What matters to economic decision-making is whether the economy has become more or less predictable. People and businesses use information around them to form judgements about what might happen in the future. The rise in uncertainty might be associated with increased concern about extreme...

In the first part of the paper, it was shown that decisions on privatization have to be considered in the context of more general problem of finding a rational property structure in an economy. The second part demonstrates that public enterprises fulfill a number of special functions which are...

The problem of public sector governance is considered as the task of improving the ownership structure of the economy. In this regard, the first part of the paper provides a brief overview of the theory of privatization. The arguments of supporters and opponents of privatization are confronted...

I discuss goals of institutional experimentation as well as obstacles for its realization. The special attention is given to regional experiments. Institutional experiment reduces transformation costs, in particular, by diminishing probability of formation of erroneous reforms trap. The analyses...

Whilst some valid and justified arguments have been put forward in favour of ring fencing, that is, constructing a fire-wall between consumer and investment banks, and that such activities can be achieved without re structuring banks into separate legal entities, the Liikanen Report highlights...

It is a typical case in the practice of reforms, when a reformer, who seeks to introduce an institution with desired properties, discovers that its immediate implementation is impossible because of resource, technological, cultural, political or institutional constraints. In this case, one has...

The costs and benefits of privatization are considered, focusing on the current Russian conditions. The experience of many countries, as well as econometric and theoretical studies, a review of which is given in the paper, show that relative efficiency of privatized enterprises in comparison...

It is increasingly becoming apparent to domestic and international investors that the European Central Bank’s bond buying programme which commenced in May 2010, “a way of correcting market dislocations that were hampering the central bank’s conduct of monetary policy”, and its provision...

Regulation is written with the intent of protecting the vulnerable. However, it can cause an undesirable result if written without understanding how the positive intent can have a negative impact. In its present form, the proposed Volcker Rule has the potential of expanding the liquidity crisis...

The intention of regulation is to protect the vulnerable. However, unintended results of regulation can cause the opposite occur. In its present form, the proposed Volcker Rule prohibits proprietary trading and has the potential of continuing the liquidity crisis that aided in the degradation of...