Международные научные семинары

Адрес проведения семинаров: Санкт-Петербург, пр.Римского-Корсакова, д.47 (здание банка "Санкт-Петербург", конференц-зал).

Даты: 04 февраля 2013г. - 28 февраля 2013г.

Monday, 04.02.2013

Research seminar

Time: 17:00 – 18:30

Rudy Colacicco  (Marche Polytechnic University)

Strategic trade policy in general oligopolistic equilibrium

Abstract:  This paper studies how cross-sector strategic trade policy affects wages, countrywide profits, and welfare. I develop a simple model of two-country continuum-of-sectors general oligopolistic equilibrium. Demands are linear and sectors involve one domestic firm competing on quantity with its foreign rival, producing a homogeneous good within a home-market framework. Firms have constant marginal costs in using the unique production factor. Unit labor requirements differ across sectors but are common within sectors. Countries face resource constraints, so that foreign and domestic wages are simultaneously determined. Before firms compete, only the domestic government can set trade policy. Relative to free trade, cross-sector protectionism reduces the foreign wage whereas it does not affect domestic wage. Except for the special case where sectors share the same technology, domestic countrywide profits benefit from small import tariffs whereas the foreign counterpart is hit. The consequences for income distributions are derived. Domestic social welfare is unambiguously penalized, suggesting political-economy implications.

Full paper:  https://www.dropbox.com/s/99cpf48epaie9t7/Paper2.pdf

Venue:  Rimskiy-Korsakov av., 47 (building of the bank "Saint-Petersburg bank", conference hall, 3rd floor)

 

Tuesday, 05.02.2013

Open lecture (Open University)

Time: TBA

Kristian Behrens  (UQAM)   

Big cities: A tale of productivity and inequality

Abstract:  This lecture deals with a few fundamental topics in modern urban economics, at an introductory level. In particular, it looks at the question of why big cities are both more productive and more unequal than small towns. To this end, I first document the productivity advantage of big cities and discuss two fundamental questions: (i) what are the micro-economic mechanisms leading to productivity gains; and (ii) is the relationship between size and productivity a causal one? I then show that big cities better reward certain types of skills, which implies that big cities are also more unequal places than small towns.

Venue:  Sedova str., 55, bld.2 (department of Economics of Saint-Petersburg branch of HSE)

 

 

Wednesday, 06.02.2013

Research seminar

Time:17:00 – 18:30

Kristian Behrens  (UQAM)   

Productive cities: Sorting, selection, and agglomeration

Abstract:  Large cities produce more output per capita than small cities. This may occur because more talented individuals sort into large cities, because large cities select more productive entrepreneurs and rms, or because of agglomeration economies. We develop a model of systems of cities that combines all three elements and suggests interesting complementarities between them. The model can replicate stylised facts about sorting, agglomeration, and selection in cities. It also generates Zipf's law for cities under empirically plausible parameter values. Finally, it provides a useful framework within which to reinterpret extant empirical evidence.

Full paper:  http://individual.utoronto.ca/gilles/Papers/Sorting.pdf

Venue:  Rimskiy-Korsakov av., 47 (building of the bank "Saint-Petersburg bank", conference hall, 3rd floor)

 

Friday, 08.02.2013

Research seminar

Time:17:00 – 18:30

Kristian Behrens  (UQAM)   

Trade, wages and productivity

Abstract:  We develop a new general equilibrium monopolistic competition model with variable demand elasticity, heterogeneous firms, and multiple asymmetric regions. Wages, productivity, consumption diversity, and markups across firms and markets are all endogenously determined and respond to trade integration in a way that is consistent with empirical evidence. Using Canada-US regional data, we structurally estimate the model and simulate the impacts of removing all trade barriers generated by the Canada-US border. We find that Canadian average labor productivity increases by 8.03%, whereas US average labor productivity rises by just 1.02%. Consumers’ exposure to market power falls sizably by up to 12.11% in the Canadian provinces, and by up to 2.82% in the US states. At the firm level, however, markup changes are ambiguous and depend on the firm’s productivity and location. Our results suggest that markups on the firms’ side provide a very different piece of information than markups on the consumers’ side, which are central to any welfare statement.

Full paper:   http://www.cesifo-group.de/portal/pls/portal/docs/1/1217934.PDF

Venue:  Rimskiy-Korsakov av., 47 (building of the bank "Saint-Petersburg bank", conference hall, 3rd floor)

 

Monday, 11.02.2013

Research seminar

Time:17:00 – 18:30

Ignat Stepanok  (Kiel Institute for the World Economy)

Learning How To Export

Abstract:  In this paper, we present a standard quality ladders endogenous growth model with one significant new assumption, that it takes time for firms to learn how to export. We show that this model without Melitz-type assumptions can account for all the evidence that the Melitz (2003) model was designed to explain plus much evidence that the Melitz model can not account for. In particular, consistent with the empirical evidence we find that trade liberalization leads to a higher exit rate of firms, that exporters charge higher prices for their products as well as higher markups, and that many large firms do not export. We also find that trade liberalization promotes economic growth and that it has the opposite effect of retarding economic growth in a closely comparable growth model with Melitz-type assumptions.

Full paper:  http://www.ifw-members.ifw-kiel.de/publications/learning-how-to-export-1/KWP%201801.pdf

Venue:  Rimskiy-Korsakov av., 47 (building of the bank "Saint-Petersburg bank", conference hall, 3rd floor)

 

Tuesday, 12.02.2013

Research seminar

Time:12:00 – 13:30

Rudy Colacicсo  (Marche Polytechnic University)

The "average" within-sector firm heterogeneity in general oligopolistic equilibrium

Abstract:  This paper builds a general oligopolistic equilibrium model to investigate how within-sector firm heterogeneities affect wage rate, countrywide profits, and welfare. I consider asymmetric sectors, each involving n Cournot oligopolists producing horizontally differentiated varieties with constant, though asymmetric, costs. I link a measure of the average within-sector firm heterogeneity with the endogenous wage rate. For interior equilibriums, the higher the “average” the lower the wage rate. Once general equilibrium feedbacks from wage rate are considered, the “average” has an unclear impact on countrywide profits and welfare, depending on the moments of the technology distribution as well as the demand parameters.

Full paper:  https://www.dropbox.com/s/8lm1bfwmpxcbcgy/Paper1.pdf

Venue:  Rimskiy-Korsakov av., 47 (building of the bank "Saint-Petersburg bank", conference hall, 3rd floor)

 

Research seminar

Time:17:00 – 18:30

Ignat Stepanok  (Kiel Institute for the World Economy)

Creative Destruction and Unemployment in an Open Economy Model

Abstract:  I develop a model of endogenous economic growth and search and matching frictions in the labor market. I study the effect of trade liberalization between two identical economies on unemployment. I solve for two versions of the growth model, the first one where trade liberalization has only a temporary effect on growth, a semi-endogenous growth model. In the second version trade liberalization has a permanent effect on growth, a fully endogenous growth model. I show that in both versions trade liberalization has a steady state effect on unemployment that can be either negative or positive depending on parameters.

Full paper:  https://sites.google.com/site/ignatstepanok/research/Stepanok.pdf

Venue: Rimskiy-Korsakov av., 47 (building of the bank "Saint-Petersburg bank", conference hall, 3rd floor)

 

Wednesday, 13.02.2013

Empirical Workshop "Empirical research in spatial economics", day 1

Time:14:00 – 18:00

Venue:  Rimskiy-Korsakov av., 47 (building of the bank "Saint-Petersburg bank", conference hall, 3rd floor)

Participants:

Tatiana Mikhailova (NES),

Olga Demidova (HSE),

Alexandra Bashina (HSE),

Sergey Afontsev (Institute of World Economy and International Relations),

Vera Ivanova (CMSSE)

Tatiana Mikhailova (NES)

Title:   Looking for Multiple Equilibria in Russian Urban System

Abstract:  This paper studies the effect of forced labor relocation in GULAG, and the losses during the WWII on the long-term dynamics of city growth in the USSR. The main goal is to test whether the impact of Stalinist policies and the WWII on economic geography of the USSR persists in long run, and whether, in response to these policies, the long-term dynamics of the Soviet city growth shows evidence of multiple equilibria. I find that WWII does not have a statistically significant long-term effect on city growth, controlling for other factors, while GULAG system does. The growth of an average city in 1960s exhibits partial mean-reversion after the shocks of 1930s-1950s. The dynamics is consistent with multiple equilibria hypothesis: cities that received a lot of investment (as measured by the GULAG population) in the 1930s-1950s, have a higher chance not to revert to the previous trajectory, but to continue growing, while neglected cities are more likely to decline

 

Olga Demidova (HSE)

Title:   Boundary and Distance Spatial Effects on Youth Unemployment Rate in Eastern and Western Russian Regions

Abstract:  The purpose of this study is to identify the common and different determinants of youth unemployment in Eastern and Western regions of Russia, especially searching for the existence of boundary and distance spatial effects. We tested two main hypotheses. The first hypothesis consists in the existence of a difference between the processes occurring within the Western and Eastern regions and an asymmetry of the processes of influence of Western and Eastern regions on each other. Our second hypothesis is based on the differences in the determinants of youth unemployment in the Eastern and Western parts of Russia. To test these hypotheses, two types of dynamic panel models were estimated by the Arellano–Bond method. The models of the first type included four boundary weighted matrices (west-west, east-east, west-east, east-west) and four types of explanatory variables: (i) variables characterising the demographic situation in a region; (ii) variables on the migration processes in a region; (iii) variables characterising the economic situation in a region; and (iv) variables on the export-import activity of a region. The models of the second types included the inverted distance matrices and the same set of independent variables. The main results can be summarized and interpreted as follows. We revealed the existense of a stable positive boundary spatial correlation for youth unemployment in Russian regions. For east and west, considered separately, we found positive inverted distance correlation. Using inverted distance matrices we also found negative influence of eastern youth unemployment on the west one and absence of distance correlation of western youth unemployment on the east one.  With the help of the econometric results the main policy implication have been considered.

 

Alexandra Bashina (HSE)

Title:   Human capital in Russia: regional features

Abstract: 

 

Sergey Afontsev (Institute of World Economy and International Relations)

Title:    Consequences of Joining WTO: the Role of Economic Distance

Abstract: 

 

Vera Ivanova(CMSSE)

Title:   Growth of Russian regions: a spatial econometrics approach

Abstract:  We study the impact of spatial determinants on economic growth in Russia. The research is conducted on the basis of region-level data using methods of spatial econometrics. We find that the key spatial factors of regional economic growth are population, labor density and location of the region. We also show that these effects are cought only after pointing out some outliers which enjoy free access to specific resources non-available for the others.

 

Thursday, 14.02.2013

Empirical Workshop "Empirical research in spatial economics", day 2

Time: 14:00 – 18:00

Venue:  Rimskiy-Korsakov av., 47 (building of the bank "Saint-Petersburg bank", conference hall, 3rd floor)

Participants:

Natalya Volchkova (NES)

Natalya Tordyeva (CEFIR)

Vakhitov Vladimir (KSE)

Olexander Shepotilo (KSE)

Elena Vakulenko (HSE),

 

Natalya Volchkova (NES)

Title:   Visa costs of export restrictions: evidence from Russia

Abstract: The paper studies the role visa restrictions play in determining export flows between Russia and their partners and explores the mechanism of this effect. The structural empirical model is derived from heterogeneous firms’ model of trade. The existing visa restrictions are used as proxies for costs the exporters face when dealing with customers abroad. The results indicate that visas have a strong negative market access effect which is 3-times higher for export of relation-specific goods than for export of non-relation specific goods. Controlling for choice of destination visas have significant negative effect on the value of export as well. This results are consistent with contractual nature of visa costs.

 

Natalya Tordyeva (CEFIR)

Title:   Russia: Regional Consequences of Joining WTO

Abstract

 

Vakhitov Vladimir (KSE)

Title:   "Negative" Clusters in post-socialist cities: The Case of Ukraine

Abstract: 

Olexander Shepotilo (KSE)

Title:   Spatial Spillovers in the Development of Institutions(with Harry H. Kelejian, Peter Murrell)

Abstract:  We examine spatial spillovers in institutional development. Dependent variables are institutional measures reflecting politics, law, and governmental administration. The explanatory variable of interest is the level of institutions in bordering countries—a spatial lag of the dependent variable. Our spatial model directly leads to the identification strategy for the endogenous spatial lag. We implement new results in spatial econometrics to counter missing-data problems usually rife in spatial empirics. Spatial institutional spillovers are statistically significant and economically important. A counterfactual exercise—the non-existence of the USSR—reveals large direct and indirect spillovers. Numerous robustness exercises bolster conclusions, including yearly cross-section regressions, fixed effects estimates, and adding many extra explanatory variables. Moreover, we provide a new theoretical result showing the robustness of estimates in the presence of omitted variables. We extend the core model, allowing different effects for better and worse neighbors, using inverse distance weights, estimating the spatial-Durbin model, and using Polity's institutional measure.

 

Elena Vakulenko (HSE)
Title:   Internal migration and interregional convergence in Russia(with S.Guriev)

Abstract:  In this paper we study convergence among Russian regions. We find that while there was no convergence in 1990s, the situation changed dramatically in 2000s. While interregional GDP per capita gaps still persist, the differentials in incomes and wages decreased substantially. Using parametric and semiparametric panel regressions on region-to-region migration flows in Russia for 1995-2010, we find that economic growth and financial development has substantially decreased the barriers to labor mobility. In 1990s many poor Russian regions were in a poverty trap: potential workers wanted to leave those regions but could not afford to finance the move. In 2000s (especially in late 2000s), these barriers were no longer binding. Overall economic development allowed even poorest Russian regions to grow out of the poverty traps. This resulted in convergence in Russian labor market; the interregional gaps in incomes, wages and unemployment rates are now comparable to those in Europe.

 

 

Monday, 18.02.2013

Open lecture (Open University)

Ignat Stepanok  (Kiel Institute for the World Economy)

Topics in International Trade

Time: 13:00

Abstract: This talk will be a brief overview of some of the basic theories

in international trade with a focus on the following questions: why do

countries trade, are there gains from trade and where do they come from,

what does the most recent empirical evidence tell us about the participants

in international trade and their incentives to enter foreign markets.

Venue:  Sedova str., 55, bld.2 (department of Economics of Saint-Petersburg branch of HSE)

 

 

Tuesday, 26.02.2013

Research seminar

Vera Sharunova  (CMSSE)

TBA

Time:17:00 – 18:30

Venue:  Rimskiy-Korsakov av., 47 (building of the bank "Saint-Petersburg bank", conference hall, 3rd floor)

 

Wednesday, 27.02.2013

Research seminar

Alena Skolkova  (CMSSE)

 Endogenous entrepreneurship under monopolistic competition (the case of CES-preferences)

Time:17:00 – 18:30

Venue:  Rimskiy-Korsakov av., 47 (building of the bank "Saint-Petersburg bank", conference hall, 3rd floor)

 

Thursday, 28.02.2013

Research seminar

Pavel Molchanov (CMSSE)

TBA

Time:16:00 – 17:30

Venue:  Rimskiy-Korsakov av., 47 (building of the bank "Saint-Petersburg bank", conference hall, 3rd floor)