... Russian people and government sounded more optimistic. What’s your opinion about Russia’s overall economic situation? Has diversification decided by President Vladimir Putin started to bear fruits?
A.K.:
The fundamental problem of the Russian economy is not in the Western sanctions. It is not even in a sharp decline of the global energy prices. In order to move ahead, Russia has to reinvent its model of economic development. The old model designed and assembled in early Putin’s years, has depleted its potential. ...
... price will ultimately determine the outcome. In this context, the presence of economic sanctions contributes to worsening the situation.
A recently released
study
by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) suggests that “sanctions (and counter sanctions) could initially reduce Russia’s real GDP by 1 to 1-1/2 percent”. Yet, their effective impact on the economy and through which mechanisms sanctions will be enacted is not clear to most.
In order to cast some light on this topic, I have interviewed Birgit Hansl, Chief Economist at the World Bank for Russia and CIS countries. She also contributes to clarify ...
Last week I attended a conference titled “Russia’s food market in 2015”; it was the first of a series of panels that took place in occasion of the 24th World Food Exhibition, a well-known event which brought to Moscow more than 1500 firms from over 70 countries.
At the discussion ...
Interview with professor Sonin, esteemed economist of the University of Chicago
Russia has back fired to the western sanctions by banning the import of a wide range of food products in the context of the Ukrainian crisis. According to Russian ... ... deterioration of the economic welfare.
In order to cast light on these issues, I have interviewed an expert of political economy and trade policies, Professor Konstantin Sonin. Professor Sonin is a prominent economist, former Vice Rector of the Higher ...
... and favor the development of SMEs are remarkable. Yet, although the ruble could push Italians to delocalize their production, what they actually look at when considering this possibility is the level of demand on the internal market. Therefore, if the economy is in recession and demand is weak, bearish attitudes prevail.
REUTERS/Yves Logghe
Igor Ivanov:
The Tough Lessons of the EU-Russia Crisis
Regarding political risk, if you consider the problem of sanctions, I believe that there is a lot of disinformation. It is true that sanctions are an impediment to trade, but still they haven’t closed up every sector. People often do not know what the sanctions are and what they imply. It is responsibility ...
... isn't definitely the way to give a positive impulse to the economy, considering also that unemployment for people aged under 25 peaks at an even more astonishing 43.1%.
The real issue, though, is subtler and even more worrisome for Italy and the EU economy in general. Indeed, while European exporters can't find new markets to overcome the shortage of demand induced by the sanctions, the Russian market is already replacing the old trade partners with new ones from areas outside Europe, which don't have to submit to the inflexibility of Brussels. Notwithstanding the fact that the existing short-term damage is already significant ...
... Brussels on December 18–19, 2014. Unlike the summits of previous years, which Russia has always seen as a purely bureaucratic event for discussing specific EU-related... ... strengthening economic growth, creating new jobs and improving the competitiveness of the EU economy. The heads of state and government will have to approve the Annual Growth Survey... ... Judging from statements made by a number of European politicians, it is unlikely that new sanctions will be levied against Russian at the Summit on 18–19 December, 2014...
... this is Cuba and Iran, which for decades lived under sanctions.
The relative decline in the efficiency of trade and economic sanctions is largely due to the global nature of the world economy, which offers little if any opportunity for the introduction and maintenance of truly severe restrictions on the flow ... ... benefits, while there are few examples to the contrary. Ukraine, which refused a giant package of economic assistance offered by Russia for political reasons, is one of them.
The status quo is becoming less acceptable to emerging powers, and they (the BRICS,...
... could be seriously hurt. Refinancing state companies’ $200 billion in debt will already create a serious problem; according to estimates from former Vice Prime Minister Kudrin’s think tank, underinvestment and capital flight caused by the sanctions scare will deprive the Russian economy of another $200 billion. Russian economic experts believe we risk losing up to one-third of our annual budget next year due to international sanctions, in the worst-case scenario.
Still, Russia can live with sanctions for the short term. Oil exports ...
