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TERRA ECONOMICUS

A new society, a new resource, a new social class? (60th anniversary of the human capital theory)


TERRA ECONOMICUS, , Vol. 19 (no. 2),

A striking contradiction exists between the post-industrial discourse, which is widespread in today’s Russia, andlack of studies on social groups that are of crucial significance for the post-industrial society. Given the existinggroups of professionals, the most relevant for this study is the one described by Rosstat as “highly qualifiedspecialists”. This social group is beyond the traditional classification which implies polarization between theworkers employed and capitalists as the feature of the previous socio-economic formation. Social significance ofthis group increases due to the ownership on human capital – the key resource for the “knowledge economy”.Literature review reveals two main relevant domains: the sociology of professions, and sources on the social andprofessional structure of the modern society. The latter, being far less represented by contemporary Russiansociology, is organically linked to the post-industrial discourse. Its framework allows to interpret the humancapital of domestic professionals in the context of post-Soviet Russia undergoing the process of transitionto a post-industrial society. The weakness of this approach is due to the relatively small size of the class ofprofessionals in Russia, on the one hand, as well as its heterogeneity, on the other hand. Human capital, i.e.knowledge, skills and competencies are the key elements that professionals use as an economic asset. Thiscriterion allows to differentiate this social group as one of the proto-classes of the future post-industrial society.
Citation: Latov, Y.V., Tikhonova, N.E. (2021). A new society, a new resource, a new social class? (60th anniversary of the human capital theory). Terra Economicus 19(2): 6–27. (In Russian.) DOI: 10.18522/2073-6606-2021-19-2-6-27
Acknowledgment: The study is financed by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research, project no. 19-29- 07172.

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Superstition as an economic institution: An evolutionary approach


TERRA ECONOMICUS, , Vol. 19 (no. 2),

The paper explores a hypothesis of evolution in superstitions. Using the framework of Peter Leeson onsuperstitions as productive socio-economic institutions and the historical case of the Orang Suku Laut(OSL) peoples of the Indonesian archipelago of Riau, we demonstrate that superstitions can adapt to theshifts in economic conditions surrounding them. The strained relations between the OSL and the Malaysof Riau created a collective action problem: individual economic interaction between these groups wasbeneficial, but collectively the OSL risked getting subjugated by the Malays. To incentivize avoidance, theOSL utilized a system of belief called ilmu, and its superstition of lethal poisoning through trade. Ilmuprevented most intercommunity trade but allowed the OSL to retain their freedom. The siutaiton changedwith the arrival of the Chinese middlemen to the archipelago, who introduced the institution of money tothe OSL and caused them to become more progressive in the eyes of the Malays. This lessened the potentialfor conflict with the Malays and reduced the costs of trade. OSL then modified their superstition to renderthe exchanges safe if they were performed with money. As a result, the OSL superstition reached a newequilibrium which substantially improved the community’s economic well-being. If our hypothesis is correct,then a spontaneous development of superstitions can enhance the material welfare in some socities, despitetheir objectively incorrect nature.
Citation: Maltsev, V.V., Dementyev, V.V. (2021). Superstition as an economic institution: An evolutionary approach. Terra Economicus 19(2): 28–38. DOI: 10.18522/2073-6606-2021-19-2-28-38

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Institutional analysis of housing in Russia


TERRA ECONOMICUS, , Vol. 19 (no. 2),

The article deals with the role of the housing owned by the Russian households. Perception of housing bythe individuals from social, historical, psychological and law perspectives are analyzed. The role of housingand its influence on the households’ economy is underestimated. The choice of housing for a householdis featured by a specific rationality, namely, associated with the social and psychological factors, ratherthan exclusively by financial ones. The authors trace the origins of the Soviet institutional model and itseffects on the modern households. The paper provides evidence on the ownership of housing in Russia andon the lack of a developed residential property market. Differences and similarities of real estate owningfor households and firms are identified. The research findings allow to conclude that it is not typical for theRussian mentality to use life lease housing, due to the Russians’ historical memory, as well as underdevelopedlong-term rental housing market in Russia. This behavioral model distinguishes Russian households from theWestern ones. The underlying motives and interests of households related to the real estate are analyzed.The authors suggest an unconventional approach to study the real estate market through the prism of theinternal and external institutional environment.
Citation: Nureev, R.M., Guliaeva, O.A. (2021). Institutional analysis of housing in Russia. Terra Economicus 19(2): 39–57. (In Russian.) DOI: 10.18522/2073-6606-2021-19-2-39-57

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Relationship between economic development and population age structure in the Russian regions


TERRA ECONOMICUS, , Vol. 19 (no. 2),

The paper focuses on the relationship between the economic growth and the age structure. It is assumed thatwhile modeling economic growth, age distribution should be addressed to explain a human capital supply. Weapply econometric analysis to identify how the age structure affects economic development. The study relieson the panel data from 2001 to 2016 for 79 regions of Russia. We consider the following age categories: 0–15,16–24, 25–39, 40–54, 55–64 and 65–100 years. Panel data unit root tests and spatial correlation tests havebeen applied. We estimated the linear panel regression model with spatial lag and spatial autocorrelatederror term. The significance of spatial effects for the Russian regions was confirmed by relevant diagnostictests. Although the coefficients for some age groups are significant in the model, their marginal responsesare insignificant due to spillover effects. The research findings show that the greatest positive effects oneconomic growth are from the youngest age categories 16–24 and 25–39. This differs Russia from othercountries for which similar studies were conducted. The significance of the oldest group 65–100 is a matterof interest, since it may confirm a positive effect of investments made by this group on the economic growth.Impact of the significant age categories are estimated.
Citation: Artamonov, N.V., Kurbatskii, A.N., Khalimov, T.M. (2021). Relationship between economic development and population age structure in the Russian regions. Terra Economicus 19(2): 77–90. (In Russian.) DOI: 10.18522/2073-6606-2021-19-2-77-90
Acknowledgment: The authors are thankful to Anton Belyakov (Lomonosov Moscow State University) for problem statement and for attention to the work. This article was supported by the Russian Science Foundation, project № 20 68 47030 “Econometric and probabilistic methods for the analysis of financial markets with complex structure”.

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Order policy for the post-war economy: German economic science and the theory of Ordoliberalism in 1939–1945


TERRA ECONOMICUS, , Vol. 19 (no. 2),

The article examines the history of the theory of Ordoliberalism in the context of plans for the post-war economicreconstruction of Germany. These plans were developed within the Reich ministries and other authorities in cooperationwith representatives of German economic science from 1939 to 1945. The paper presents little-known aspects of theapplied scientific activities of a group of Freiburg professors, founders of ordoliberal teaching, primarily Walter Euckenand Franz Boehm, who are traditionally considered to be the main figures of academic and intellectual oppositionto the Nazi regime in the Third Reich. This article shows the characteristics of an academic expert cooperation ofGerman political economists with state authorities, primarily with the Reich Ministry of Economics, as well as in theAcademy of German Law, in particular, in its department – the research group “Political Economy” of the Class IV “Onthe Study of the National Economy”, and after its official dissolution in 1943 within one of the non-official “Freiburgcircles”, the “Erwin von Beckerath Working group”. Particular attention is paid to the problems and contradictionsof the creation of a “new national socialist economic science”, failed attempts to popularize the idea of transition toa market-oriented model of the military economy of Freiburg extraordinary professor Adolf Lampe, as well as to theconcept of post-war reconstruction of the German economy by the authoritative Nazi official Otto Ohlendorf. Finally,an attempt is made to trace the continuity of German ideas about the politics of order between 1930 and 1940s, andto formulate preliminary remarks on the discussion on the relationship between the theory of German ordoliberalismand the economic views of some authorized senior ministerial officials in the Third Reich
Citation: Nevskiy, S.I. (2021). Order policy for the post-war economy: German economic science and the theory of Ordoliberalism in 1939–1945. Terra Economicus 19(2): 58–76. (In Russian.) DOI: 10.18522/2073-6606-2021-19-2-58-76

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Trends in the migration of Russian scholars: The regional dimension


TERRA ECONOMICUS, , Vol. 19(no. 2),

The quality of human capital is of key significance for the technological and economic development as afactor of competition for highly qualified personnel. Previously, the migration of scholars was described asa “brain drain”, but due to globalization and the development of communication tools, its characteristicsexpanded. Nowadays, additional relevant terms “brain circulation”, “brain exchange”, and “brain sharing”have appeared. Bibliometric analysis in this paper relies on the Scopus database to estimate the migrationof scholars affiliated to the Ural Federal University. We present our algorithm for generating scientometricdata. The research findings show that, in general, the regional tendencies follow, with some time lag, theRussian average, as well as the global trends of transition from the “brain drain” to the cooperative work. Weidentified similarities between the list of host countries and countries for cooperation. The key difference isthat the region trend is featured by more positive figures in terms of “brain drain” than Russia on average.Practical significance of our paper refers to the application of generation algorithm as an independenttool for collecting scientometric data. The results of the study can be used by the public authorities whenimplementing socio-economic policy.
Citation: Sudakova, A.E., Tarasyev, A.A., Koksharov, V.A. (2021). Trends in the migration of Russian scholars: The regional dimension. Terra Economicus 19(2): 91–104. (In Russian.) DOI: 10.18522/2073-6606-2021-19-2-91-104
Acknowledgment: The study is supported by the Russian Science Foundation, project № 19-78-00080.

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Green finance and the economic threats during COVID-19 pandemic


TERRA ECONOMICUS, , Vol. 19(no. 2),

Our paper aims at describing the links between green finance and sustainable development in the lightof the environmental threats and natural disasters represented by the recent coronavirus pandemiccaused by the COVID-19 virus. The recent situation heavily impacted on the financial and bankingsystem and transformed the way it has functioned before. Moreover, it demonstrated that the bankingsystem is more vulnerable than it should be. The banking sector has shown little capacity to absorbunexpected risks, owing to far-reaching international financial reforms. There are indications thatsome banks are on the verge of collapse, while some non-bank financial institutions and markets needimmediate support. A decade after the financial crisis, the world is still struggling with the problemsposed by the events of 2007–2009. Moreover, decisions taken during the crisis increased the risk thatpandemic financial stress would develop into a banking crisis over time. Our paper shows that nowthere is a need for the creation of healthy environment marked by the carbon-free and environmentallyfriendlyapproaches, and the green finance might help us to achieve that goal. Our results make it clearthat by promoting such instruments as green bonds, green loans and green mortgages stakeholders andpolicy-makers might help to create a more sustainable future for the people, their natural environment,and the economy as a whole.
Citation: Streimikiene, D., Kaftan, V. (2021). Green finance and the economic threats during COVID-19 pandemic. Terra Economicus 19(2): 105–113. DOI: 10.18522/2073-6606- 2021-19-2-105-113

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