107 research outputs found
Measuring the Value Added by Money in Trade
No full textThe paper tests the proposition that money generates value in trade. It examines the data for 5,746 Russian companies for 1997 and finds that money accounts for 24.6 percent of their value-added. The functional form of the return on money in trade is determined to be positive and marginally declining. The paper imputes that Russian GDP lost 8.1 percent in 1997 because of diminished use of money in trade. It hypothesizes that the severity of the Great Depression in the USA of 1930s could have been significantly reduced if the proposed barter networks were implemented at the time.Money, Value-added, Empirical econometrics
Non-monetary Trade and Differential Access to Credit in the Russian Transition
No full textThe unusual rise and fall of non-monetary trade (NMT) in the Russian transition has been a subject of heated debates. Yet, this phenomenon is often viewed as a peculiarity that one cannot explain by economic considerations alone. In this paper we show that the resort to NMT was a rational, albeit spontaneous, reaction of industrial enterprises to the outflow of liquidity, which in turn was precipitated by the combination of persistent budgetary deficit and strict monetary policy. The IMF pledge to stand by if the government became insolvent made this policy credible. Several mechanisms contributed to the development of credit rationing of enterprises. First, the abandonment of implicit guarantees on loans extended to enterprises by the Central Bank of Russia prompted commercial banks to shift credit to other groups of borrowers. Second, when the Federal Government moved to finance its budgetary deficit through open-market operations, it crowded out commercial credit. Third, public money was transferred predominantly to households who partially lent it back to the government. Fourth, the policy of low exchange rate kept the balance of payment close to zero, which prevented the monetary base from growing. The default of August 1998 constituted a clear structural break. It prompted modifications in monetary and fiscal policies. The collapse of the market for state securities led to widespread bank failures. The CBR abandoned its policy of non-intervention in fiscal affairs and cleared debts that the governments and enterprises accumulated. In addition, money supply expanded because increased inflows of foreign currency were incompletely sterilized. The combination of a lesser government presence at credit markets, clearance of debts, and increase in money supply injected liquidity in domestic producers and they abandoned NMT. Statistical evidence supports the claim that NMT was caused by credit rationing experienced by enterprises. A GLS model with four explanatory variables (and dummies accounting for a structural break of August 1998) explains more than 90% of monthly changes in NMT for the period of February 1992 – December 2001. The collapse of the market for government loans appears to be the most significant event accountable for the structural break.Non-monetary trade, structural break, Russian transition
Heptnerina Ivanenko & Defaye 2004, n. gen.
No full textGenus Heptnerina n. gen. TYPE SPECIES. — Heptnerina confusa n. sp. ETYMOLOGY. — The new generic name derives from the family name of the marine biologist Mikhail V. Heptner (1940-2002), collaborator and teacher of the first author. DIAGNOSIS. — First pedigerous somite free, concealed laterally beneath posterior outgrowth of cephalosome. Paragnath armed with four setae. Caudal ramus with seven setae, seta I short. Antennule of female 10- segmented, with subdivided third, fourth and fifth segments; antennule of male 17-segmented. Antenna with two long exopodal setae. Mandibular palp with two-segmented endopod and four-segmented exopod; distal segment with two setae, one shorter and with setules on tip. Maxillule with exopod bearing four setae, one shorter and with setules on tip. Maxilla with praecoxa and coxa separated by arthrodial membrane posteriorly. Maxilliped composed of seven segments: praecoxa with two endites armed with one and three setae; coxa and basis each with one endite armed with two strong setae; four-segmented endopod with setal formula 0, 0, 1, 4. Legs 1-4 with three-segmented rami; spine and seta formula as for type species. Endopod of leg 4 with three particularly robust setae (two setae on second segment and proximal seta of third segment). Fifth leg with intercoxal plate, and with protopod armed with external seta. Exopod of female leg 5 one-segmented, bearing two spines and one seta; exopod of male leg 5 one-segmented with two additional internal setae. Short segment-like endopodal structure of leg 5 in female present or absent. Sixth leg with three setae in both sexes.Published as part of Ivanenko, Viatcheslav N. & Defaye, Danielle, 2004, A new genus and species of deep-sea cyclopoid (Crustacea, Copepoda, Cyclopinidae) from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (Azores Triple Junction, Lucky Strike), pp. 49-64 in Zoosystema 26 (1) on page 51, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.540137
Markets and Democracy in Russia
No full textThe paper looks into convergence of Russian institutions with those of other democratic, free-market-oriented states, and considers definitions of "normalcy" that incorporate the concepts of free market, democracy, and government efficiency.The author provides an estimate of Russia s institutional convergence to the standards of the G7 and the Big Five group of large, middle-income countries that includes Brazil, China, and India.In some areas Russia outperforms "Big Five" countries, in others it trails behind.Finally, public mistrust, corruption, and inefficient governance in Russia are discussed in light of the Putin administration s current reform policies
Are effects of the symmetric and asymmetric tonic neck reflexes still visible in healthy adults?
No full textItem does not contain fulltextWhen a cat's head is rotated in a transverse plane to one side, the legs on that side of the body extend, while on the other side, they flex (asymmetric tonic neck reflexes ATNR). On the contrary, when the head is rotated in a sagittal plane both legs flex when the head flexes, and extend when the head extends (symmetric tonic neck reflexes STNR). These reflexes have also been found in newborn babies and are thought to be a motor primitive, which is suppressed later in life. Still, using a test in which children sit on hand and knees, the ATNR and STNR can be found in children up to 9 years of age. This may suggest that these reflexes may still be involved in motor control in these children. Whether this is also the case in full-grown adults has thus far only been studied using coarse methods. Thus, for the current study, we set out to measure in detail whether the ATNR/STNR can still be evoked in healthy adult subjects. We measured 10 subjects who were asked to sit on their hands and knees while (1) their head was rotated left and right by an experimenter, (2) their head was flexed and extended by an experimenter. Kinematics was registered using a Vicon system. Elbow and head angles were detrended, and a regression analysis was performed, to investigate the effects of head angle on elbow angle. Results clearly showed the existence of the ATNR and STNR in adult subjects. A next step will be to assess the effects of the ATNR and STNR during everyday motor control tasks, such as making head rotations while driving a bike
Statutory Tax Burden and Its Avoidance in Transitional Russia
No full textWas taxation so heavy in the Russian transition that firms could not stay afloat?” is the question that this paper aims to answer. It details the fiscal structure and uses data from a number of sources to calculate statutory tax rates faced by businesses in 1995. The results show that statutory rates were manageable in the short run but unsustainable for several sectors in the long run. Important exceptions are the sectors of oil and gas extraction, which were overtaxed by statutory rates. The problem of tax avoidance and arrears is explored by looking on the difference between statutory and effective tax rates and effective and actual tax payments. Regression analysis shows that tax avoidance rises with gross profit suggesting that profitable firms lobby successfully for tax exemptions. However, when the sectors of gas and oil extraction are excluded from the regression, its estimate becomes insignificant. The paper conjectures that the government deliberately imposed unsustainable statutory tax rates since their consequent renegotiation with oil and gas producers was expected. Tax arrears are found to be strongly and positively correlated with the sectoral average employment. Yet, the hypothesis of strategic labor hoarding is rejected on the grounds that large tax debtors are large trade creditors as well. Finally, the paper asks the question of inflationary taxation. We recalculate input costs at their replacement values and find that almost all sectors are better off going out of business. Searching for possible explanations of why they continued to operate, the benefits and costs of receiving and extending trade and tax non-payments are considered. The results show that enterprises used non-payments to compensate incompletely for the costs of inflation.Russian Transition, Statutory Taxation, Inflation
Effective Tax Rates in Transition
No full textThe paper addresses the question of effective tax rates for Russian economic sectors in transition. It presents a detailed account of fiscal environment for 1995 and compares statutory obligations with reported tax liabilities. The paper finds that taxation did not contribute to recession, as some observors believed at the time. It extends research by questioning the role that inflation played distorting revenue structure. When the costs of intermediate inputs are adjusted for inflation, many sectors have negative residual revenue, which is indicative of recession. Yet, modeling tax changes to correct the situation does not produce positive results, for the tax share in the cost structure of many sectors is small and cannot compensate for inflationhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/39762/3/wp378.pd
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