Key Tasks and Development Prospects for the Russian Economy in the Context of Kondratiev’s Long Cycles

The rationale behind the key tasks in the development of Russia’s fuel and energy complex, agroindustrial complex, defense industry, and machinery industry and construction complexes has been presented using the apparatus of Kondratiev’s long cycles, i.e., upward and downward waves in the production and export of oil, grain, arms, cars, etc. as well as in the supply of new housing. The trends have been analyzed using Rosstat data for a 100-year period. The analysis has shown how the past rates of development and proportions affect the present and future growth of Russia’s economy. Some of the main tasks have been formulated for the future development of Russia’s economy until 2030. The processes of import substitution and the replacement of oil exports with grain, arms, and cars have been discussed. The issue of the social and economic significance of solving the housing problem in Russia has been raised.     

On the Structure,Dynamics, and Use of the Asset Share in the National Wealth

In this article, the share of assets in the national wealth is taken as the object of analysis and forecast. The dynamics, structure and use of the basic elements of Russia’s productive assets—natural capital (energy inputs), human capital, and active fixed assets—are analyzed. It is shown that the natural capital will inevitably be replaced by human capital in combination with the asset share in fixed capital, and that the economy in the coming transition period (2018–2030) will necessarily transform to an innovative growth model.The annual balances of changes in the components of the assets in the national wealth for 2012–2016 are developed. The impact of the crisis is estimated. Some promising directions for using the accumulated human capital together with the asset share in fixed capital for a transition from a resource-based to an innovation model of Russia’s development are considered and substantiated.     

Metafrontier frameworks for the study of firm-level efficiencies and technology ratios

This paper uses the concept of a metafrontier to compare the technical efficiencies of firms that may be classified into different groups. The paper presents the basic analytical framework necessary for the definition of a metafrontier, shows how a metafrontier can be estimated using non-parametric and parametric methods, and presents an empirical application using cross-country agricultural sector data. The paper also explores the issues of technological change, time-varying technical inefficiency, multiple outputs, different efficiency orientations, and firm heterogeneity.     

Does securities regulation constrain small business finance? An empirical analysis

In November 2001, the Canadian province of Ontario amended the private placement regulations considerably to facilitate access to equity financing by small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). To determine the extent to which securities regulation is an effective constraint on financing of growth corporations, we analyze issue activity before and after this change took effect. We note an increase in the number of issues, but only a slight increase in the total amounts raised on the private market following the reform. The average size of the issues has thus decreased. Some of the observed changes can be traced to concurrent events, namely the burst of the technology bubble and the strong increase in the prices of natural resources, which represent a major sector in Canada. When we control for various factors that influence issue activity, we observe a statistically significant effect only on the number of issues by closed corporations, which seems to originate from the non-resource companies. These results do not rule out the conclusion that the reform eased the issue of small amounts of money by private companies. However, our results do not confirm the argument that securities regulation is a major constraint to small business finance.

How does qualitative data collection modality affect disclosure of sensitive information and participant experience? Findings from a quasi-experimental study

Quality & Quantity - Focus groups (FGs) and individual interviews (IDIs) can be conducted in-person or in several different online contexts. We conducted a quasi-experimental study and assessed...     

On the marketing implications of place narratives

Abstract

Acknowledging that ‘locals’ are recognised as an important (yet neglected) dimension of place marketing and following critiques of places as ‘products’, the purpose of this paper is to give voice to ‘local people’. Drawing on local narratives of Santorini, Greece, we call attention to places as culturally significant and discursively produced and consumed. Local narratives provide multiple meanings constructed around the diverse and contested experiences of living and making a living in a place. Our analysis employs the metaphors of ‘harsh beauty’, ‘service business’ and ‘home’ to capture these perspectives. The paper has implications for the development of generative metaphors of ‘place’ and ‘local’ within place marketing and contributes to the dialogue over the continued relevance of our discipline to the public sphere.     

Determinants of local housing growth in a multi-jurisdictional region,along with a test for nonmarket zoning

In the State of New Jersey, two rural preservation tools are paramount: (1) Zoning that sets a floor on the size of residential lots; and (2) the outright acquisition of open space or its development rights by government and nonprofit entities. The present study explores the effects of these two policies on the number of building permits issued across 83 municipalities in northern New Jersey. The empirical work is based on a widely-used urban development model that uses both monocentric and polycentric factors to allocate growth across a set of suburban communities. The study also develops a growth-based test for binding minimum-lot-size zoning, leveraging the fact that the 83 communities are in a single housing market and must serve the distribution of home and lot-size demand collectively, not individually. The study finds strong evidence of excess large-lot zoning, leading to the suppression of short-term housing growth in communities that specialize in this particular “product.” No firm evidence is found that residential development is attracted to the amenities that flow from either large-lot zoning or open space set asides.     

An aggregate quantity framework for measuring and decomposing productivity change

Total factor productivity (TFP) can be defined as the ratio of an aggregate output to an aggregate input. This definition naturally leads to TFP indexes that can be expressed as the ratio of an output quantity index to an input quantity index. If the aggregator functions satisfy certain regularity properties then these TFP indexes are said to be multiplicatively complete. This paper formally defines what is meant by completeness and reveals that (1) the class of multiplicatively complete TFP indexes includes Laspeyres, Paasche, Fisher, T?rnqvist and Hicks-Moorsteen indexes, (2) the popular Malmquist TFP index of Caves et al. (Econometrica 50(6):1393?C1414, 1982a) is incomplete, implying it cannot always be interpreted as a measure of productivity change, (3) all multiplicatively complete TFP indexes can be exhaustively decomposed into measures of technical change and efficiency change, and (4) the efficiency change component can be further decomposed into measures of technical, mix and scale efficiency change. Artificial data are used to illustrate the decomposition of Hicks-Moorsteen and Fisher TFP indexes.     

Screening: Value enhancing or diminishing?

Using an international sample of environmental and social firm-level ratings between 2007 and 2019, we form synthetic overlapping region-based equity portfolios to examine the impact of screening stringency on abnormal returns and specific risk. While previous literature analyzes this relationship in a bidimensional setting, inferences made in this study are additionally robust to regional levels of market efficiency. Our results suggest that (1) screening stringency displays an inverted curvilinear relationship with risk-adjusted returns and (2) the impact on specific risk is strictly increasing. Thus, portfolios that employ marginal and substantial screening incur the cost of responsible investing. However, moderate screening has the benefit of increasing performance without the burden of financing the least responsible corporations.     

Entrepreneurial ecosystem for cooperatives: The case of Kyrgyz agricultural cooperatives

The article discusses the development of agricultural cooperatives in Kyrgyzstan from an entrepreneurial ecosystem (EE) perspective. Agricultural development priorities explain cooperatives’ importance in Kyrgyz government's policies, but cooperatives still fail at countering the challenges of the smallholder economy. Considering agricultural cooperatives as a form of rural entrepreneurship, this paper aims to contribute to the discussion of the factors that support cooperatives in developing countries adapting the EE framework to cooperative entrepreneurship. Using a content analysis method, we analysed and coded textual data from documentary and archival publications on the agricultural cooperatives in Kyrgyzstan published by the government, cooperatives and their unions and the reports of international organizations. We identify five main dimensions of the cooperative entrepreneurial ecosystem for cooperatives: (1) policy and regulatory framework; (2) education and skills; (3) market environment; (4) culture; (5) networks. We found that even if the overall structure of cooperatives’ EE can be comparable to conventional enterprises, its sub-elements significantly differ for cooperative enterprises. Despite its exploratory character and single-case research design, this article contributes to the theoretical discussion on cooperative entrepreneurial ecosystems in post-socialist developing contexts and offers a framework of analysis for cooperative development policies and practices.