Payment for Housing and Public Utilities Services in 2014–2017

Aleksandra Burdyak – Senior Research fellow of the Living and Social Protection Research Department, Institute of Social Analysis and Forecasting, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration. E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The number of housing allowance recipients in 2017 moved down against 2013. The percentage of individuals benefiting from social protection (benefits) has also contracted. Bills for housing and utility services went up twice against income, average allowance for housing and utility services grew slower than tariffs.

Key words: housing and utility services, housing subsidies, social support of population.

Survey of Current Business (March-June 2018)

Sergey Aukutsionek – Head of Center for Transition Economy Studies, Primakov National Research Institute of World Economy and International Relations, Russian Academy of Sciences, Candidate of Economic Sciences. E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Andrey Yegorov – Research fellow of the Center for Transition Economy Studies, Primakov National Research Institute of World Economy and International Relations, Russian Academy of Sciences, Candidate of Economic Sciences. E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  

Inessa Bachirova – Senior Research fellow of the Center for Transition Economy Studies, Primakov National Research Institute of World Economy and International Relations, Russian Academy of Sciences. E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Tatyana Serzhantova – Senior Research fellow of the Center for Transition Economy Studies, Primakov National Research Institute of World Economy and International Relations, Russian Academy of Sciences. E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  

After the recorded in February noticeable improvement in many of the surveyed by REB indicators, the March data do not look as optimistic, although positive changes can be found. For the third month in a row, the level of capacity utilization rate has continued to increase. The share of enterprises in a «good» or «normal» financial state reached a record high 86%; it was so high just once (in September 2012).

Key words: industry, industrial enterprises, price level, wages, employment, output, investment, indebtedness to banks, order-book level, stocks of finished products, capacity utilization rate, risk of bankruptcy, economic policy, crisis duration.

Why Working at School is Attractive: Teachers’ View

Tatyana Klyachko – Director of Center of the Economics for Continuing Education, Institute for Applied Economic Studies, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, Doctor of Economic Sciences, Professor. Е-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Elena Semionova – Senior Research fellow of the Center of the Economics for Continuing Education, Institute for Applied Economic Studies, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, Candidate of Economic Sciences. E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Galina Tokareva – Research fellow of the Center of the Economics for Continuing Education, Institute for Applied Economic Studies, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration. E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Center of the Economics for Continuing Education, RANEPA annually monitors the efficiency of general education when sociological survey of pupils’ parents, teachers, and headmasters is done differentiated by socio-economic development criteria. The article presents teachers’ survey findings for 2014–2017 which reveal the attitude towards such aspects of the professional activity as staff renewal, satisfaction with work, and prospects of career progress.

Key words: monitoring, effectiveness of school education, professional activity.

Import Substitution: Russian Industry’s Investment Preferences

Sergey Tsukhlo – Head of Business Surveys Department of the Gaidar Institute, Candidate of Economic Sciences. E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Some new features have been added to Russia’s import substitution policy. Minpromtorg (Russia’s Ministry of Industry and Trade) in April compiled a comprehensive list of foreign-made machinery, equipment and materials which state-owned companies will not be permitted (from 1st of July) to purchase abroad without consent of the governmental import substitution commission.

Key words: Russian industry, import substitution, investment preferences, RF Minpromtorg.

First Outcome of the Privatization Program for 2017–2019 and Main Issues of State Property Management

Georgy Malginov – Head of Ownership and Corporate Governance Department of the Gaidar Institute; Leading Research fellow of the Department for Analysis of Institutions and Financial Markets, Institute for Applied Economic Studies, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, Candidate of Economic Sciences. Е-mail: malginov@ieр.ru

Alexander Radygin – Chairman of Academic Board, Head of Center for Institutional Development, Ownership and Corporate Governance of the Gaidar Institute; Director of Institute for Applied Economic Studies, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, Doctor of Economic Sciences. Е-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The article examines main trends of the privatization process and adjacent aspects of the state property policy for 2017 – early 2018.

Key words: privatization, state property, federal property, novations in privatization, Rosimushchestvo.

Foreign Trade Turnover in Services in 2017

Alexander Knobel – Head of Foreign Trade Department of the Gaidar Institute; Director of Center for Foreign Trade Department, Institute for Applied Economic Studies, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, Candidate of Economic Sciences. Е-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Alexander Firanchuk – Senior Research fellow of the Center for Foreign Trade Department, Institute for Applied Economic Studies, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration. Е-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Russian exports of services in 2017 grew by 14 percent. To achieve the export target set by the President’s decree of May 7, 2018 to the tune of $100 billion over the next six years, annual growth of 9 percent will be required. Import of services in 2017 grew by 19 percent mainly due to 30 percent increase in traveling overseas which can be linked with stabilization of ruble exchange rate and an abolishment of all air travel restrictions with Turkey.

Key words: foreign trade volume of services, exports of services, imports of services, balance of services.

Change in the Personal Income Tax: Will It Bring Effect?

Sergey Belev – Head of Budget Policy Department of the Gaidar Institute; Senior Research fellow of the Budget Policy Department, Institute for Applied Economic Studies, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration. Е-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

No plans to raise personal income tax rates (PIT), Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said recently. However, this subject was until recently extensively debated and is likely to be put on the table again in the future. A rise of PIT rate can negatively affect the poorest citizens. It is envisaged to change it together with the introduction of a tax deduction amounting to the subsistence level. However, according to our calculations such change will not bring a notable fiscal effect.

Key words: personal income tax, PIT scale, PIT rise scenario.

Prospects for Pulling Through the Investment Pause in Russia’s Economy: Dynamic of Different Types of Fixed Assets

Olga Berezinskaya – Research fellow of the Center of Structural Research, Institute for Applied Economic Studies, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration; Research fellow of the Department for Financial Studies of the Gaidar Institute. Е-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Dina Shchelokova – Research fellow of the Center of Structural Research, Institute for Applied Economic Studies, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration. Е-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

2017 saw an exit of the Russian economy from the investment pause, however, at 2014–2017 years-end the real investment slump in fixed assets in the amount of 7.7% remained. Analysis of different types of fixed assets given in the article reveals constraints and prospects for the development of the investment process in Russia’s economy.

Key words: investments, fixed investments, types of investments, structure of investments, resource constraints.

Banking Profit in Q1 2018

Michael Khromov – Head of Department for Financial Studies of the Gaidar Institute; Senior Research fellow of the Center of Structural Research, Institute for Applied Economic Studies, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration. Е-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Banking profit in early 2018 remained at the level of the previous year. Herewith, notable decrease in net banking operating income due to interest rates reduction was offset by no losses incurred from currency revaluation. The reason was in termination of the national currency appreciation.

Key words: Russian banking sector, banking profit, structure of banking profit.

Impacts of New External Shock on Russia’s Monetary Policy

Alexandra Bozhechkova – Head of Monetary Policy Department of the Gaidar Institute; Senior Research fellow of the Center for the Study of Central Banks, Institute for Applied Economic Studies, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, Candidate of Economic Sciences. Е-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Pavel Trunin – Head of Center for Macroeconomics and Finance of the Gaidar Institute; Leading Research fellow of the Center for the Study of Central Banks, Institute for Applied Economic Studies, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, Candidate of Economic Sciences. Е-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The Bank of Russia’s Board of Directors decided in April to keep the key interest rate unchanged on the heels of new sanctions on Russia that affected seriously the Russian rouble. The exchange rate pass-through to prices can guide, sooner than it was expected, inflation closer to its 4% target rate. There remain high risks of further escalation of geopolitical tension, leading to heightened uncertainty about developments on the economic scene.

Key words: inflation, monetary policy, key rate, outflow of capital, Bank of Russia.

State Program for the Development of Agriculture in 2017

Vasily Uzun – Main Research fellow of the Center for Agro-Food Policy, Institute for Applied Economic Studies, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration; Main Research fellow of the Agricultural Policy Department of the Gaidar Institute, Doctor of Economic Sciences, Professor. Е-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The RF government resolution of April 28, 2018 approved the National Report on the progress and outcome of the implementation in 2017 of the State Program for the Development of Agriculture 2013–2020. Not all conclusions of the report seem to be justified. Moreover, some measures of support of agricultural enterprises and family-operated farms were not outlined properly nor were transparent.

Key words: agriculture, State Program for the Development of Agriculture, agricultural organizations, peasant farm, agriculture subsidies.

Execution of the Federal Budget in January-March 2018

Tatyana Tischenko – Senior Research fellow of the Budget Policy Department of the Gaidar Institute; Senior Research fellow of the Budget Policy Department, Institute for Applied Economic Studies, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, Candidate of Economic Sciences. Е-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

In Q1 2018, the federal budget revenues exceeded the revenues seen during the same period of 2017. Oil and gas revenues rose while oil and gas income fell. Budget expenditure decreased against January-March 2017 which ensured the federal budget surplus.

Key words: federal budget, budget revenues, budget expenditures, budget surplus.