The Dutch Disease: evidences from Russia

The present study examines whether the Russian economy exhibits the symptoms of the Dutch Disease over the transition period begun in the early 1990s. Five warning signs have been detected, namely, a real exchange rate appreciation (1); a flourishing economic situation pushed by higher oil prices (2); a relative de-industrialisation (3); an export reduction in the non-booming-sector (4) and a real wage growth (5). The first three symptoms are estimated simultaneously in a VECM dimension. The results suggest the existence of three long-run cointegrating vectors, thus confirming the presence of the first three symptoms. Specifically, a 10% oil price shock leads to a real appreciation by 4%, a rise in GDP by 3% and a decline in domestic manufacturing production vis-à-vis service production by another 3%. Finally, a number of manufacturing exports have been crowded out and real wages have recorded important increases. To a certain extent, this corroborates the presence of symptom 4 and 5. The paper concludes that the risk of the Dutch Disease exists, and two preventive thrusts of action could be undertaken to reduce its threat: namely to diversify the economy and to hold back the appreciation of the exchange rate through targeted fiscal and monetary policies. These instruments would render Russia less vulnerable to exogenous shocks.     

What Post-Soviet Russia Can Learn from Bismarck

The chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the Russian Federation, R. Khasbulatov, answers questions from the periodical Narodnyi deputat. The journal's chief editor, M. Piskotin, and journalist Iu. Zviagin participated in the discussion.     

Laws for Sale: Evidence from Russia

How does regulatory capture affect growth? We construct measuresof the political power of firms and regional regulatory captureusing microlevel data on the preferential treatment of firmsthrough regional laws and regulations in Russia during the period1992–2000. Using these measures, we find that: (1) politicallypowerful firms perform better on average; (2) a high level ofregulatory capture hurts the performance of firms that haveno political connections and boosts the performance of politicallyconnected firms; (3) capture adversely affects small-businessgrowth and the tax capacity of the state; and (4) there is noevidence that capture affects aggregate growth.

"oligarchy ... throws a close network of dependence relationshipsover all the economic and political institutions of present-daybourgeois society without exception... ." —Vladimir Lenin,"Imperialism: The Highest Stage of Capitalism" (1916)

     

三峡移民法规政策与世界银行非自愿移民政策之比较

将三峡水库移民法规政策与世界银行工程性非自愿移民相关政策进行比较,修正完善我国工程性非自愿移民法律制度,是法治的必然要求。     

Eastern Prostitution from Russia to Sweden and Finland

Trafficking is a relatively new phenomenon in the research agenda on organized crime. In this article the spread of the phenomenon in Scandinavia is described and discussed. Special attention has been given to Russian-organized prostitution in the Tornio Valley (the borderarea between northern Finland and northern Sweden). The data for the article consist of observations at special 'deposit-sites' in Finland and interviews with the authorities concerned (police, customs, social services, Center for Disease Control (CDC), etc.) in Sweden, and also newspaper articles that have reported on the phenomenon. The methological projection of the article is exploratory in character with the purpose of describing the phenomenon, rather than being able to explain it. The results show that there is an organized trade in women in the Tornio Valley (set rendezvous points, pick-up sites, transport via Russian-registered minivans etc). Despite this the phenomenon cannot be tied conclusively to Russian-organized crime. One conclusion is that further research on this phenomenon should gather information from the Russian authorities and from the prostitutes themselves.     

Russia Tomorrow

A well-known banker uttered a paradoxical thought: not only did we believe that Russia was somehow unique, a country with the potential for a wondrous transformation not governed by general economic laws, but we were evidently able to convince our Western partners of the same point. For this reason, in 1996 and 1997 they invested large sums of money in the Russian economy—approximately $20 billion in short-term treasury bonds (GKOs) and federal loan bonds (OFZs) alone. They also invested in Eurobonds, as well as pouring money into the stock exchange and bond market. Altogether these sums total $25-26 billion. Direct capital investments were also made.     

将迁徙自由重新定入宪法的思考

将迁徙自由重新写入宪法无论从公民基本权利的应然角度还是从社会主义市场经济的实然角度已势在必行。而澄清人们对迁徙自由认识上的几个误区则有利于促进这一问题的解决。     

俄罗斯：腐败成“一号公敌”

俄罗斯如今仍是一个存在严重腐败的国家。2008年,透明国际清廉指数排行榜上俄罗斯在全球180个国家和地区中位列147位;去年,又从2009年的146位下滑到154位。媒体称,俄罗斯是20国集团成员中最腐败的经济体,也是欧洲最腐败的国家,在“金砖四国”中的腐败程度也首屈一指。     

Nationalism in Russia

The articles in this issue examine the role played by nationalism in present-day Russian politics, focusing particularly on potential policy approaches to dealing with the various nationalist discourses that have gained in prominence in recent years.     

寻找学术自由之奥义:学术—政治关系的宪政维度

学术自由与学术规范相为里、表,共同体现着话语权的分散化配置,并由此关联着共和精神和分力格局。学术自由故而为宪政的题中之义。宪政体制下政治系统对学术自由的尊重和对学术的纯粹性的敬畏,自有其内在逻辑。当代的情形则是,学术被纳入了相应的政治动员之中,从而形成了学术—政治关系的复杂形态。不过,宪政体制下对学术的政治动员和法治—宪政进程中对学术的政治动员呈现出不同的情形。     

Insider-controlled Firms in Russia

Privatisation Vouchers in Russia were heavily invested in the holders' own firms. Using data from a recent survey, we show that insider control in firms privatised in 1992-4 through the voucher process (as distinct from the earlier leased buy-out method) is insecure and dependent on managers' support. For employees, investment in insider control appears to have been motivated by employment income insurance rather than expected excess returns on the equity. Managers are predominantly the same individuals as before privatisation and display considerable hostility to outside investors, probably because they fear dismissal should outsiders gain control. Despite insider control, firms are shedding labour quite rapidly through voluntary resignations. Employment dynamics appear to be unrelated to insider equity ownership.     

Practicing Convict Criminology: Lessons Learned from British Academic Activism

Joanne Belknap’s recent ASC presidential address included a critique of Convict Criminology’s activism. A number of concerns were provided, although of particular importance here are, first, Belknap’s concerns regarding the absence of ‘marginalized voices’ in the Convict Criminology network. Second, the issue of defining how non-con academics function as Convict Criminology group members. This paper responds to these criticisms. Specifically, we discuss the question of ‘representation’ in BCC and our attempts to remedy this issue. We also draw attention to the academic activism that British Convict Criminology is conducting in Europe. This includes a detailed discussion of the collaborative research-activist activities that involve non-con as well as ex-con academic network members. We demonstrate how these collaborations explain the vital group membership role that non-con academics assume in the activism of Convict Criminology.     

Drug Addiction in Russia

[From the editors of Pravozashchitnik:] The Council on Foreign and Defense Policy (www.svop.ru) is a nongovernmental organization. It was founded on 25 February 1992 in Moscow by a group of well-known and influential politicians, heads of business associations, eminent entrepreneurs, political and social activists, and representatives of the power ministries, the military-industrial complex, academe, and the mass media. The independent status and the considerable scientific and political authority that the council has attained enables it to play an important role in Russia's emerging civil society, a niche that state structures cannot fill.     

They are Deserting Russia

Emigration. This problem—which disappeared entirely after the October Revolution and the Civil War, when roughly two million people left Russia—is again becoming urgent for our country.     

版权冲突规则的发展——从Itar—Tass俄罗斯新闻案谈起

版权的地域性特征是历史形成的,随着科学技术的进步和国际经贸交流的日益频繁,各国渐渐突破了版权地域性的限制,承认了版权的域外效力,使得在版权领域的冲突规则得以发展.一些国家将<伯尔尼公约>第5条第2款的有关规定扩展解释为冲突规则,从而发展了"被要求保护国法"规则;另一些国家否认这一解释,发展了"来源地法"规则,或者在版权领域适用了普通法上的冲突规则,Itar-Tass俄罗斯新闻案即是一例.同时,面对互联网上侵权的挑战,一些学者提出了"单一法"的概念以及一些具体的冲突规则的设想.我国在版权冲突规则方面还缺乏有关的立法和司法实践.