The impact of real exchange rate on the Russian economy in internal and external markets is studied. The analysis takes into account that imported goods are only partial substitutes for those produced domestically, as the former is comprised mainly by manufactures with diverse properties....

Today the broadest possible interpretation of the concept of "subsidy," counting any state intervention that leads to a reduction in prices compared to the level that would exist under free market conditions as a subsidy, is commonly accepted. Proceeding from this concept, the amounts of tax...

The paper looks into emergence of external imbalances and economy’s adjustment to them. We find that Russian economy adjusts mainly via increase or decrease of domestic demand (resulting in substantial risks and losses of production), while capacity of adjustment via exchange rate channel is...

The paper evaluates short-term implications of pension reforms made in 2010, and long-term scenarios of pension system development. We find that if size of pension transfer is fixed, prolonged fall of the replacement rate is expected, which makes situation politically unsustainable. Keeping flat...

The article considers fiscal policy in countries that build on the use of nonrenewable natural resources. "Oil GDP," natural rent, and fiscal proceeds from the oil sector are estimated for Russia. These and similar parameters are compared across major oil-producing countries. An econometric...

The paper discusses progress in the implementation of tax reform in Russia. It is argued, basing on theoretical and cross-country analysis, that fine tuning of tax system is a more appropriate major target of reform, than cutting overall tax burden. A simplified model of demand for labor is used...

The factors that determined substantial cross-country variation of output decline during the recent recession are discussed. The regression analysis is performed for the sample of 172 economies, as well as for the sub-samples of developing and oil-exporting economies. Regression results indicate...