PhD ceremony Mr. I. Voskoboynikov: Economic growth in Russia. A comparative perspective
| When: | Mo 10-03-2014 at 14:30 |
| Where: | Academiegebouw, Broerstraat 5, Groningen |
PhD ceremony: Mr. I. Voskoboynikov
Dissertation: Economic growth in Russia. A comparative perspective
Promotor(s): prof. M.P. Timmer
Faculty: Economics
Ilya Voskoboynikov’s thesis explains the slowdown of the Russian economy after the crisis, arguing that outstanding performance of the Russian economy before 2008 was mainly based either on investments to mining and trade or extension of financial and business services, which had been underdeveloped in early 1990s.
The thesis studies performance of the Russian economy in 1995-2008 in comparison with former Socialist economies in Europe as well as Brazil, India and China. For this a new detailed industry-level dataset of output, labour, capital and productivity is developed. The present study shows that Russia is on a declining growth path: multifactor productivity improved only in those industries that had a declining share in GDP or far away from the global technology frontier.
It also confirms that theory matters for measurement. Indeed, in comparison with capital stocks, the concept of capital services is not only theoretically superior, but also empirically relevant for understanding the sources of recent Russian growth. Further, the study demonstrates that the structural bonus did not materialize in Central and East European economies, and only to a small extent in Russia. Finally, in cross-countries comparisons it is important to make a distinction between formal and informal activities within sectors. Increasing formalization of the Brazilian economy since 2000 appears to be growth-enhancing, while in India and in Russia, the increase in informality after the reforms is growth-reducing.