Energy consumption by Russia’s population and service industry in the context of global trends

This paper analyzes energy consumption by population and service industry in developed countries and Russia in 1990–2005. The main global trends in energy consumption by population and service industry are shown. The compliance of Russia’s energy consumption figures to these trends is determined. The results of predictive estimates of the dependence of per capita energy consumption by population and service industry on the level of economic development are presented.     

Assessing the prospects for the development of the poultry market in Russia in the context of the country’s accession to the World Trade Organization

An attempt to assess the effects of Russia’s accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) for the domestic poultry market is made. The measures of public control over the national poultry market are outlined, a simple model for assessing the effect of import duties on the domestic market is developed, and the midterm prospects of Russia’s poultry market in the context of the country’s accession to the WTO are predicted.     

Social development of Russia’s Northern Regions

Specific features and trends of interregional differences in the social development of Russia’s Northern Regions are considered, using methods of econometrics and mathematical statistics. Statistical characteristics point to the process of convergence of the northern regions against the background of their high social differentiation. Based on the methods of principal components, factor analysis, and Ward’s hierarchical cluster analysis, we grouped the northern regions by their social development level into four types: highly-developed, developed, developing, and problem. A purposeful governmental regional policy must be developed for each type to level their uneven development and raise the living standards of the population in the northern regions.     

On the regulatory mechanism for the development of the innovative sphere in Russia’s economy

The paper discusses issues related to improving control and regulation mechanisms in the innovative sphere, including questions of interaction between regional authorities, business structures, and the federal center.     

System and management problems of the electric power industry’s development in Russia

The current management system of Russia??s electric power industry??s development, including industry regulatory documents and mechanisms by which generating capacities are built up, is considered in the article. The management problems of the industry??s development are analyzed. Ways of its further improvement are suggested.     

Dynamics of Russia’s competitive positions on foreign markets

The article considers main trends in the competitive positions of Russia on foreign markets by product groups on the basis of UN foreign trade statistics across the period 2002–2011. A summary rating of the export competitiveness of Russian manufacturers is developed and calculated by product groups, based on several indicators: export growth, changes in the unit value of exported products, as well as the trade imbalance coefficient. Changes in trends in the postcrisis period are emphasized.     

Projections of Russia’s agricultural development under the conditions of climate change

This paper analyzes the possible impact of irrigation on the development of agriculture in the Volga River Basin and Black Sea Basin. Scenarios of the development of agriculture in Russia up to 2030 under the conditions of the expansion of irrigation and persistence of the current situation with irrigation have been calculated and analyzed based on the IMPACT-3 econometric partial equilibrium model.     

Russia’s salt industry: Problems of development

The paper describes the current situation in the salt industry. It points to the inadmissibly high and expanding market share of imported salt products despite the country’s own colossal resource base and the domestic enterprises’ huge unused capacities. It has been shown that OAO Russian Railroads (OAO RZhD) will economically benefit due to its reasonable policy of selective reduction of the railroad shipment tariffs for salt for domestic producers due to the inevitable growth of the country’s own salt output.     

Processes and mechanisms of the long-term development of Russia’s construction materials complex

The paper considers the development mechanisms of the Russian construction materials complex and their role in its future. The means of efficient accumulation of capital are discussed within the inertial and constructive options of economic growth. Special attention is paid to problems of import substitution and added value of materials, as well as methods of their solution in the changing macroeconomic environment.     

Typological analysis of Russia’s border regions by the level of socioeconomic development (case study of the Republic of Tuva)

This article analyzes the development specifics of Russian border regions in two aspects: their place in the general typology of Russian regions in terms of socioeconomic development and their typology in terms of development in the aspect of border regions.     

Long-term forecasting of the development of Russia’s pension system: Factors and conditions

The problems associated with the reformation of the pension system have gained extreme urgency in the process of forming the long-term strategy for Russia??s socioeconomic development (until 2030), which is determined by the growth in its influence on the macroeconomic strategy. This paper gives an actuarial substantiation of the actual factors and conditions, on which the development of the pension system in the Russian Federation depends, and prospects for the stability of the pension budget based on insurance principles.     

Estimation of a country’s economic development on the basis of the global competitiveness index

This article investigates the competitiveness of macroeconomic objects at different hierarchical levels. Analysis of a country’s competitiveness is presented on the basis of the global competitive index. The author offers an integral indicator of a branch of industry’s competitiveness potential according to seven main factors that permit numerical estimation.     

Transformation of the reproductive mechanism of the world economy and prospects for Russia’s socioeconomic development

The article substantiates the author??s view on the basic principles underlying the reproductive mechanism of the global economy. It shows the degree of specificity and consistency of the reproductive mechanism of the Russian economy in comparison with the global model. An evaluation is performed of the opportunities and conditions for a transition to Russia??s accelerated economic development and modernization of its productive apparatus.     

Russia’s financial policy in the perspective period

The article considers the financial and monetary support of the economic dynamics that is required to realize the economic growth potential, the parameters of which were grounded in the forecast of Russia??s economic development until 2030 developed by the Institute of Economic Forecasting, Russian Academy of Sciences.     

Modeling Russia’s exchange rate in the long-run

This paper investigates long-run behavior of Russian real effective exchange rate. Due to high dependence on natural resources’ exports and, at the same time, absence of stable domestic policy, unexpected and/or excessive changes in the real exchange rate might negatively affect the Russian economy, causing large welfare costs. Since the determinants as well the causal links to different fundamental determinants are not straightforward, we employ the Johansen cointegration framework in order to determine factors that drive real exchanges rate in the long run. Compared to previous research on the Russian exchange rate, we expand the period of observations and construct potential determinants in a not traditional way, but as differences between domestic and foreign variables. This proceeding might also be relevant for researches, dedicated to another countries’ exchange rates.     

Revisiting Sweden’s response to the Great Depression of the 1930s: economic policy in a regional context

This intra-Scandinavian comparison provides a corrective to existing comparative literature on Sweden's response to the Great Depression at three levels: policy conception, case selection and mode of explanation. The paper's holistic view of economic policy shows that the Swedish response was not just about fiscal policy. A broadly defined Swedish response becomes even less distinctive when compared with its Danish and Norwegian counterparts. The paper makes three points to explain the intra-Scandinavian variation (convergence and divergence). First, the regional-metropolitan context matters. Facing similar international challenges, the three small states developed a defensive reflex by striking domestic compromises, abandoning the gold standard, devaluing their currencies and effecting monetary expansion. Second, the political-economic development experience matters. On one hand, proportional representation entrenched Scandinavian farmers as a critical political force, thus ensuring agricultural protectionism across the region. On the other hand, the cross-national divergence in industrialisation largely shaped industrial policy: Sweden’s relative trade and domestic liberalism sharply contrasted with Denmark’s exchange controls and Norway’s import substitution. Third, ideology matters. Whereas the Danish Social Democrats’ traditional liberalism and their Norwegian counterparts’ radicalism buttressed fiscal orthodoxy, the Swedish Social Democrats’ ideational and programmatic renewal paved the way for the fiscal experiment of the crisis years.     

Demographic threat to the economy: Macroanalysis of Russia’s pension system

The pension reform in our country that is based on insurance principles has surpassed the second decade, and many elements that were originally written proceeding from speculative designs and successful practice in Western countries have acquired actual features (quantitative and qualitative). In the first place, this is relevant for its principally new elements—the accumulative pension provision methods. This paper analyzes the external and internal factors in the development of the pension system and their effect on the current and future state of the system and gives a forecast of the financial stability of the pension system in the long-term outlook.     

Economic analysis of development prospects for air transport in Russia’s sparsely populated regions

This article analyzes the prospects for the development of air transport in remote and inaccessible regions of Russia with a low population density. The influence of the economic and geographical specificity of such regions on the duration and cost of air travel is studied. A complex of organizational and technological solutions and government support measures aimed at improving the quality and accessibility of air carriages for the population of sparsely populated regions is suggested.