nep-cis New Economics Papers
on Confederation of Independent States
Issue of 2020‒10‒05
ten papers chosen by
Alexander Harin
Modern University for the Humanities

  1. A SOCIETY OF UNSTABLE WELL-BEING: INCOME MOBILITY AND IMMOBILITY IN RUSSIA By Svetlana V. Mareeva; Ekaterina D. Slobodenyuk
  2. Trade unions and professional associations as civil society actors working on the issues of labour rights and social dialogue in the Republic of Moldova By Cornel Ciurea; Barbora Holubová; Monika Martišková
  3. MAKING A MUNDANE CEREMONY INTO A MEANINGFUL ORGANIZATIONAL RITUAL -- RE-DESIGN OF RIBBON-CUTTING CEREMONIES FOR OVERSEAS MANUFACTURING PROJECTS By Igor Gurkov
  4. The influence of OPEC+ on oil prices: a quantitative assessment By Quint, Dominic; Venditti, Fabrizio
  5. Returns to Education in the Russian Federation : Some New Estimates By Melianova,Ekaterina; Parandekar,Suhas D.; Patrinos,Harry Anthony; Volgin,Artem
  6. Trade unions and professional associations as civil society actors working on the issues of labour rights and social dialogue in Ukraine By Mykhailo Slukvin; Monika Martišková; Mária Sedláková
  7. ZERO RETURNS TO HIGHER EDUCATION: EVIDENCE FROM A NATURAL EXPERIMENT By Stanislav Avdeev
  8. Trade unions and professional associations as civil society actors working on the issues of labour rights and social dialogue in Georgia By Ana Diakonidze; Barbora Holubová; Marta Kahancová
  9. Trade unions and professional associations as civil society actors working on the issues of labour rights and social dialogue in Armenia By Arman Sargsyan; Lucia Kováčová; Mária Sedláková
  10. The Importance of Business Travel for Trade: Evidence from the Liberalization of the Soviet Airspace By Söderlund, Bengt

  1. By: Svetlana V. Mareeva (National Research University Higher School of Economics); Ekaterina D. Slobodenyuk (National Research University Higher School of Economics)
    Abstract: The article focuses on individual income mobility among Russians in the years 2009–2017, as measured objectively and subjectively. As in previous periods of post-Soviet development, income mobility in Russia remains high. In comparison to member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), income mobility in Russia is higher, while the level of persistent well-being is lower. Subjective assessments of one’s income situation are even more volatile than objective positions on an income scale, with persistent subjective well-being almost non-existent. Furthermore, subjective mobility does not correlate closely with its objective counterpart. Persistent well-being in terms of objective and subjective income is determined by a combination of class and non-class factors, including, above all, labor market position, dependency burden, and health status
    Keywords: Russia, income mobility, subjective mobility, immobility, sticky floor, sticky ceiling, income, social inequality, social disadvantage.
    JEL: Z
    Date: 2020
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hig:wpaper:94/soc/2020&r=all
  2. By: Cornel Ciurea; Barbora Holubová; Monika Martišková
    Abstract: This report was elaborated within the project “Mapping Studies of Trade Unions and Professional Associations as Civil Society Actors Working on the Issues of Labour Rights and Social Dialogue in six Eastern Partnership Countries” funded by the European Union’s “Eastern Partnership Civil Society Facility – Regional Actions” Project and implemented by the Central European Labour Studies Institute (CELSI).
    Date: 2020–08–25
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cel:report:36&r=all
  3. By: Igor Gurkov (National Research University Higher School of Economics)
    Abstract: According to UNCTAD, the global number of foreign direct investment projects in manufacturing announced in 2018 reached 8049 (UNCTAD, 2019: 9-10). Although the real number of realized projects will be much smaller in 2020-2021 because of the global fall of foreign direct investments (UNCTAD, 2020: xi) the overall number of newly installed factories will be still counted in thousands. In many developing and emerging markets, especially in South-East Asia, Latin America and Russia, ribbon-cutting ceremonies for new facilities opened by foreign investors are mandatory. We ran a study identifying all videoed ribbon-cutting ceremonies for new facilities opened by foreign investors in Russia in 2012-2018. Using a detailed analysis of the content of speeches delivered by representative of foreign investors and representative of local authorities at those ceremonies, and information obtained through personal observations and interviews, we were able to discover the surface and deeper level meaning attaching to these ceremonies, to propose the definition of efficient plant-opening ceremonies and to demonstrate how it is possible to amend the design of such ceremonies to increase their effectiveness and also to increase mental coherence between the corporate center and oversea subsidiaries.
    Keywords: organizational rituals, foreign direct investment, manufacturing, Russia
    JEL: F23 M16
    Date: 2020
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hig:wpaper:62/man2020&r=all
  4. By: Quint, Dominic; Venditti, Fabrizio
    Abstract: Between January 2017 and March 2020 a coalition of oil producers led by OPEC and Russia (known as OPEC+) cut oil production in an attempt to raise the price of crude oil. In March 2020 the corona virus shock led to a collapse of this coalition, as members did not agree on keeping the oil market tight in the face of a large negative demand shock. Yet, was OPEC+ actually effective in sustaining the price of oil? Between 2017 and early 2020 when the OPEC+ strategy was in place, oil inventories fell substantially and the price of oil reached a peak of around 80 USD per barrel, from a minimum of 30 USD in 2016. This suggests that the OPEC+ strategy had a significant impact on the global oil market. Yet, to what extent did crude prices actually reflect OPEC+ production cuts rather than other factors, like swings in demand for oil? How would the price of oil have evolved had OPEC+ not cut supply? This paper provides an answer to these questions through a counterfactual analysis based on two structural models of the global oil market. We find the impact of OPEC+ on the market was overall quite limited, owing to significant deviations from the assigned quotas. On average, without the OPEC+ cuts, the price of oil would have been 6 percent (4 USD) lower. JEL Classification: Q43, C53
    Keywords: oil demand, oil price, oil supply, OPEC, shale oil
    Date: 2020–09
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ecb:ecbwps:20202467&r=all
  5. By: Melianova,Ekaterina; Parandekar,Suhas D.; Patrinos,Harry Anthony; Volgin,Artem
    Abstract: This paper presents new estimates of the returns to education in the Russian Federation using data from 1994 to 2018. Although the returns to schooling increased for a time, they are now much lower than the global average. Private returns to education are three times greater for higher education compared with vocational education, and the returns to education for females are higher than for males. Returns for females show an inverse U-shaped curve over the past two decades. Female education is a policy priority and there is a need to investigate the labor market relevance of vocational education. Higher education may have reached an expansion limit, and it may be necessary to investigate options for increasing the productivity of schooling.
    Keywords: Educational Sciences,Tertiary Education,Economics of Education,Vocational Education&Technical Training,Labor Markets,Rural Labor Markets
    Date: 2020–09–08
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:9387&r=all
  6. By: Mykhailo Slukvin; Monika Martišková; Mária Sedláková
    Abstract: This report was elaborated within the project “Mapping Studies of Trade Unions and Professional Associations as Civil Society Actors Working on the Issues of Labour Rights and Social Dialogue in six Eastern Partnership Countries” funded by the European Union and implemented by the Central European Labour Studies Institute (CELSI).
    Date: 2020–08–28
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cel:report:39&r=all
  7. By: Stanislav Avdeev (National Research University Higher School of Economics)
    Abstract: Although many papers estimate returns to education, little causal evidence has been found for low- and middle-income countries. This paper estimates the causal effect of one year of university education on wages and employment in Russia. In 2011, the Bologna reform shortened the university study period by one year and reduced the content of the curricula but did not change the quality of admitted students. I exploit this reform as a natural experiment and use a difference-in-differences design. I find no adverse effect of a one-year reduction on wages and on the probability of being employed. This suggests that the reform lowered the opportunity costs of education but did not affect the accumulation of specific skills relevant for the labour market.
    Keywords: difference-in-differences, returns to education, human capital, higher education, employment, wages, Bologna reform, Russia
    JEL: I23 I26 J24
    Date: 2020
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hig:wpaper:236/ec/2020&r=all
  8. By: Ana Diakonidze; Barbora Holubová; Marta Kahancová
    Abstract: This report was elaborated within the project “Mapping Studies of Trade Unions and Professional Associations as Civil Society Actors Working on the Issues of Labour Rights and Social Dialogue in six Eastern Partnership Countries” funded by the European Union’s “Eastern Partnership Civil Society Facility – Regional Actions” Project and implemented by the Central European Labour Studies Institute (CELSI).
    Date: 2020–08–26
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cel:report:37&r=all
  9. By: Arman Sargsyan; Lucia Kováčová; Mária Sedláková
    Abstract: This report was elaborated within the project “Mapping Studies of Trade Unions and Professional Associations as Civil Society Actors Working on the Issues of Labour Rights and Social Dialogue in six Eastern Partnership Countries” funded by the European Union’s “Eastern Partnership Civil Society Facility – Regional Actions” Project and implemented by the Central European Labour Studies Institute (CELSI).
    Date: 2020–08–27
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cel:report:38&r=all
  10. By: Söderlund, Bengt (Department of Economics, Lund University, and)
    Abstract: The strong negative relationship between geographical distance and trade is not well understood. I use the liberalization of the Soviet airspace to estimate the causal impact of business travel cost on trade. The liberalization radically reduced travel time between Europe and East Asia and was associated with a significant increase in trade. I find that the cost of business travel can account for most of the trade frictions (85.3%) that cause trade to sharply decline with distance. A plausible explanation for these results is that face-to-face interaction through business travel is important for trade, and that transporting people is costly.
    Keywords: Trade costs; Air travel; Face-to-face communication
    JEL: F14 F15 R40
    Date: 2020–09–22
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:iuiwop:1355&r=all

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