Showing papers by "National Research University – Higher School of Economics published in 1996"

The Invisible Hand and the Grabbing Hand

Abstract: Evidence from a survey of 105 shop-owners in Moscow and Warsaw shows that the reliance on private protection, as well as the burden of regulation and corruption, are much greater in Moscow. The evidence suggests that the `invisible hand' model of government better fits the Warsaw local government, and the`grabbing hand' model is more appropriate for Moscow. The evidence implies that the singular focus on the speed of economic reforms to understand the success of transition is misplaced, and that the quality of government may be as essential.

Producer Subsidy Equivalents for Russian Agriculture: Estimation and Interpretation

Abstract: In this paper we present estimates of producer subsidy equivalents (PSEs) for Russian agriculture over the 1992-94 period. The estimated values are highly negative, indicating that Russian agriculture has been heavily taxed. Two types of taxation have been at work. First, government trade and price policies, at the regional as well as the federal level, have operated to keep domestic producer prices below world prices. Second, deficient Russian physical and institutional infrastructure has resulted in high domestic transaction costs for Russian agricultural output. Since in competing with goods on the world market Russian producers must bear all the costs of getting their output to final users, the high transaction costs in an economic sense also "tax" domestic production. The PSE methodology was created to measure the effect on agricultural prices and incomes of government policies targeted specifically at agriculture.' To be consistent with standard methodology, one should subtract out from the initial price gap estimates for Russian agricultural output that part of the price differential caused by deficient domestic infrastructure. An alternative approach, though, is based on recognition that the deficient infrastructure was in-

Changes of Control and Business Reengineering in Russian Privatized Companies

Abstract: The success of societal transformation in Russia depends on the ingenuity of Russian managers to link the legacy of the communist regime and the national patterns of industrial organization with the prerequisites of a modern economy. This article reports on a study of management in organizational transformation for 20 privatized industrial companies in Russia and describes the changes in their control structures and strategies. Organizational and economic factors determining the establishing of specific control arrangements and their impact on business reengineering are analyzed by synthesis of surveys and case studies. Implications for western partners and suggestions for further research are drawn.

Restructuring of Enterprise Social Assets in Russia: Trends, Problems, Possible Solutions

Abstract: What to do about social services that Russia's state enterprises have traditionally provided is a major issue in enterprise restructuring and public policy reform If taxes and the provision of social services are rationalized at the time those social assets are divested, pioneering steps could be taken in restructuring the social sector Public enterprises in the formerly socialist countries have provided many social services to employees and the public, services that divert them from their core activities, raise their costs, and keep them from being competitive How to deal with these social assets is a major problem in enterprise restructuring: Large insolvent enterprises that provide many social services in a community often have the bargaining power to delay bankruptcy procedures and force the state to continue subsidizing them But users of social services are not protected from enterprise managers' arbitrary actions or from a general deterioration in the level of services provided As enterprises are restructured, the public sector must become involved in (1) protecting critical services, such as kindergarten, that might otherwise disappear as enterprise funding is reduced, (2) facilitating reform of housing and health services, among others, (3) guaranteeing citizens' access to public services, and (4) reducing costs by rationalizing the management and provision of services Freinkman and Starodubrovskaya analyze policy options in the restructuring of enterprises' social assets They argue that the options differ depending on the benefits Some benefits should remain as part of a traditional labor compensation package, and others should be privatized or transferred to municipal governments Housing, especially, and child care facilities are services enterprises should not be in the business of providing, they contend Divesting enterprises of housing is a transitional strategy on the way to transferring its ownership and management to the private sector Unfortunately, the rules of the game under which municipal governments divest enterprises of housing are nontransparent and entirely under municipal control, and vested interests have many ways to postpone or block divestiture - even though most enterprise managers welcome it because it will reduce their costs and administrative burden Social spending by Russian enterprises represents as much as 20 percent of gross wage costs Shifting and reducing those costs requires smart financial and tax planning, sound regulations, and housing reform (including greater cost recovery), among other things This paper - a product of Country Operations Division 2, Europe and Central Asia, Country Department III - was first prepared for the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis conference in Vienna, February 1995

Different strategies of transition to a market economy: how do they work in practice?

Abstract: In 1989, the former communist countries embarked on a transition from centrally planned command economies to market economies (and from repressive dictatorships to Western-style democracies). In addressing the question,"What is the optimal strategy for this transformation?", the author revisits the controversy about how quickly and radically the new market rules and their components should be adopted in the former communist countries and discusses the economic and political problems associated with different strategies. Among his conclusions: 1) generally, the faster and more comprehensive the economic reform, the more chance there is to minimize its economic, social, and political costs, and to avoid chronic macroeconomic mismanagement. A more radical and disciplined path of transition is all the more important when initial conditions are less favorable and negative external shocks are greater. Only countries such as Hungary - which had made some progress in market-oriented reform before communism's collapse and which experienced less macroeconomic disequilibrium - could go more slowly; 2) political liberalization and democratization helps the economic transition succeed mainly because it helps weaken the political positions of the traditional communist oligraphy, which is interested mainly in rent-seeking; 3) unless stabilization and liberalization are achieved quickly, microeconomic restructuring cannot be expected to progress quickly, even if privatization does (as it has in Russia). Other aspects of the transition may take more time. For privatization to succeed, for example, a legal base and organizational infrastructure must be created. But even with privatization, a rapid transition is less risky for restructuring and for complex institutional reform than a slow transition; 4) there is no way to avoid a relatively large decline in output, especially of industrial production in the state sector; 5) granting concessions to, and bargaining with, various pressure groups does not produce the expected political results or increase social acceptance of reform; and 6) governments should not be afraid of"aiming too high"in embarking on a stabilization program or any other component of transformation. Most post-communist governments do the opposite: dilute the program so much it becomes ineffective.

Fiscal Crisis in the Transformation Period - Trends, Stylized Facts and Some Conceptual Problems

Abstract: The purpose of this study is to describe the separate stages of the transformation in light of the basic accompanying fiscal difficulties and to formulate general conclusions regarding the factors which substantially affect the state of public finances and the quality of fiscal policy in post-communist countries. The structure of the paper is as follows: Section 2 provides a synthetic classification of the post-communist economies according to their advancement in the transformation process; section 3 contains a proposed scheme for distinguishing successive stages of fiscal policy during the transformation period. In the following four sections, four such stages of fiscal policy are discussed. These are: initial destabilization, initial stabilization, secondary fiscal crisis, and finally, the restoration of fiscal potential. Section 8 is devoted to a group of countries which have not been able, so far, to achieve sustainable macroeconomic stabilization. Section 9 presents the issues concerning quasi-fiscal subsidies and the quasi- fiscal deficit. Section 10 contains a summary and concluding remarks.

Analysis of parameters of multilayer carbon interference structures in the soft x‐ray range

Abstract: A new type of x‐ray interference mirrors using hydrogenated carbon films of various densities is described. The reflection coefficient and resolution of multilayer carbon structures obtained in the soft x‐ray range (1.54–44.7 A) are investigated experimentally and theoretically. As is shown, hydrogenated carbon films can be used to create mirrors with high resolution.

Localization of modules over small quantum groups

Abstract: A report on the works hep-th/9411050, q-alg/9412017, q-alg/9503013, q-alg/9506011 and a joint work with R.Bezrukavnikov.

Industrial enterprises in the markets: New marketing relations, status and prospects of competition

Abstract: Working Papers are interim reports on work of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis and have received only limited review. Views or opinions expressed herein do not necessarily represent those of the Institute, its National Member Organizations, or other organizations supporting the work. Foreword The Economic Transition and Integration (ETI) Project at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) started a research activity on the behavior of Rus-sian enterprises under liberalization, privatization and restructuring in 1995{1996. This activity originated upon the initiative of the Ministry of Economy of the Russian Federation. The major reason for focusing on this subject was the fact that the current state and further transformation of Russian medium and large sized enterprises became a c hallenge for the continuation and success of transition related reforms. Despite certain positive tendencies, numerous enterprises still adjust themselves to ongoing changes without considerable market adaptation and modernization. The emerging ownership structure and nancial markets demonstrate limited positive in BLOCKINuence on stockholders' incentives, decision-making process and strategies of restructuring. In the course of these enterprise studies, a workshop on \Russian Enterprises on the Path of Market Adaptation and Restructuring" was organized at IIASA on 1{3 February 1996. Russian and Western experts, extensively working in the area of enterprise performance under transition, focused the discussions on recent empirical ndings and analyses concerning the following issues: typical models of enterprise behavior; development of the nancial situation at the enterprises and its determinants; impact of emerging markets and competition on enterprises; the consequences of privatization and patterns of restructuring ; and enterprise social assets divestiture and conversion. The workshop arrived at both analytical conclusions and recommendations for policy measures stimulating \con-structive" enterprise behavior. Possibilities for a joint research project on the motivations and behavior of enterprises in transition economies were also discussed. The circulation of selected workshop papers as IIASA Working Papers is undertaken in order to provoke broad discussions of presented analytical results. In Dr. Andrey Yakovlev's paper, the description of enterprise behavior in the markets is presented along with an analysis of monopoly eects and peculiarities of competition within the Russian industry.

Localization of modules over small quantum groups

Abstract: A report on the works hep-th/9411050, q-alg/9412017, q-alg/9503013, q-alg/9506011 and a joint work with R.Bezrukavnikov.

Localization of modules over small quantum groups

Abstract: A report on the works hep-th/9411050, q-alg/9412017, q-alg/9503013, q-alg/9506011 and a joint work with R.Bezrukavnikov.