2,705 research outputs found
The Great Divide: Ruralisation of Poverty in Russia
No full textUsing data from the RLMS for the period 2000-2004 we investigate poverty trends in Russia. We find that urban poverty declines at twice the rate of rural poverty so that by 2004 poverty in Russia had become a largely rural phenomenon for the first time since transition began. This finding does not stem from changing population characteristics or shares, is not dependent on the use of a particular poverty line nor is it driven by the rapid expansions that have occurred in Moscow, St. Petersburg or other urban areas. Our findings flesh out those of Ravallion et al (2007) who, in contrast to other regions, "find signs" of a ruralisation of poverty in Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union. We attribute some of the differential to the labour market
Die Vorbothen des neüen Heidenthums : und die Anstalten, die dazu vorgekehret worden sind
No full textvon dem Author der Beredtsamkeit der Väter [=Joseph Anton Weissenbach] ...Vignette auf Titelseit
Corporate governance and control in Russian banks
No full textThe Working Paper employs the paradigm of new institutional economics to examine peculiarities of the Russian model of corporate governance and control in the banking sector. The study relies upon theoretical as well as applied research of corporate governance in Russian commercial banks featuring different forms of ownership. We focus on real interests of all stakeholders, namely bank and stock market regulators, bank owners, investors, top managers and other insiders. The Anglo-American concept of corporate governance, based on agency theory and implying outside investors' control over banks through stock market, is found to bear limited relevance. We suggest some ways of overcoming the gap between formal institutions of governance and the real life
Ownership structure and development of Polish life insurance companies - evidence from 1991 to 2004
No full textThe main aim of this paper is to demonstrate the relationship between changes in the ownership structure and the development of life insurance companies in Poland. The simple regression model is used to reveal the relation. The findings of this study, that the solvency ratio, overall indebtedness ratio, premiums retention ratio and profitability ratio on technical activity and sales are positively related with the changes in the share of foreign capital and especially that the claims ratio is negatively related, suggest that foreign investments have greatly influenced the development of the life insurance industry in Poland during the transition period
Do government sponsored vocational training programs help the unemployed find jobs?
No full textThe study estimates the employment effect of vocational training programs for the unemployed in urban Russia. The results of propensity score matching indicate that training programs had a non-negative overall effect on the program participants relative to non-participants
Between vision and reality: promoting innovation through technoparks in Kazakhstan
No full textA common motivation for the technopark movement is the belief that technoparks promote innovation and economic growth at regional and/or national levels. The paper analyses the role of technoparks as instruments of innovation promotion in Kazakhstan using data from a firm survey and interviews. Our results suggest that, unlike what is assumed in the innovation policy literature, technoparks do not house firms dealing with the commercialisation of innovations that are ready for introduction to the market. Technopark firms are no more innovative than other firms. They are oriented largely towards the local market, and operate in traditional sectors; the frequency and intensity of their external links are more developed than are their internal links. The key motivations for relocating to a technopark seem to be lower rents and the possibility of accessing finance. Overall, Kazakh technoparks seem to be successful in terms of facilitating business incubation, but much les so in terms of innovation promotion and diversification of the economy. Currently, Kazakh industry does not make any demands for local R&D, and its sources of competitiveness lie in non-R&D activities. This suggests that innovation policy should focus on assisting companies to upgrade their technological capabilities to the level that they can articulate their R&D demands. Focusing on technoparks as the main mechanism to improve competitiveness and diversify the economy is an ineffective and uncertain a policy option at this stage of the country's economic development. However, there seems to be significant scope for supporting business incubation. These conclusions are of relevance to other emerging economies
The right to silence in the presence of Anton Piller: A question of self incrimination
No full textThe author discusses the advent of Anton Piller orders and contrasts its benefits against the right against self incrimination
Do Government Sponsored Vocational Training Programs Help the Unemployed Find Jobs? Evidence from Russia
No full textThe study estimates the employment effect of vocational training programs for the unemployed in urban Russia. The results of propensity score matching indicate that training programs had a non-negative overall effect on the program participants relative to non-participants.Unemployment, transition economies, active labour market programs, evaluation, propensity score
Research and Development and Competitiveness in South Eastern Europe: Asset or Liability for EU Integration?
No full textThis paper explores the relationship between research and development (R&D) and competitiveness of the SEE economies from the perspective of the EU integration and the EU as a knowledge based economy. Specifically, the paper addresses the question of whether SEE is a potential asset or a liability in this process. SEE countries are quite diverse in terms of levels of competitiveness, with visible effects on the role of R&D which is confirmed by analysis of the demand and supply factors of R&D. Although tentative, results show that innovation policy that takes account of the supply and demand side factors of R&D is essential to knowledge based growth in the SEE economies. This poses some limits to traditionally defined S&T policy as a sectoral activity and calls for new approaches, which are discussed in the paper
Secularism and the death and return of the author: Rereading the Rushdie affair after Joseph Anton
No full textIn what ways has the contemporary British novel served to contribute to the ethos of secular liberalism that underpins the ideology of the colonial present before and after the “War on Terror”? This article seeks to address this question through a rereading of Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses and its critical reception. Beginning with a discussion of the secularism/theology binary in Roland Barthes’ essay “The Death of the Author”, the paper considers how the ideology of secularism that Barthes attributes to the birth of the reader has shaped and influenced the public understanding of the Rushdie affair before and after 9/11. With close reference to Rushdie’s memoir, Joseph Anton, the essay proceeds to address how Rushdie’s own account of the production and reception of The Satanic Verses in Joseph Anton might be regarded as a particular form of secular misreading that calls the authority of the book’s implied author into question. By addressing questions such as these, this article suggests that Rushdie’s literary reworking of Islamic history in The Satanic Verses and his defence of this reworking in Joseph Anton demand a rethinking of the relationship between the ideology of secularism and postmodern theories of reading. Such a rethinking, I suggest, also demands a consideration of the ways in which the contemporary figure of the emancipated reader is implicated in the secularist ideology of the colonial present.</p
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