Yakutsk and Svetly (Mirninsky district). These settlements are the centers of intensive anthropogenic impact on the environment by energy generation activity. The reform of energy system in Yakutia is complicated. It is closely related to the transformation of the spatial structure. Liquidation of the Arctic settlements is objectively impossible due to national security interests, historical and cultural traditions of indigenous peoples that we have to protect. The searching for new technological, spatial, financial and social mechanisms for wellbeing of northern communities is needed. Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) needs a new spatial structure. Moreover, it can be fundamentally new. For example, decentralized, allowing disperse anthropogenic load on the environment, if in the near future, new technologies will provide individual livelihoods and access to basic social services to households in rural areas. Alternatively, it could be more concentrated, not linear-focal and linear as now. When large urban settlements will be located on the main highways or rivers. This problem can be solved in the framework of strategic planning in the region. Continuing of studies of transport isolation, market and economic potential of northern communities are needed. |
| Keywords: | North; energy system; net cost; energy consumption; heat energy; cross-subsidization; Arctic settlements; population; territorial disparities |
| JEL: | Q28 Q41 Q56 R32 |
| Date: | 2016–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa16p1002&r=cis |
| By: | Anastasiia Konstantynova; Tine Lehmann |
| Abstract: | In recent decades? industrial clusters and agglomerations were recognized as drivers of regional and often national economic growth and competitiveness. Based on this cluster policy has been widely used to spur economic change, especially on the sub-national level. The public support to cluster development was widely done following the observed examples in the United States aiming to follow their success stories. Most commonly applied cluster policy approach composed of cluster mapping, establishment of institutions (labelled as cluster initiative/ association) in respective clusters through public-private support of these institutions´ and companies´ activities. However, the implementation of blue-printed cluster policy did not always lead to positive paths of cluster development due to the negligence of country / region specific institutional frameworks. This paper fills this void, by exploring selected cases of cluster associations and how their activities are influenced by different sets of institutional framework conditions. Information and communication technologies (ICT) clusters and their associations in European Union (EU) and Non-EU countries are taken as cases for the analysis. |
| Keywords: | clusters; cluster policy; cluster association; institutions; ICT |
| JEL: | R11 R58 O18 M21 |
| Date: | 2016–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa16p722&r=cis |