National Award Ceremony in Applied Economics Held at HSE
The prestigious National Award in Applied Economics 2016 has been granted to Ekaterina Zhuravskaya, Professor at the Paris School of Economics, and Evgeny Yakovlev, Professor and Director of the New Economic School Data Centre, for their paper ‘The Unequal Enforcement Of Liberalization: Evidence From Russia's Reform Of Business Regulation’. The National Award ceremony took place on April 20, 2016 as part of the XVII April International Academic Conference on Economic and Social Development.
The National Award in Applied Economics was established in 2009 by the Higher School of Economics (HSE, Moscow), New Economic School (NES, Moscow), the Ural Federal University (UrFU, Ekaterinburg), Association of Russian Economic Think Tanks (ARETT, Moscow), RAS Institute of World Economy and International Relations (IMEMO RAS), and Expert business magazine (Moscow). The award is given once every two years for outstanding published papers that analyse the Russian economy at the country, industry, regional, or company level.
This year 20 papers were nominated, two of them were rejected by the jury as they did not meet the formal criteria such as nomination and publication deadlines. A total of 18 papers were sent for anonymous review to at least two experts, more than half of whom were international scholars from leading universities and research centres.
17 of 18 papers represent the articles published in international journals, including Journal of the European Economic Association, Review of Economics and Statistics, Journal of Development Economics, Journal of Law and Economics and Journal of Comparative Economics. The papers were either written by Russian or international authors alone or co-authored by Russian and international scholars. The number of papers in each category was approximately the same.
‘The fact that many works submitted to the contest were co-authored by Russian and international researchers, published in leading peer-reviewed journals, and widely cited means that the Russian economy is an interesting research topic internationally, and that Russian scholars are well-known and highly qualified,’ — said Laura Solanko, Senior Advisor at the Bank of Finland, member of this year’s jury and the winner of the National Award in Applied Economics - 2014.
The topics were quite varied, ranging from individual and company behaviour on the stock and labour markets to the role of economic and political institutions in economic development, as well as issues related to Russia’s economic history.
Ekaterina Zhuravskaya and Evgeny Yakovlev examined the Russian reform of the early 2000s aimed at decreasing regulatory costs for business.
‘This paper examines the critical question in the development economics: how economic liberalization affects the performance of small businesses, — said Alexander Muraviev, member of the jury and Associate Professor at the HSE St. Petersburg School of Economics and Management. The main conclusion of the study is that liberalization has a positive impact on the performance of small firms and affects the growth of small businesses as a whole. The positive effect is stronger in regions with more transparent local government, better informed residents, stronger and more reform-oriented business lobbyists, and broader autonomy, in other words, in regions with stronger institutions. In our opinion, the work is not only interesting from the point of view of economic science, but may also help to respond to the challenges faced by the Russian economy.’
During the ceremony several papers received honourable mention, including the following:
- Serguey Braguinsky, Sergey Mityakov, and Andrey Liscovich, 2014. Direct Estimation of Hidden Earnings: Evidence from Administrative Data. Journal of Law and Economics, 57(2): 281-319.
- Julia Shvets, Judicial Institutions and Firms’ External Finance: Evidence from Russia, Journal of Law, Economics and Organization, August 2013 29: 735-764.
- Irena Grosfeld & Alexander Rodnyansky & Ekaterina Zhuravskaya, 2013. Persistent Antimarket Culture: A Legacy of the Pale of Settlement after the Holocaust, American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 5(3), pages 189-226.
See also:
‘The World Is Becoming More Complex and Less Predictable’: What Scientists Say about the Future
The future is now more difficult for researchers to forecast, and events that are hard to predict are playing an increasingly significant role. But there is good news too: scientists are confident that humanity will adapt to any changes. This was the focus of discussion at the International Symposium ‘Foresight in a Rapidly Changing World,’ which took place as part of the 25th Yasin (April) International Academic Conference.
Fragmentation and Bloc Formation: How the Global Economy is Changing
Sergey Dubinin, former head of the Bank of Russia and Professor of Finance and Credit at the Faculty of Economics at Moscow State University, has delivered an honorary address at the XXV Yasin (April) International Academic Conference. He spoke about the transformation of the global monetary and financial system, as well as the Russian economy.
More Children, More Happiness: HSE Experts Study Impact of Number of Children on Russians' Assessment of Happiness
Russians with children feel happier than those without children. At the same time, the number of children influences the assessment of happiness: the more children Russians have, the happier they feel. These conclusions were outlined inthe report ‘More Children, More Happiness: The Impact of the Number of Children on Russians’ Assessment of Happiness,’ presented at the XXV Yasin (April) International Academic Conference on Economic and Social Development, held on April 15–18 at HSE University. The study was conducted by Elena Churilova, Senior Research Fellow, and Dmitry Jdanov, Chief Research Fellowat HSE International Laboratory for Population and Health.
HSE Expands Cooperation with Gulf Countries
HSE University and the Centre for International Policy Research (Qatar) have agreed to collaborate in the field of social sciences, with plans for joint research, academic exchanges, and regular expert engagement. The agreement was signed during the roundtable ‘State Capacity and State Resilience in the Global South,’ held as part of the 25th Yasin (April) International Academic Conference at HSE University.
‘We Grow Old before We Become Rich’: How BRICS Countries Can Achieve Economic Growth
Due to population aging, many countries aiming for economic prosperity have limited time left to undergo economic transformation, according to the honorary report Narratives Versus Reality on Employment and Demography: How Undermining Institutions Can Push Countries Out of the ‘Narrow Corridor’ by Santosh Mehrotra of the University of Bath. The report was presented at the XXV Yasin (April) International Academic Conference.
XXV Yasin (April) Academic Conference Kicks Off at HSE University
The anniversary 25th Yasin (April) International Academic Conference on Economic and Social Development will take place from April 15 to 18. This year, over a thousand applications were submitted to present at the conference, of which the Programme Committee selected 381 of the best research papers in their respective fields.
HSE University Announces Call for Proposals to Attend Anniversary Yasin Conference
HSE University invites submissions of proposals with academic reports for participation in the 25th Yasin (April) International Academic Conference (YIAC). The conference programme, centred on five research themes addressing issues of economic and social development, will retain its interdisciplinary focus and welcome participation from leading scientists in Russia and around the globe. The key events of the 25th Yasin Conference will be taking place in Moscow from April 15 to 18, 2025.
25th Yasin (April) International Academic Conference Now Accepting Proposals
Reports on new research results will be presented and discussed as part of the conference’s sections. These reports will be selected based on reviews of proposals. As always, the conference programme features expert discussions of the most pressing economic, social, internal and external issues in the format of roundtables and associated events.
Academic Council: HSE University’s Contribution to Achieving National Goals and Development Priorities to Increase
HSE University’s Development Programme until 2030 will be improved in order to increase the university’s contribution to achieving national goals and implementing the priorities of the country’s scientific and technological development. This decision was made by the university’s Academic Council on April 26. The meeting also addressed the principles for the development of HSE University’s external communications, one of which is the creation of a high-quality information field around the university.
Keeping Up with the Neighbours: Envy as a Driver of Economic Growth
Classical economic theory assumes that economic agents are entirely self-interested and rational in their pursuit of material well-being, and that they are not affected by external factors. As a result, externalities are not considered in any way when constructing economic models. Nevertheless, some sociologists argue for a revision of modern economic theory to incorporate the ethical dimensions of economic agents' behaviour. Kirill Borissov, Professor of the Faculty of Economics at the European University in St Petersburg, spoke at the XXIV Yasin (April) International Academic Conference and shared his observations from creating his own economic model incorporating the factor of envy.