The 2011-2012 Yegor Gaidar Fellowship Program in Economics [7]closed with two days of events in Moscow, Russia where the Gaidar Fellows presented their research results along with their U.S. collaborators. The Yegor Gaidar Fellowship Program in Economics supports collaborative research between U.S. and Russian economists on topics of importance to both countries.
Konstantin Borisov
Deputy Division Chief, Department of Regional Economic Development Projects,
Ministry of Economic Development, Moscow, Russia
U.S. Fellowship Host Institution: Harriman Institute [8], Columbia University
U.S. Collaborators: Dr. Timothy Frye, Director, Harriman Institute
Dr. Padma Desai, Gladys and Roland Harriman Professor of Comparative Economic Systems; Director, Center for Transition Economies
Research Topic: Perspectives of Russian-American Investment Cooperation: Tendencies, Mechanisms of Support, Recommendations [9]
Foreign investment is one of the key driving forces of the globalization process. Much research demonstrates that foreign investment and trade expand cooperation between countries across a range of sectors. In recent years, the world economy has been under the strong influence of capital growth, heightened economic integration and the effects of financial crises as countries become more dependent on each other.
The following issues considered in this research are: global investment tendencies, features of investment in Russia and the United States, investment risks and barriers for Russian and American investors, governmental and non-governmental support mechanisms for investors, investment practices in the U.S. and Russia and recommendations for future Russian — American cooperation.
Viacheslav Evseev
Director, Center for Customs Tariff and Non-tariff Regulation Research
Moscow, Russia
U.S. Fellowship Host Institution: Georgetown University, Center for Eurasian, Russian and East European Studies [10](CERES); Atlantic Council [11], Patriciu Eurasia Center
U.S. Collaborators: Ambassador Ross Wilson, Director, Patriciu Eurasia Center, Atlantic Council
Anna Borshchevskaya, Assistant Director, Patriciu Eurasia Center, Atlantic Council
Research Topic: WTO Accession: Implications for Russia [12]
The eighth World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial conference held Dec. 15–17, 2011 in Geneva approved Russia's accession after 18 years of difficult negotiations. The decision was historic — Russia had been the largest economy in the world outside the WTO system after China's accession in September 2001. Russian and Western policymakers, trade professionals, companies and experts now are evaluating Russia's WTO accession and what will come next.
This research analyzes the implications of Russia's economic and social development in the wake of its accession to the WTO, outlines three possible post-WTO scenarios for economic development and presents recommendations for the Russian government and its key trading partners.
Ksenia Kushkina
Energy Analyst/PhD Candidate
World Economics and International Relations Institute
Russian Academy of Sciences
Moscow, Russia
U.S. Fellowship Host Institution: Center for Strategic and International Studies [13](CSIS)
U.S. Collaborators: Edward Chow, Senior Fellow, Energy and National Security Program
Leigh Hendrix, Research Associate, Energy and National Security Program
Research Topic: “Golden Age” of Gas in China: Is there still an opportunity for more gas exports to China? [14]
Chinese gas market is rapidly gaining importance. Chinese gas consumption was comparable to Germany's in 2010 and is expected to match that of the entire EU by 2035. Given China's attractiveness
for potential liquefied natural gas (LNG), pipeline gas imports and exports of American shale gas technologies, what happens in such a large market is of the utmost interest to Russia, the United States, and the rest of the world. A quick increase in Chinese gas consumption provides opportunities for gas exporters, but how much of the gas consumed in China will be imported and from where still present major uncertainties for potential gas suppliers.
This research examines the major factors that might drive Chinese natural gas production (with a special focus on pricing reform and shale gas) and provides estimates for the window of opportunity that companies from Russia and the U.S. might enjoy in China over the next 20 years.