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2013, Issue 4 (20). Abstracts
M.V. Semenova, Center for Institutional Studies, National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia Sitting on the Fence: Does Having a "Dual-Director" Add to Bank Profitability? This paper investigates how the combination of positions of the Board of Directors and management affects bank's profitability. We use the 2010 bank-level data from 112 countries. Our results show that the positions' combination reduces banks' ROE. However, for banks in developing countries, the influence is close to zero and even positive for some specifications. We also show that the higher is the proportion of the Board members, who also hold a managerial position the lower is the profitability of a bank. This effect is, however, close to zero for banks in the developing countries. Thus, the corporate governance regulation should go beyond a simple restriction on holding simultaneously the CEO and the head of Board of Directors positions. The exception should be made for the developing countries, where the additional restrictions are not necessary. Key words: banks, ROE, corporate governance
The Optimality of Choice by Markov Random Walk In the rational choice problem Zutler (2011) proposed a model of choice by continuous Markov random walk on a set of alternatives to find the best. In this paper we investigate the optimal properties of obtained solutions. It is shown that the result of this choice is the maximal element on a set of lotteries with respect to relation p Key words: decision theory, continuous Markov process, Nash equilibrium
Informality in the Russian Labor Market: What Do Alternative Definitions Tell Us? According to the existing literature, informality rates for Russia vary in a wide range from slightly more than 5 to nearly 30%. The question arises: what are the causes and consequences of such a huge variation? Using RMLS data for 2009 the author investigates the degree of congruence between several alternative definitions of the informal employment in the context of the Russian labor market. Analysis shows that depending on empirical definitions informality rates considerably differ – from 11 to 24%. With different approaches not only the scale of the informal employment but also its socio-demographic profile radically changes. Furthermore, the econometric analysis reveals that the conditional impact of particular factors on the risk of informality varies considerably from one definition to another. This suggests that the existing estimates of the informal employment for Russia could hardly be regarded as methodologically robust. Key words: labor market, informal sector, informal employment, Russia
Income Distribution and Voting Behavior in the Russian Regions (on the Presidential Election in 2012) In this paper we analyze the determinants of voting behavior, and show how the income distribution affects the political preferences of voters (based on the results of the federal elections 2012). We define how income corresponds to electoral support for Putin, Prohorov, Zhirinovsky, Zuganov, Mironov and against all. Also we define threshold level of income at which people begin to participate in elections. In this paper we show that Putin draws his support mostly in low income group and within higher income group Putin's support shrinks while support for other candidates expands. Key words: political preferences, regional studies, electoral behavior, income distribution, inequality
Competition Restriction Problem in the Markets Linked to the Markets of Essential Facilities Theoretical background for reasons that cause the owner of essential facilities to restrict competition in downstream markets provided. Examining the particular Russian antitrust cases the author discusses whether the essential facilities doctrine may be helpful to solve the problem. While the doctrine seems to be quite efficient when considering infrastructure industries its use in other cases is disputable due to the high risk of type I errors (punishment of the innocents). Key words: essential facilities, competition, antitrust policy Problems of Coordination of Science and Technology, Innovation and Industrial Policy in Russia The article deals with the problems of interaction between science and technology, innovation and industrial policy in Russia. In spite of the substantial intensification of the state policy in establishing of the new elements of the national innovation system, the coordination between different policies continues to remain weak that leads to inefficient use of resources under tight budget constraints. The author offers a set of actions aimed at improving the coordination. Key words: science and technology policy, innovation policy, industrial policy, Russia
Privatize or Not? Escaping Budget Temptation and Nirvana Fallacy The article argues that most objections against a new wave of privatization in Russia suffer from a 'Nirvana fallacy', i.e., rely on undue comparison of limited (yet positive) results of actual privatization policies with the alleged ability of the government to raise efficiency of non-privatized enterprises. Empirical results available thus far suggest that optimal policy choice is to combine privatization with proactive competition policies. Key words: privatization, competition policies, microeconomic efficiency
Privatization in Russia – the Third Wave Passing the 2010 intensive information closed and inefficient process of privatization of small companies ("quiet privatization") doesn't provide problems of effective transformation of public sector in economy of Russia. On the basis of the analysis of the main tendencies in the field of management of public sector of economy offers on change of this situation are developed. Key words: privatization, individual approach, corporate governance, the Board of Directors
Impact of Regulatory Constraints on Corporate Governance in the Contemporary Russian SOE Best practices of corporate governance in SOE as they are recognized globally can reveal to be less effective in modern Russia, since under expanding regulatory constraints the latter provide higher impact on companies’ performance and the benefits of ultimate owners, in contrast with the decreasing influence of managerial efforts. The article considers two examples of regulatory requirements important for most part of Russian SOE. They are codification of procurement rules and commercial (or 'trade') policies, prescribing codified rules of supplying contracts. Key words: corporate governance, SOE, procurement, commercial policies
Mandatory Voting Instructions for Board Members of State-Owned Companies: Pro and Contra The article is dedicated to the analysis of the polls conducted among board members of stateowned companies. Board members have been polled to assess their attitude towards the mandatory voting instructions they receive from the state agency for managing state properties on a number of issues of board meetings agendas. The poll has revealed a very contradictory picture: although board members see serious drawbacks in the mandatory voting instruction practice they are not ready to go on without it. They stand for gradual improvement of this practice. Key words: state-owned companies, boards, board members, mandatory voting instructions
Analysis of the Results of "Small" Privatization in Russia 2010–2013 On the basis of the analysis of open data of Rosimushchestvo the main features of process of privatization in Russia in 2010–2013 are revealed. High intensity, information closeness, and sale generally of small state firms allow to call this process a "quiet" and/or "small" privatization. Key words: privatization, auction, the effectiveness of privatization
The Role of Market Valuation in Privatization of State Property Determination of a company's market value is one of the key factors in the success of the privatization process. Situation with business valuation in Russia adversely affects privatization results. Key problems of the market of valuation activity in Russia are drawbacks in valuation standards set by the government, dumping pricing, corruption within the market and some other. Key words: business valuation, privatization, market value of a company, management of a company
On Control of the Ownership Structure Efficiency of privatization depends on the transformation cost and the quality of the state as well as the quality of the market. An analysis of these and some other factors allows to explain diversity of privatization outcomes in different countries and to formulate general principles of the ownership structure control. Key words: theory of privatization, transformation cost, functions of state owned enterprises, industrial policy Energy – Adapting to a Changing World The paper presents highlights of the 62nd Statistical Review of World Energy prepared by BP Group Economics. It puts forward BP's view on the dynamics of global energy markets and factors determining prices on these markets. The Report illustrates key trends in production, consumption and trade in primary energy that are affected by both shifting structure of the world economy and policy interventions by individual governments. Particular attention is devoted to development of unconventional sources of supply: shale gas, tight oil, as well as heavy oil and biofuels. The paper also looks into inter-dependency of particular energy markets and impact this has for inter-fuel competition. The paper concludes that uncoordinated policy interventions aiming at carbon emission reductions lead to unexpected and unpleasant results. Key words: global energy, energy demand, energy supply, tight oil, shale gas, energy efficiency, renewables Back | ||
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q⇔Ψ( p, q) > Ψ(q, p) for special function Ψ(⋅, ⋅) that has a natural interpretation as flow of probability from one to another lottery. It is shown the relationship between the problems of choosing the best alternative and non-cooperative games solution. It is proved that Nash equilibrium is a stationary point of a dynamical system of the continuous random walk of players on the set of available strategies. The intensity transition of the player from one strategy to another is equal to his assessment of increase of payoff in the alleged current rival's strategies.