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2. NEW METHODOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS FOR THE INTERNATIONAL COMPARISON PROGRAM.
- Author
-
Diewert, Erwin
- Subjects
METHODOLOGY ,PRICE levels ,GROSS domestic product ,MANUFACTURED products - Abstract
The paper explains new methodology that was used in the 2005 International Comparison Program (ICP) that compared the relative price levels and GDP levels across 146 countries. In this round of the ICP, the world was divided into six regions: OECD, CIS, Africa, South America, Asia Pacific, and West Asia. What is new in this round compared to previous rounds of the ICP is that each region was allowed to develop its own product list and collect prices on this list for countries in the region. The regions were then linked using another separate product list; 18 countries across the six regions collected prices for products on this list and this information was used to link prices and quantities across the regions. An additional complication was that the final linking of prices and volumes across regions had to respect the regional price and volume measures that were (separately) constructed by the regions. The paper also studies the properties of the Iklé–Dikhanov–Balk multilateral system of index numbers which was used by Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2010
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
3. Young‐age exposure to armed conflict and women's experiences of intimate partner violence.
- Author
-
Torrisi, Orsola
- Subjects
INTIMATE partner violence ,WAR ,WOMEN ,ADVERSE childhood experiences - Abstract
Objective: This study examines the legacy of experiencing armed conflict in childhood and adolescence on women's later risk of intimate partner violence (IPV) in four ex‐Soviet countries. Background: Prior research is largely concerned with male soldiers and perpetration, and rarely considers when, during the life course, conflict occurs. This study focuses on civilians, women's victimization and pays attention to the age at conflict exposure. This aspect is crucial to understand if war has lasting consequences for family violence, beyond contemporaneous effects. This paper further contributes by providing insights on driving mechanisms. Method: The study combines cross‐national data on IPV from the Demographic and Health Surveys (N = 17,787) and geo‐referenced conflict information from the Uppsala Conflict Data Program. Using linear models with fixed effects, it compares the IPV outcomes of women exposed to conflict before the end of their teens with nonexposed peers and older women. Results: Young‐age conflict exposure is associated with greater adult IPV risk. Childhood exposure (ages 0–10) matters the most, especially for physical forms of IPV. Results are not driven by migration. Analyses of potential pathways show no relationship between war and changing marriage market conditions, or attitudes towards IPV in women. Conversely, men experiencing conflict in late adolescence (16–19) are more likely to condone violence against partners. Furthermore, women's childhood exposure to conflict correlates with having a violent father. Conclusion: War in young‐ages has long‐term implications for family violence. These appear in part related to greater exposure to family violence, and to a normalization of the use of violence in future potential perpetrators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2023
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
4. Nonproliferation Export Control: Problems of Capacity or Organized Hypocrisy?
- Author
-
Lipson, Michael
- Subjects
- *
EXPORT controls , *ORGANIZATIONAL structure , *WEAPONS of mass destruction , *FOREIGN trade regulation , *INTERNATIONAL economic relations - Abstract
This paper explores the hypothesis that the post-Cold War establishment of national export control systems in former Soviet states displays organized hypocrisy. Organized hypocrisy is a phenomenon in which formal organizational structures adopted for symbolic purposes are decoupled from actual behavior. It arises as a response to inconsistent pressures on organizations deriving from the organizational environment. Since the end of the Cold War, former Soviet states have, with Western pressure and assistance, developed national legal and regulatory systems to control the export and transshipment of goods and technologies with applications in the development of weapons of mass destruction. While this has resulted in the establishment of formal structures and procedural arrangements conforming, in varying degrees, to international standards, the mere existence of national export control systems has not translated into consistent implementation and enforcement. This discrepancy has generally been treated as a problem arising from a lack of capacity (resources and expertise to effectively enforce export controls) or political will within former Soviet states. Current policies, appropriate for addressing capacity problems, are unlikely to affect implementation problems arising from organized hypocrisy. This paper surveys relevant theoretical and methodological issues, and policy implications, and presents a plausibility probe of the hypothesis that organized hypocrisy has effects in the export control area that are not reducible to lack of capacity or political will. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2004
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
5. The Post-Soviet Labor Migrations: The Socio-Economic, Legal, and Financial Aspects.
- Author
-
Korobkov, Andrei V. and Zaionchkovskaia, Zhanna A.
- Subjects
- *
EMIGRATION & immigration , *IMMIGRANTS , *LABOR mobility - Abstract
Following a short-term burst of politically-motivated migration activity after the dissolution of the USSR, the current period is marked by the general contraction of the population territorial mobility in the region, the increasing importance of external emigration, and the growing role of the socio-economic factors in defining the character and intensity of the new migration flows. The expansion and substitution of temporary labor migration for the permanent politically motivated migration flows is particularly visible. Another important characteristic of the current situation is the disproportionate influence exercised by Russia on the formation of migration flows in the region. Russia remains the major recipient of migrants, increasingly plays a role of supplier of labor migrants to the West, and acts as a ?bridge? for those attempting to reach Western Europe. Relying on the data of the migrant households? surveys conducted in a number of post-Soviet states, the paper considers the reasons for the shift from the ethnic and political to the socio-economic factors of migration and discusses the major characteristics of the newly-forming labor migration flows. The major issues under consideration include the durability of the labor migration and the structural (professional and demographic) characteristics and the territorial orientation of the new migration flows. The authors conclude that labor migration serves as an effective mechanism of the market transition, providing for the economic survival of the population under the crisis conditions and formation of the middle class in the post-Soviet societies. Special attention in the paper is given to the policies of the countries of emigration and immigration towards the labor migrants and their impact on those countries? labor markets and welfare mechanisms. The authors see as one of the major problems the absence of an effective legislative base, institutional mechanisms, and political will for dealing with the new migration flows, preventing the effective incorporation of labor migrants by the societies of receiving states. This complicates the acquisition of legal status by many labor migrants, resulting in the criminalization of the spheres of economic activity in which they are employed and the growing corruption of state officials. Thus the solution of the problems associated with labor migration requires a comprehensive reform of the governmental policies and the labor and migrant legislation of the post-Soviet states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2004
6. The Evolution of Eurasianism and the ‘Monroeski Doctine’ under Vladimir Putin.
- Author
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Kubicek, Paul
- Subjects
- *
INTERNATIONAL relations - Abstract
Since the collapse of the USSR, ‘Westerners’ and ‘Eurasianists’ have competed to exercise control over Russian foreign policy. In the mid-1990s, the ‘Eurasianists,’ exemplified by figures such as Alexander Dugin and Andranik Migranian, were ascendant, and many speculated the rise of Vladimir Putin would further their fortunes and signal a turn to a more aggressive, hard-nosed Russia. However, Putin’s foreign policy, like his predecessors’, is not under the sway of a single ideology or direction. This paper will examine the status of ‘Eurasianism’ in Russian foreign policy under Putin, and in particular will look at Russian foreign policy in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), where ‘Eurasianism’ took the form of a so-called ‘Monroeski Doctrine.’ Obviously, this unilateral claim of a sphere of influence has been challenged by other states, chief among them the United States, particularly after 9/11. As a consequence, Russians have had to re-think and in some cases re-assert their previous stances, trying to strike a balance between cooperation with the US and maintaining hegemony over the region. In addition to describing the broad contours of Putin’s approach to the CIS, this paper also hopes to assess what factors are driving and (re)shaping policy toward neighboring states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2004
7. Monetary policy regimes in CIS economies and their ability to provide price and financial stability.
- Author
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Dabrowski, Marek
- Subjects
MONETARY policy ,FOREIGN exchange rates ,PRICE inflation - Abstract
Achieving price stability has been a serious challenge for CIS countries. In the first half of the 1990s, they experienced very high inflation or hyperinflation, which had originated in the perestroika period and following the dissolution of the ruble area. After the introduction of new currencies and stabilization programs in the mid-1990s, inflation moderated to two-digit levels. However, for lack of sufficient fiscal policy support, this partial progress did not succeed in preventing the financial crisis of 1998/99. The economic boom of the 2000s allowed for a return to macroeconomic stability with stronger fiscal fundamentals, but nevertheless proved insufficient to withstand the shock from the global financial crisis of 2008/09. The paper analyses the evolution monetary policy regimes of in the CIS countries over the decade of the 2000s and early 2010s and is based on the publicly available cross-country statistics and other information provided by the IMF. The paper compares financial openness in these economies both de jure and de facto. These findings will be tested against the empirical data on exchange rate movements and changes in central banks' international reserves. The paper concludes with a discussion on practical choices which CIS countries have in respect of their future monetary policy regimes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2013
8. Factoring Turbulence Out: Diaspora Regulatory Mechanism and Migration Development Bank.
- Author
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Gevorkyan, Aleksandr V. and Gevorkyan, Arkady V.
- Subjects
FOREIGN workers ,GOVERNMENT policy ,DIASPORA ,REMITTANCES ,IMMIGRATION policy ,ECONOMIC development ,BANKING industry - Abstract
The ongoing economic crisis has shifted much of the policy debate to problems of financial sector regulation, productive capacity collapse, among others. However, this leaves unattended the real situation with labour migration, which directly impacts social and economic inner components of being of millions of individual families across the world. The somewhat ad hoc nature of the process poses several policy issues for the home and host economies alike. Immediate concerns relate to streamlining migrants and remittances flows. This involves sensitive aspects of inequality in migrant workers' labour efforts vis-à-vis domestic workers; migrants' social and legal status; and less obvious, but still profound, unproductive misallocation of labour resources. Derived from this premise and recognizing the need for an institutional approach, this paper offers alternative policy solutions to temporary labour migration regulation. This research's original propositions include a Diaspora Regulatory Mechanism and a Migration Development Bank, both operating within a state-managed temporary labour migration regime. Fiscal action, including multilateral agreements, is crucial. The functionality of these mechanisms will directly impact infrastructure, human capital and entrepreneurial projects development in both home and host economies. Discussion is inspired by the analysis of actual circumstances in the economies of the Commonwealth of Independent States, where migration is a social, economic, and increasingly political issue. In the interlinked world, diasporas become dominant actors across all society strata. The development plateau of the post-socialist states offers a rich economic and social soil to conduct responsible policy with future outlook. Moreover, conditions of ongoing economic crisis offer a unique opportunity for daring research to propose and for a motivated decisionmaker to implement original, proactive, and beneficial policy solutions aimed at streamlining the (temporary) labour migration process. This paper contributes to the emerging literature on topics of diaspora, labour migration, and remittance flows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2012
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
9. Shell companies, Latvian-type correspondent banking, money laundering and illicit financial flows from Russia and the former Soviet Union.
- Author
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Stack, Graham
- Subjects
MONEY laundering ,CORRESPONDENT banks ,INSTITUTIONAL ownership (Stocks) - Abstract
Purpose – The paper aims to examine the role played by international shell companies in Latvian-type correspondent banking, who creates the shell companies according to what criteria and the resulting money laundering operations for financial flows from Russia and the former Soviet Union. Design/methodology/approach – This paper draws on journalist and non-governmental organisations investigations, financial intelligence unit reports, interviews with participants, whistleblower reports and public domain databases to research financial activities shrouded in secrecy with connections to corruption and organised crime. Findings – Latvian-type correspondent banking generates for its clients from the former Soviet Union anonymous shell companies en masse across diverse onshore and offshore jurisdictions. The shell companies are vehicles for moving white, grey and black funds from Russia, Ukraine and other former Soviet countries through international correspondent banking relations to offshore savings accounts and business suppliers. The creation and administration of the shell companies is handled by para-bank “business introducer” structures that dilute customer documentation. Research limitations/implications – This paper does not address the specifics of Latvia’s domestic anti-money laundering (AML) legislation and enforcement thereof. Practical implications – Attempts to eradicate shell companies in individual jurisdictions, for instance, by introducing registers of beneficial ownership of companies, may merely displace the phenomenon to other jurisdictions, and thus treat the symptom not the disease. Originality/value – This is the first scholarly study of mass use of international shell companies by Latvian-type banking in connection with financial flows from Russia, Ukraine and the former Soviet Union. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2015
- Full Text
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10. Higher Education as a Means of Achieving Economic Growth and Development -- A Comparative Analysis of Selected EU and Former Soviet Union Countries.
- Author
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Grdinić, Maja
- Subjects
HIGHER education & state ,ECONOMIC development research ,EDUCATIONAL finance ,PANEL analysis ,COMPARATIVE studies ,EDUCATION - Abstract
Copyright of International Public Administration Review / Mednarodna Revija za Javno Upravo is the property of University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Public Administration and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
- Published
- 2014
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
11. Russian Reactions towards EU–Black Sea Integration.
- Author
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Freire, Maria Raquel
- Subjects
RUSSIAN foreign relations, 1991- ,FOREIGN relations of the European Union ,INTERNATIONAL cooperation ,INTERNATIONAL economic integration - Abstract
This paper looks at how Russian policies towards the Black Sea countries have affected its relations with the European Union (EU), departing from Russian foreign policy and how its goals are projected in this area. The analysis seeks to shed light on how Russian political dealings conflate or clash with EU policies developed towards this space. Is the Black Sea area a space for convergence or instead is it promoting dissension in this bilateral relationship? Does Russia understand the EU as a ‘game changer’ in the area? To what extent does the involvement of other external players, such as the USA, with their different policy goals, affect political relations in this complex geography that is the Black Sea area? The paper argues that Russia has promoted a policy towards the Black Sea in line with its main foreign policy goals, and that regarding the EU, it has been following and (re)acting to EU policies and actions in diverse ways, though the Russian rhetoric towards the EU has been harsher than its political moves, due to an understanding of the EU as being a limited player in the area. Therefore, Russia does not perceive the EU as a potential ‘game changer’. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]
- Published
- 2014
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
12. CNS Visiting Fellows Program.
- Author
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Sevcik, Margarita
- Subjects
- *
PROFESSIONAL employees , *PUBLIC officers - Abstract
This paper reviews the CNS Visiting Fellows program targeting young and mid-career professionals from the former Soviet Union and East Asia, including governmental officials, technical experts, researchers, and faculty. This program designed to enhance participantsâ knowledge of various aspects of nonproliferation and arms control field provides research, training, dialogue, and networking opportunities that the fellows carry back to their home institutions. The paper describes main components of the training, which includes lectures and selected graduate-level courses, seminars, and independent research, explaining benefits of each component. Reflecting upon successful outcomes of such program, the paper investigates benefits of joint training of professionals from different countries with different backgrounds, and examines dynamics of their interactions between each other and CNS experts. The paper concludes with the importance of such training for the international community, emphasizes the need to expand this program to other regions of the world, and gives recommendations to policy-makers. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2008
13. Foreign Direct Investors: Agents of Transition - An Instrumental Variables Approach for Testing the Impact of FDI on Economic Reform.
- Author
-
Malesky, Edmund J.
- Subjects
- *
ECONOMIC reform , *FOREIGN investments , *ECONOMIC trends - Abstract
How much additional insight into our understanding of economic transition in Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union can we garner by taking seriously the notion that foreign direct investors are pushing for economic reform rather than just riding in to reward policy changes? In this paper, I argue quite a lot; demonstrating the independent influence of foreign direct investment (FDI) on reform with a cross-national test of investor influence in 25 transition states. Using the exogenous portion of a country's exchange rate movements (determined by monthly changes in a basket of OECD currencies) as an instrument in a two-stage procedure, I find evidence that changes in the cumulative stock of FDI have a strong influence on economic reform. Further analysis reveals the relationship is particularly strong in the manufacturing and service sectors, but does not hold for construction, utilities, or natural resource based projects. In addition to its theoretical contribution, the paper provides a useful instrument for other scholars hoping to explore the impact of FDI in other contexts. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2008
14. The Socio-Economic Impact of Migrant Remittances on the CIS States.
- Author
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Korobkov, Andrei V. and Palei, Lev V.
- Subjects
- *
REMITTANCES , *ECONOMIC stabilization , *SOCIOECONOMIC factors , *LABOR mobility , *EMIGRATION & immigration , *ECONOMICS - Abstract
The following paper analyses the role of migration as a factor of socio-economic stabilization in the CIS region. Considering labor migration as an essential element of open societies, and labor market--as an integral part of the market system, the paper concentrates of the issue of migrants' remittances--their scale, forms, and territorial distribution. The major issues under consideration include the impact of migrants' remittances on their households' well-being and the socioeconomic stability of the source and host countries. Of special interest to the authors is the issue of the governmental response to the migration-affiliated financial flows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2005
15. The Perils of Dependency: An Examination of Russia's Use of Energy Leverage With Selected Former Soviet States.
- Author
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Zaitseva, Maria N.
- Subjects
- *
ECONOMIC sanctions , *DEPENDENCY theory (International relations) , *INTERNATIONAL relations , *ENERGY industries - Abstract
Economic coercion of states by other states, especially in relationships of asymmetrical dependency, is an increasingly prominent and important phenomenon in international relations. The linkages between economic coercion and foreign policy conduct appear not only evident but inevitable. The region of the former Soviet Union provides fertile ground for the exploration and testing of these linkages between foreign policy and economic coercion. Particularly in the field of energy, where Russia continues to be one of primary suppliers of oil and natural gas to some of the former Soviet republics, the use of economic leverage in the context of inter-state relations is quickly becoming a prominent topic of theoretical and empirical research. Building upon the limited existing literature on the topic, the following paper explores the question of whether or not and how the Russian Federation uses energy dependency as leverage in its relations with selected former Soviet states a decade after the collapse of the Soviet Empire. More specifically, this paper highlights inconsistencies in existing theoretical explanations and detects patterns in current Russian foreign policy with respect to energy dependency. First, this paper argues that Russia's usage of energy leverage is consistent with an overall trend shifting emphasis from traditional military/political to an economic security framework of the Russian state. Second, the paper illustrates that Russia has consistently and adamantly attempted to depoliticize the issue of economic coercion. Finally, the paper suggests that despite some notable patterns, Russia's usage of energy leverage still suffers from inconsistency of purpose, style, and outcome. The paper contributes to the broader body of international relations literature on economic dependency and coercion in the context of inter-state relations, as well as to the growing research on the security politics of the former Soviet region in the post-communist era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2005
16. Neoliberalism’s Ingenious Oversight: A Political Economy of Postcommunism.
- Author
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Abrams, Neil
- Subjects
- *
ECONOMIC structure , *NEOLIBERALISM , *ECONOMICS , *SOCIALISM - Abstract
This paper offers an account of one of the crucial differences in the economic structures of the Balkans and the former USSR, on the one hand, and East Central Europe and the Baltic states, on the other hand. This difference lies in the fact that the former economies remain politically-subordinate while the latter have become politically-relativized. In the politically-subordinate economies of the Balkans and most of the former USSR, firms remain subject to the arbitrary, unconstrained, and hierarchical intervention of those actors in society who have direct access to the organized use of force. These actors specifically consist of high-level state officials and organized crime syndicates. This phenomenon is institutionally manifested in the politico-economic arrangement of neopatrimonialism. By contrast, the politically-relativized economies of East Central Europe and the Baltic states are comprised of firms which, on the whole, have become much more free from the arbitrary control of high-level state officials and organized crime groups. Which of these outcomes emerged in the post-communist period depended on the interaction of specific policy strategies pursued by post-communist leaderships and the particular structural conditions these countries inherited from the communist era. In any given country, the state-socialist system, itself a politically-subordinate economy, had the potential to give way under conditions of political liberalization to either a neopatrimonial politically-subordinate economy or a politically-relativized economy. The state-socialist system was replaced by a politically-relativized economy where there occurred (1) political liberalization; (2) the rise to power under conditions of political liberalization of a revolutionary counter-elite; and (3) the successful and complete implementation of neoliberal economic policies. In East Central Europe and the Baltic states, the combination of these three factors had the unintentional effect of irreparably weakening the formal-institutions and patron-client structures of the communist-era political class. They also had the inadvertent result of institutionalizing bureaucratic norms at the highest levels of the state apparatus. The result was the replacement of the state-socialist politically-subordinate economy with politically-relativized economies. Neoliberal economic policy programs thereby resulted in the establishment of politically-relativized economies, but succeeded in doing so only by virtue of the particular institutional context in which they were pursued and the effects they had on those institutional arrangements. In the Balkans and the rest of the former USSR, however, political liberalization took place without the simultaneous emergence of a counter-elite that carried through a neoliberal economic program. Consequently, in the latter countries the formal-institutional structures of the nomenklatura-dominated one-party state were destroyed while the informal patron-client networks of this political class remained intact. As a result, the politically-subordinate economy of state socialism survived in a new, neopatrimonial format. These varying trajectories taken by post-communist countries are analyzed through case studies of post-Soviet Estonia and Ukraine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2004
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
17. Nation Branding: A Tool for Nationalism?
- Author
-
Jordan, Paul
- Subjects
PLACE marketing ,NATIONALISM ,NATION building ,ESTONIAN politics & government, 1991- ,ESTONIAN history, 1991- ,SOCIAL history - Abstract
Nation branding, as a phenomenon, is attracting increasing scholarly attention. However, much of the existing literature has been written by those involved in the public relations industry themselves. There have been some studies which have been written from a critical viewpoint; however, the tensions of branding a nation have often been neglected. This paper aims to explore the inherent tensions between nation branding and nation building. To what extent is nation branding a tool or a practice? What images of the nation do branders seek to promote, and who is this image for? Is nation branding merely a more palatable version of nationalism? In particular this paper focuses on the debates surrounding the launch of Brand Estonia in 2001/2. Brand Estonia, with the slogan Welcome to Estonia: Positively Transforming, was launched to coincide with Estonia staging the Eurovision Song Contest in 2002. It is a unique and interesting case study given the level of controversy that the initiative generated amongst the Estonian public. Estonia was the first Former Soviet Republic to launch a nation branding project and, perhaps more controversially, it was managed by a British-based company, Interbrand. However, little scholarly attention has been paid to public-level discourses concerning Brand Estonia. The empirical findings discussed in this article highlight some of the more salient narratives on national identity that Brand Estonia engendered and therefore aims to fill this gap. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2014
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
18. What makes authoritarian regimes sweat? Linkage, leverage and democratization in post-Soviet South Caucasus.
- Author
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Lebanidze, Bidzina
- Subjects
DEMOCRATIZATION ,AUTHORITARIANISM ,SOUTH Caucasus politics & government, 1991- ,REGIME change ,WESTERN countries ,RUSSIAN foreign relations, 1991- ,ELECTIONS ,POSTCOMMUNISM ,INTERNATIONAL relations - Abstract
This paper seeks to investigate the role of the international environment in the democratic transition process in the post-Soviet South Caucasus states. Based on the famous theoretical model of linkage and leverage, the influence of two main regional actors, Russia and the West (In this paper, ‘the West’ is conceptualized as the sum of influences stemming from the EU, the US and the multinational institutions dominated by the Western states (e.g. NATO, the IMF, the World Bank, and EBRD).), are explained and conceptualized. The paper argues that competitive authoritarianism, the form of political regime that is believed to be predominant in the region, is the result of the flawed democratization strategy pursued by the EU and the US on the one hand and the influence of Russia, the counter-hegemonic power, on the other hand, which explicitly or implicitly decreases the transformative power of the West. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]
- Published
- 2014
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
19. References.
- Author
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Dabrowski, Marek
- Subjects
MONETARY policy - Abstract
References used for an assessment of the monetary policy regimes in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) economies and their ability to provide price and financial stability in the 2000-2010 period are presented.
- Published
- 2013
20. The Global Crisis and Human Development: A Study on Central and Eastern Europe and the CIS Region.
- Author
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Horváth, Balázs, Ivanov, Andrey, and Peleah, Mihail
- Subjects
FINANCIAL crises ,HUMAN Development Index ,PURCHASING power parity ,GROSS domestic product ,ECONOMIC indicators - Abstract
This paper examines the observed impact of past economic downturns on human development indicators in 29 countries of the region. We estimate empirical elasticities of key human development indicators covering demographics, crime, epidemiology, unemployment, and poverty with respect to changes in per-capita purchase power parity (PPP) gross domestic product. Based on published gross domestic product growth projections from the IMF, we then project the likely impact on the human development indicators in coming years for the countries in the region. The results suggest that the adverse impact of past downturn in income on poverty, public health, mortality, and suicide and homicide rates is likely to be considerable, long-lasting, and to affect the poorest disproportionately. Based on our results, we argue that policy-makers will need better and more timely data to provide the evidence base for policies; and that those policies need to take into account the looming substantial backslide in human development indicators stemming from the global economic crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2012
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
21. ASN: from émigré group to world-wide organization – transition years, 1984–1994.
- Author
-
Rywkin, Michael
- Subjects
SOVIET studies ,STUDY & teaching of nationalism ,SCHOLARS ,SOVIET occupation of the Baltic states, 1939-1941 ,INTERNATIONAL relations ,SOCIETIES - Abstract
The article discusses the history of the organization ASN, originally called the Association for the Study of Nationalities: USSR and Eastern Europe. Topics include the group's affiliation with the organization American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies (AAASS), the association of the journal "Nationalities Papers" with the City College of New York (CCNY), and the failure of the periodical "Journal of Soviet Nationalities." Also noted are the ASN's reaction to the end of the Soviet Union, the Soviet annexation of the Baltic States, and speeches in New York City by leaders of former Soviet Republics.
- Published
- 2012
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
22. Multiple Transformations: Conceptualising the Post-communist Urban Transition.
- Author
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Sýkora, Luděk and Bouzarovski, Stefan
- Subjects
POSTCOMMUNISM ,SOCIAL change ,URBAN land use ,CITIES & towns ,URBAN studies - Abstract
This paper develops a conceptual framework for interpreting the process of urban change in post-communist cities. The departure from the legacies of the communist past has been effected through multiple transformation dynamics of institutional, social and urban change. While institutional reforms have been largely accomplished, the adjustment of urban land use patterns to new societal conditions is still ongoing. Hence, post-communist cities are still cities in transition. Using this interpretative framework and referring to a wide spectrum of academic work, the paper provides an overview of urban restructuring in post-communist countries over the past two decades with a specific focus on the examples of mutual integration of the three fields of transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]
- Published
- 2012
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
23. THE INTERSECTIONS OF GENDER AND GENERATION IN ALBANIAN MIGRATION, REMITTANCES AND TRANSNATIONAL CARE.
- Author
-
King, Russell and Vullnetari, Julie
- Subjects
EMIGRATION & immigration ,POSTCOMMUNIST societies ,HUMAN geography ,SOCIAL sciences - Abstract
The Albanian case represents the most dramatic instance of post-communist migration: about one million Albanians, a quarter of the country's total population, are now living abroad, most of them in Greece and Italy, with the UK becoming increasingly popular since the late 1990s. This paper draws on three research projects based on fieldwork in Italy, Greece, the UK and Albania. These projects have involved in-depth interviews with Albanian migrants in several cities, as well as with migrant-sending households in different parts of Albania. In this paper we draw out those findings which shed light on the intersections of gender and generations in three aspects of the migration process: the emigration itself, the sending and receiving of remittances, and the care of family members (mainly the migrants' elderly parents) who remain in Albania. Theoretically, we draw on the notion of ‘gendered geographies of power’ and on how spatial change and separation through migration reshapes gender and generational relations. We find that, at all stages of the migration, Albanian migrants are faced with conflicting and confusing models of gender, behavioural and generational norms, as well as unresolved questions about their legal status and the likely economic, social and political developments in Albania, which make their future life plans uncertain. Legal barriers often prevent migrants and their families from enjoying the kinds of transnational family lives they would like. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2009
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
24. Who Is Still Haunted by the Specter of Communism? Explaining Relative Output Contractions Under Transition.
- Author
-
Berengaut, Julian and Katrin Elborgh-Woytek
- Subjects
ECONOMIC development ,ECONOMIC forecasting ,TRANSITION economies ,ECONOMIC reform ,EMERGING markets ,COMMUNISM - Abstract
This paper analyzes the initial output decline in transition economies by estimating a cross-sectional model stressing two major factors: conflicts and the legacies of the Soviet period. We link the Soviet legacies in place at the outset of transition to the subsequent path for the development of market-related institutions. Institutional development, as proxied by measures of corruption, is used as an intermediate variable. An instrumental variable approach is followed to derive estimates that are not biased by the possible endogeneity of corruption with respect to output developments. Assuming that the extent of Soviet legacies was positively correlated with the length of communist rule allows us to use years under the Soviet regime as an instrument. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2006
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
25. Immigration and Justice: The Allocation of Goods to Newcomers from the (Former) Soviet Union in Israel1.
- Author
-
Golden, Deborah and Sabbagh, Clara
- Subjects
EMIGRATION & immigration ,IMMIGRANTS ,ETHNIC relations - Abstract
This paper looks at ways in which notions of membership and of just allocation were articulated in the everyday practices of a voluntary organization set up in the early 1990s to distribute clothing and household goods to newcomers from the (former) Soviet Union in Israel. Based on an ethnographic account of the distribution centre, this paper describes its underpinning ideology and demonstrates the implications of this ideology for the rules governing the allocation of goods. The paper analyzes three inter-related axes around which notions of rules of just allocation were equivocally interpreted and implemented. The first of these axes related to the discourse of justice deemed most appropriate to the newcomers; the second to the status of the newcomers; and the third to the creation of social categories—primarily defined in ethnic terms—and the hierarchical relationships between them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2005
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
26. Post-Soviet identities in formation: Looking back to see where we are now.
- Author
-
Dickinson, J.A.
- Subjects
NATIONAL character ,ANTHROPOLOGY ,NATIONALISM ,SOCIAL psychology - Abstract
Introduces the articles published in the September 2005 issue of the periodical "Nationalities Papers". Periodical's focus on the formation of national identities among the citizens of post-Soviet countries; Cultural differences among the people of former Soviet Republics highlighted in the issue.
- Published
- 2005
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
27. Post-socialism and the changing geographies of the everyday in Poland.
- Author
-
Stenning, Alison
- Subjects
POSTCOMMUNISM ,POLISH history -- 1989- ,SOCIAL change ,TRANSITION economies ,SOCIAL mobility ,FORMER communist countries ,SOCIAL history - Abstract
In reporting on recent research on the changing geographies of everyday life in the town of Nowa Huta in southern Poland, this paper seeks to promote the use of post-socialism as a conceptual, rather than simply descriptive and/or transitory, category. By exploring experiences of (im)mobility and (in)security in post-socialism, this paper connects to related work on the West and asks what difference post-socialism makes. It concludes by presenting a post-socialism marked out as different by the particular experiences of socialism, its construction and destruction and as a partial and hybrid social form, produced by a combination of multiple social forms constructed at varied scales of time and space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2005
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
28. CRACKING PANDORA'S BOX: THE SOVIET BREAKUP AND THE ONSET OF BUCCANEER CAPITALISM.
- Author
-
Rosner, Lydia
- Subjects
ORGANIZED crime ,CAPITALISM ,FREE enterprise - Abstract
With the breakup of the Soviet Union and the advent of globalization, an international buccaneer capitalism has developed. Criminal enterprises that were previously intra-border have expanded across borders and provided for the willing buyers services and products not legally obtainable. This paper explains how buccaneer capitalism (the development of criminal enterprises conducted in emerging markets into legitimate businesses) has evolved. Examples of American buccaneer capitalism are presented as is a chart showing the Historiography of Russian/Soviet Crime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2000
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
29. INTERNAL VS EXTERNAL MIGRATION IN POST-SOVIET SPACE.
- Author
-
BRUNARSKA, ZUZANNA, NESTOROWICZ, JOANNA, and MARKOWSKI, STEFAN
- Subjects
HUMAN migrations ,CROSS border transactions ,GLOBALIZATION ,ECONOMETRIC models - Abstract
Copyright of CMR Working Papers is the property of Centre of Migration Research and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
- Published
- 2014
30. Development and Governance in the Ex-Soviet Union: An Empirical Inquiry.
- Author
-
Santagata, Marta, Ivaldi, Enrico, and Soliani, Riccardo
- Subjects
ECONOMIC development ,FACTOR analysis ,PRINCIPAL components analysis ,GROWTH rate ,ECONOMIC policy ,ECONOMIC history - Abstract
Conclusively, in 1992, the Soviet Union broke up and its 15 Republics gained independence. After the initial, difficult transition from planned to market economy, the Republics have shown different development paths. This paper analyses their degree of economic development. Following the growing interest in new and better measures of development, we elaborate an index of development, the Ex-Soviet Development Index (ESDI), based on a set of variables from the World Development Indicators database released by the World Bank. To do this, we select the variables through principal component analysis and calculate the ESDI using factorial analysis. Therefore, to test the well-supported hypothesis that good governance has a key positive impact on development, we compare the ESDI with a proposed index of governance, the Ex-Soviet Governance Index (ESGI), elaborating data from the Worldwide Governance Indicators database of the World Bank. The correlation between ESDI and ESGI is shown being high as expected, and this allow us thinking that, in order to classify countries in classes, a cluster analysis with the two indices makes sense. The correlation between ESDI and GDP growth is almost zero. This confirms that the concept of socio-economic performance and development expressed by ESDI cannot be reduced to the growth rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2019
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
31. Currency, Identity, and Nation-Building: National Currency Choices in the Post-Soviet States.
- Author
-
Cooper, Scott
- Subjects
- *
NATIONAL currencies , *NATION building , *POLITICAL development , *CURRENCY options , *INTERNATIONAL law - Abstract
Newly independent states issue currencies for both economic and political reasons. Politically, the national currency demonstrates their sovereignty and juridical independence to international audiences, and helps create common ties and unifying symbols within the country. After the breakup of the Soviet Union, all fifteen successor states faced the problem of creating, or at least reinforcing, new national identities to replace decades of Soviet identity-building. This paper shows how state leaders used images on their currencies to help develop national identity. I create a typology of symbols available to national leaders and track which symbols all fifteen countries used on every banknote issued since independence.Based on that data, I make three main claims. First, each state had several different kinds of images it could use, so state leaders effectively chose from a menu of historically viable options. Some states chose to emphasize their medieval heritage, others the development of 19th century nationalism, and others their 20th century modernization. This evidence suggests that national identity is malleable-or at least that national leaders believe it is. Second, contrary to some predictions, these countries' currencies are not converging on a European or a post-modern model. Post-Soviet states have chosen a diverse set of symbols for their currencies and there is no single pattern that dominates. Third, I argue that differences in imagery are partially predictable by differences in regime type. More democratic states are more likely to choose to put individuals-poets, linguists, scientists, musicians, and other cultural figures-on their currencies. They are also more likely to include representations of women (although images of women are still rare). Authoritarian regimes are harder to predict: perhaps precisely because they have more autonomy from society their currency choices vary dramatically. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2009
32. Three Republics of the Caucasus: Independence and Human Rights.
- Author
-
Payaslian, Simon
- Subjects
- *
HUMAN rights , *HUMAN rights violations - Abstract
This paper presents a comparative analysis of the human rights performance in the three former Soviet republics of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia between 1993 and 2006. It concludes that these governments routinely violate human rights standards. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2008
33. Electoral Management Bodies and the Conduct of Elections: Evidence from Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union.
- Author
-
Birch, Sarah
- Subjects
- *
ELECTIONS , *CHECKS & balances (Political science) , *POLITICAL science - Abstract
Electoral Commissions have recently begun to be an object of analysis for scholars of electoral institutions. This paper assesses the impact of various aspects of electoral management body design on electoral integrity in 24 states in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. Two competing hypotheses are advanced, one emphasising the independence and professionalism of electoral commissions, and another emphasising the role of checks and balances in ensuring that such bodies conduct elections in an impartial and transparent manner. The results of the empirical analysis show the checks-and-balances argument to be better supported by the data. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2007
34. Citizenship acquisition and naturalization of immigrants In the 15 former Soviet Union Republics.
- Author
-
Makaryan, Shushanik
- Subjects
CITIZENSHIP ,IMMIGRANTS ,NONCITIZENS ,NATURALIZATION ,IMMIGRATION law ,SOCIOLOGY - Abstract
The following paper examines the nature and change in citizenship policies in the former 15 Soviet republics since the collapse of the USSR. The main focus of the paper is the requirements that former Soviet republics adopted into their citizenship laws as prerequisites for naturalization. The article contrasts external forces and internal dynamics of the nation-state to examine whether post-Soviet nation-states have adopted their citizenship and naturalization policies borrowing nation-state models from the world culture (i.e. embracing democratic nation-state identity); or the citizenship regimes of former Soviet states were driven by ethno-demographic transformations since the Soviet times, and internal dynamics of the new nation-state. Findings indicated that ethno-demographic changes since Soviet times, religion and outmigration have significant impact on determining what provisions the nation-state specifies as part of necessary requirements that an immigrant needs to satisfy to qualify for naturalization to citizenship. Dataset used in this paper has been constructed by coding citizenship laws (and amendments) of 15 former Soviet states into dummy and continuous variables. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2007
35. Violent Death After Communism.
- Author
-
Treyger, Elina
- Subjects
- *
VIOLENT deaths , *VIOLENCE , *CAUSES of death , *DIFFERENCES - Abstract
This paper explores the problem of peacetime violent deaths among the success states to the Soviet Union. It suggests that cross-national disparities in the incidence of violent deaths are not adequately explained by post-Soviet upheavals and transformations, and are better understood as rooted in the historical factors and pre-existing particularities of the former Soviet republics. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2006
36. Why Ethnic Conflicts Diffuse: Creating an Index.
- Author
-
Tranca, Oana
- Subjects
- *
ETHNIC conflict , *VIOLENCE , *INTERVENTION (International law) , *DIFFUSION indexes , *POST-Cold War Period - Abstract
The international dimension of ethnic conflicts is the focus of a large part of the literature dealing with the causes and evolution of ethnic strife. However, there is an important stage in the evolution of an ethnic conflict, which I call conflict diffusion that is less studied, probably because of its low rate of occurrence. Nonetheless, when an ethnic conflict does diffuse, there is a strong probability that the whole region might be submerged by violence, thus threatening the regional and even the international peace and stability. Recent third party interventions in ethnic conflicts with an important potential of diffusion showed that the international community became aware of this danger and was attempting to develop appropriate prevention strategies. In order to build a good prevention strategy, we must understand why an ethnic conflict, initially confined to one state, would diffuse to neighboring countries. Discovering which "risk" conditions favour the diffusion of an ethnic conflict is the main purpose of this paper. My research model combines both elements of ethnic conflict theories and of the international diffusion literature. My aim is to construct a diffusion index capable of assessing, at the regional level, the risk of regional spill-over in the case of a given ethnic conflict. The inspiration for creating the diffusion index came from the severity index originally developed by Michael Brecher and Patrick James (1986) in order to asses the severity of international crises. The diffusion index model is conceived for the post-Cold War ethnic conflicts and will be tested on a specific set of conflicts originating in Eastern Europe, ex-Soviet republics and Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2005
37. Nomads in the Information Age.
- Author
-
O'Quinn, B. Robert
- Subjects
HISTORY of Kyrgyzstan ,ETHNOLOGY ,KYRGYZ - Abstract
The following is a discussion of the modernization process in relation to the Kyrgyz Republic. Kyrgyzstan is a former Soviet Republic bordering China to the east, Kazakstan (world?s 9th largest nation) to the north, Uzbekistan (population over 25 million makes it the second most populous of former Soviet Republics) to the west, and Tajikistan to the south. Kyrgyzstan gained independence in 1991 and its citizens practice Islam with various levels of diligence. Identity-based elements are historically discussed culminating in their modern form. Emphasis is ultimately placed on the Kyrgyz village of At-Bashi. The goal of this paper is to introduce the significance of the village of At-Bashi in light of modernization and national identity. Kyrgyz citizens are traditionally nomads and At-Bashi uniquely reflects their nomadic cultural roots. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2003
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
38. Introduction.
- Author
-
Dabrowski, Marek
- Subjects
MONETARY policy - Abstract
An introduction to a discussion paper on the monetary policy regimes in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) economies and their ability to provide price and financial stability in the 2000-2010 period is presented.
- Published
- 2013
39. Introduction: Political Transformation and Social Change in the South Caucasus.
- Author
-
Hayoz, Nicolas and Dafflon, Denis
- Subjects
SOUTH Caucasus politics & government, 1991- ,DEMOCRATIZATION ,CIVIL society - Abstract
An introduction is presented that addresses the issue theme of political and social change in the South Caucasus, noting issue articles on topics such as democratization, religion and politics, and civil society in Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia.
- Published
- 2014
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
40. Russia and the Baltic states: problematizing the Soviet legacy discourse.
- Author
-
Nikitina, Yulia
- Subjects
REGIONAL cooperation ,NEOCOLONIALISM ,GEOPOLITICS ,RUSSIAN politics & government, 1991- - Abstract
Most studies of the post-Soviet space often explicitly or implicitly analyze Russia not as a new independent state but as the political successor of the USSR, thereby almost automatically leading to conclusions about Russian neo-imperialism. This paper explains how distorted discourses on the Soviet legacy originated and how they obstruct equal relations between Russia and other former Soviet republics using the example of the Baltic states. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]
- Published
- 2014
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
41. The effect of health on labour supply in nine former Soviet Union countries.
- Author
-
Goryakin, Yevgeniy, Rocco, Lorenzo, Suhrcke, Marc, Roberts, Bayard, and McKee, Martin
- Subjects
LABOR supply ,HOUSEHOLD surveys ,REGRESSION analysis ,ESTIMATION theory ,ENDOGENEITY (Econometrics) - Abstract
This paper examines for the first time the consequences of ill health on labour supply for a sample of nine countries from the former Soviet Union (FSU), using a unique multicountry household survey specifically designed for this region. We control for a wide range of individual, household, and community factors, using both standard regression techniques and instrumental variable estimation to address potential endogeneity. Specifically, we find in our baseline ordinary least squares specification that poor health is associated with a decrease in the probability of working of about 13 %. Controlling for community-level unobserved variables slightly increases the magnitude of this effect, to about 14 %. Controlling for endogeneity with the instrumental variable approach further supports this finding, with the magnitude of the effect ranging from 12 to 35 %. Taken together, our findings confirm the cost that the still considerable adult health burden in the FSU is imposing on its population, not only in terms of the disease burden itself, but also in terms of individuals' labour market participation, as well as potentially in terms of increased poverty risk. Other things being equal, this would increase the expected 'return on investment' to be had from interventions aimed at improving health in this region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2014
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
42. MIGRATION FROM CIS COUNTRIES: A PROBLEM OR AN OPPORTUNITY FOR RUSSIA?
- Author
-
Koverzneva, Sofya, Koulakova, Tatyana, and Kuznecov, Nikita
- Subjects
EMIGRATION & immigration ,POPULATION aging ,EMPLOYMENT ,MIGRANT labor - Abstract
The paper examines the current migration processes in Russia: the demographic structure of migrant population in Russia, the impact of labor migrants and recent government regulation in this area. Low birth rate and population ageing are the main reasons for the evolving problem of labor shortage. It can be partly solved by external inflow of labor migrants. However, migration processes powerfully influence current fiscal politics, ethnic and religious conflicts. Being at the edge of a multilevel crisis, Russia should develop a proactive immigration strategy that could contribute to economic growth and social stability. Today, illegal immigration in Russia is a serious problem. There is a considerable difference between the official figures and the actual number of irregular labor migrants in Russia. Although their actual number is unknown, it is estimated that the number of illegal labor migrants is several times greater than the number of the registered migrants. A policy preventing the irregular inflow and employment should become one of the top priorities for migration authorities. The contradictory policies of the host country, Russia, have consequences not only for the people, having decided to relocate, but also for their children, second-generation migrants. The host country has lost the opportunity to foster a loyal, healthy, educated and economically active population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2017
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
43. COALITIONAL CONFIGURATIONS: A STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS OF DEMOCRATIZATION IN THE FORMER SOVIET UNION.
- Author
-
BUCK, ANDREW and HASS, JEFFREY
- Subjects
COALITIONS ,DEMOCRATIZATION ,POLITICAL opportunity theory ,POLITICAL parties - Abstract
This paper adopts Charles Tilly's political process model of democratization. We focus on one aspect of that model: coalitions. We draw on publicly available archival data from turnout figures, contentious politics and party politics in the former Soviet Union (FSU) to map out coalitions that move those polities toward and away from democracy. This cartographic approach to charting trajectories reveals greater variation than the democracy-dictatorship dichotomy and its variations ("hybrid regimes"). One conclusion we draw from mapping changes in coalitions is that the contraction of the polity in some FSU countries is a response to the growth of factionalized parties and personalized tyrannies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2018
44. Soft power, Russia and the former Soviet states: a case study of Russian language and education in Armenia.
- Author
-
Mkhoyan, Anna
- Subjects
SOFT power (Social sciences) ,RUSSIAN language ,EDUCATION ,INTERNATIONAL relations - Abstract
As in human relations, attraction can be an influential force in international relations. A well-known tool in Western countries, in Russia ‘soft power’ has come into play mainly under Putin’s presidency in the 2000s. This paper focuses on language and education as sources generating ‘soft power’. It looks first on the institutional framework progressively established to attract and integrate culturally the former Soviet space. Second, it studies the evolution of the Russian language and education in Armenia. The findings suggest that even if the previous decline in the usage of Russian has been reversed, the monopoly once enjoyed by this language seems to be over. Russian is promoted in a multicultural environment – alongside English, French, German or Chinese – which reflects the new geopolitical reality. Multicultural landscape characterises also the Armenian higher education system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2017
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
45. Introduction.
- Author
-
Kutan, Ali M.
- Subjects
INVESTMENTS ,ECONOMIC conditions in Turkey ,HISTORY ,ECONOMIC history - Abstract
An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses various reports within the issue on topics including momentum profits of investment in China, causes of Commonwealth of Independent States exchange rate movements, and the evolution of investment funds in Turkey.
- Published
- 2011
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
46. Old and new constraints in foreign news coverage in post-communist Ukraine.
- Author
-
Ryabinska, Natalya
- Subjects
POLITICAL debates ,COST control ,COMMUNIST countries ,INTERVIEWING ,PROFESSIONAL standards ,JOURNALISM ,STANDARDS - Abstract
In the 1970s, when intellectual debate in the rest of the world was preoccupied with the problem of an imbalanced, one-way information flow between Western industrialized countries and less-developed countries in South and East, people in the Soviet Union faced another problem — a problem of deficit of information from the West, which was a result of purposeful politics of the Soviet state. In 1989 the Iron Curtain fell, but it does not mean that nowadays there are no bounds and boundaries in the flow of information to and from the Former Soviet Republics. This paper deals with the issue of foreign news in contemporary Ukraine and explores constraints in making international news in the media. It analyses a set of determinants of international news production in the Ukrainian media and the way they influence the scope and quality of foreign news coverage. The re- search is based on interviews with about thirty media experts and news producers at major Ukrainian broadcasting organizations, as well as from print and online media. The interviewees — editors-in-chief, heads of international news' departments, foreign correspondents — were asked about the process of international news production in their editorial offices, the human and technical resources allocated for foreign news coverage, the professional standards of international journalism, as well as the main sources of foreign news and criteria of their selection involved in the news making process. Results of the study show that international news making in Ukraine is influenced by peculiar factors rooted in the Soviet past, such as journalists' inclination to one-sided reporting and poor command of foreign languages (except Russian), and by common factors determining tendencies in foreign news coverage worldwide, such as the pressure of the market which induces cost-cutting in media organizations and tabloidization of media content. An important finding of the study is the conclusion about indirect, or circuitous movement of foreign news from international news agencies to the Ukrainian media. Because of the peculiarities of Ukrainian news production described in the paper, news from Reuters or Associated Press regularly reaches Ukrainian editorial offices after it has been processed by Russian newsmakers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2012
47. 'If I receive it, it is a gift; if I demand it, then it is a bribe': On the Local Meaning of Economic Transactions in Post-Soviet Ukraine.
- Author
-
Polese, Abel
- Subjects
BRIBERY ,CORRUPTION ,COMMERCIAL crimes - Abstract
Challenging the main reports of corruption in Ukraine, this article proposes that most of the 'economic transactions' that are reported as bribe taking have a deeper meaning and can be analysed within the framework of gift exchange proposed by Marcel Mauss. This paper thus focuses on the three alleged most 'corrupted' places in Ukraine: a university, a hospital and a police control post, in order to develop a detailed analysis of the meanings behind these transactions. Furthermore, it examines the particular role that social actors take within these arrangements. Finally, I propose the recognition of a grey zone between corruptions as evident in the ethnographic examples analysed in the course of this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2008
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
48. Financial Constraints and Other Obstacles: are they a Threat to Innovation Activity?
- Author
-
Mohnen, P., Palm, F., Loeff, S., and Tiwari, A.
- Subjects
FINANCE ,CORPORATE finance ,ECONOMIC development ,INNOVATION adoption ,ECONOMICS ,ECONOMIC policy ,BARRIERS to entry (Industrial organization) ,RESEARCH & development ,TAX incentives - Abstract
In this paper we examine the importance of financial and other obstacles to innovation in the Netherlands using statistical information from the CIS 3.5 innovation survey. We report results on the effect of these obstacles on the firms’ decision to abandon, prematurely stop, seriously slow down, or not to start an innovative project. These results are compared with those from other studies in the Netherlands and other countries. We end with a discussion of policy measures that have been taken to overcome, or at least attenuate these obstacles, such as R&D tax incentives, venture capital financing and policy mix packages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2008
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
49. Guilt, Sympathy, and Cooperation: EU - Baltic Relations in the Early 1990s.
- Author
-
Lasas, Ainius
- Subjects
WORLD War II diplomacy ,EUROPEAN Union membership ,ESTONIAN history ,LATVIAN history ,LITHUANIAN history ,ECONOMIC integration of the former Soviet republics ,TWENTIETH century ,INTERNATIONAL relations - Abstract
The period between March 1990 and June 1993 represents the critical window for European Union (EU)-Baltic relations. During this time Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania laid the foundation for future EU membership. For its part, the European community made a commitment to include the three republics in the process of enlargement. This paper traces the beginnings of EU-Baltic cooperation and examines factors that led to growing political and economic convergence. Nordic membership in the EU, ex-Soviet troop withdrawal, and Russian parliamentary elections were instrumental in bring-ing both sides together on the road to enlargement, but collective guilt provided the underlying rationale. In this paper, the author argues that it is impossible to understand fully this process of convergence without taking into account the connotations and consequences of the "black trinity": the Munich pact, the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact, and the Yalta agreement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2008
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
50. Statistical business registers in the CIS countries: Evidence from the UNECE questionnaire surveys.
- Author
-
Gaucaite Wittich, Vitalija
- Subjects
BUSINESS enterprises ,ECONOMIC statistics ,QUESTIONNAIRES ,INDUSTRIAL surveys - Abstract
The UNECE Statistical Division has been conducting questionnaire surveys and collecting information on statistical business registers in the region on a regular basis since 1995. The paper describes the results of the last two questionnaire surveys (2004 and 2006) carried out among the CIS countries, focusing on the observed changes in the sources, the coverage of statistical units, the included variables, and in the usage of statistical business registers. The comparison of these countries' practices reveals important disparities in the status of the business register and its use for economic statistics. On the other hand, it demonstrates some convergence in approaches to statistical business register and attempts to follow more closely the advanced practice of European Union and North American countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2006
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