In this paper, we consider a number of causes which can potentially explain why human capital accumulation policies might have limited effect on economic growth. Mixed empirical results can be found in the literature, both supporting and questioning the key role of human capital as an important cause of economic growth. We focus on the latter and start from pointing at inaccurate indicators of human capital accumulation, such as the average years of schooling, which might not reflect with acceptable level of accuracy the level of human capital accumulated in a particular economy. We then consider the role of other causes of economic growth, such as property rights protection or financial markets development, which might affect the demand for human capital, thus potentially limiting the effect of a policy affecting the supply of human capital. We then discuss the efficiency of human capital distribution among various activities in a particular economy and argue that the way the economy uses its human capital stock might matter for its growth rates. Finally we point at potential flaws in education policy, which might result in slow accumulation of human capital.

The article explores the potential of the complex international indices for identifying, assessing and comparing the strengths and weaknesses of prog- ress in the science, technology and innovation complex of Russia. Using the Global Innovation Index data for 2013-2016 (82 indicators and more than120 countries annually), a cross-country analysis of comparative advantages is performed. Russia demonstrates positive dynamics in terms of the aggregate rankings, however, these relatively high positions are provided by the resource-related dimensions, e.g. various forms of R&D and innovation expenditure, share of university graduates in the total population, etc. However, the country is lagging behind along all the measures of the effectiveness of the utilization of these resources. According to the identified set of strengths and weaknesses, Russia differs significantly from both absolute leaders of the rating and the most actively developing countries. The emphasis on the resource elements reflects the instability of competitive advantages and the prevailing development model.

This third chapter of the book “The economy of the common good” considers the status of academic economists as public intellectuals. It discusses the pitfalls economists face when engaging in public debates, in providing expertise for businesses or governments. It also makes some normative claims as to the socially best form of interaction between economics and practice.

The article examines the evolution of the main features of the Russian economy in terms of the types of key actors of economic development. The concept of the general actor as the predominant type of relatively independent socio-economic subsystems that determine the impact on the functioning of the national economy is introduced. The movement of the economy from “the state economy” to “the economy of individuals” and further to “the economy of socioeconomic and administrative-political systems” is traced. The preconditions for the transition of the national economy to the phase of the systemic economy as the harmonic economy with high-level coordination of various-scale and various-quality subsystems of the economy and society are noted.

The existing practice of implementing antitrust law to bilateral monopolies in Russia shows signs of inconsistency. Traditional theoretical approaches differ in their estimations of the characteristics and attainability of equilibrium on such markets, but overall more or less converge on the idea of antitrust regulation of such markets to be unjustified. But approaching the problem in the context of transaction cost economics, taking into account the externalities appearing both upstream and downstream from the bilateral monopoly market in case of a suboptimal result, leads to viewing the antitrust authority as a discrete institutional alternative of internalizing such externalities by creating the incentives to develop a hybrid governance mechanism for transactions between the sides of contractual relationship characterized by sufficiently high switching costs. Taking into account the wide occurrence of bilateral monopolies in the Russian economy, the choice of a uniform approach to regulation is critical in terms of creating transparent legal environment and adjusting companies’ incentives.

This paper investigates the sensitivity of the demand for imported capital goods to the influence of various factors of the investment dynamics with the aim to generate evidence-based recommendations for the import substitution policy in the Russian Federation. It provides a forecast of the dynamics of the demand for imported machinery, equipment, components and vehicles in various macroeconomic scenario conditions. The article estimates the influence of the EU and US sectoral sanctions on the volume of Russian imports of investment goods. We characterize different approaches to the import substitution policy in the Russian Federation and conditions for their implementation.

Does business-group affiliation matter for productivity in Russian agriculture? To address this question we use farm-level data from the Amur region for 2008-2014. We find that total factor productivity is higher for independent corporate farms compared to agro-holdings members. Our findings are robust to the choice of the production functional form as well as to the choice of resource measures.

The export-raw materials model of the Russian economy has exhausted its potential to induce economic growth and has become one of the main reasons for prolonged stagnation. The profit of oil and gas complex concentrates a significant part of the value added created in other activities. The mechanism ensuring such concentration is lowed ruble exchange rate and monopoly pricing. From 40 to 60% of foreign exchange earnings from oil and gas exports is used for the export of capital and payment of net income of non-residents. The reduction of net exports to the minimum will bring the rate of accumulation to the saving rate. Reallocation of investment in favor of infrastructure and processing industries will increase their effectiveness. Thus the tasks of creating new centers of income, forming a new mechanism of economic growth will be solved. Monetary and fiscal policy will be effective not only in the short run but also in the long-term period.

The article analyzes the experience of Northern Cyprus in developing its economy and particularly its export potential under international sanctions. It is concluded that the status of the non-recognized territory is not an unbreakable obstacle for the economic growth and preserving international competitiveness. Such a status seriously undermines the export of goods, but allows the export of services, i.e. attracting foreign tourists and students. The author proposes to use practical measures undertaken by Northern Cyprus in order to contribute to export of services in the interests of the Russian Crimea development.