What is the link between the fiscal decentralization, inequality among municipalities within a region, and Russian regions' welfare? Despite the conventional wisdom that fiscal decentralization is beneficial, the author suggests that the poor Russian regions do not always gain from...

The project aims at explaining substantial discrepancies between different estimations of economic inequality and poverty of the Russian population. The authors suggest that in 1990-1997 inequality and poverty indices had a cycling character; they propose to study the causes of the high regional...

The authors construct a computable general equilibrium (CGE) model of a Nizhny Novgorod regional economy – a typical large industrialised re-gion of the Russian Federation. The model allows to capture some of the key features of the ‘virtual economy’, such as barter transactions and...

This project will focus on creating an aggregate model for analyzing processes of inflation and stabilization of the Russian economy based on monthly statistical data anaysis. This includes specification of linear and nonlinear multifactor and lag equations, choosing adequate factors, estimation...

The authors investigate the possibility of utilizing the depreciation mechanism to provide incentives for undertaking investment in the real sector of the Russian economy. The proposed model of investor's behavior under risk and uncertainty considers a wide range of tax instruments The authors...

Taxes distort the equilibrium prices and allocation, the result is efficiency losses, i.e. the decrease of household's utility levels. If taxes change the utility levels also change and additional income is required to compensate these changes. This additional income excesses the increment of...

The authors attempt to provide poverty rate estimates in Russia adjusted for in-kind consumption. The results show that for rural households in-kind food consumption accounts, on average, for about 75% of total food consumption and that about 25% of food consumption among urban households comes...

The formation of an efficient employment structure as an important factor stabilizing the situation in regional labor markets and its impact on labor markets' behavior are studied. Theoretical and empirical analysis of regional labor market differences and the factors causing these differences...

This paper proposes a dynamic theory of adjustment of the two contract enforcement mechanisms: use of collateral and coalitions employing multilateral punishment strategies. We show that in the aftermath of transition, both of these mechanisms fail to provide sufficient protection so that not...

In a transition economy, many of employee/employer's contracts are informal, rather than formal. Even in cases when formal contracts concluded, external legal enforcement of a contract often appears to be imperfect and costly. Sometimes, this brings to the employer the opportunity to 'deceive'...