Manufacturing (co)agglomeration in a transition country: Evidence from Russia

We document the geographic concentration patterns of Russian manufacturing using detailed microgeographic data. About 80% of three-digit industries are significantly agglomerated, and a similar share of three-digit industry pairs is significantly coagglomerated. Industry pairs with stronger buyer–supplier links—as measured using Russian input–output tables—tend to be slightly more coagglomerated. This result is robust to instrumental variable estimation using either Canadian or US instruments. Using Canadian ad valorem transport costs as a proxy for transport costs in Russia, we further find that industries with higher transport costs are more dispersed, and industry pairs with higher transport costs are less coagglomerated.     

山东省人均粮食变化的时空差异研究

人均粮食占有量是反映粮食供给水平的重要指标。本文分析了山东省人均粮食占有量变化的时空差异研究,并探讨了其与粮食增产的关系,对因地制宜调控人粮关系有一定的参考价值。     

Famine responses in the world food crisis 1972–5 and the World Food Conference of 1974

In the early 1970s, there was scarcity in the world grain market, soaring prices and famines in several countries of Asia and Africa. The commercial grain trade was expanded at the expense of food aid. After a brief look at policies addressing the situation in terms of modernised methods of agricultural production for small producers, the article sketches how such policies also affected relief efforts, from the low availability for food aid, the provision of food that was not useful and late deliveries through efforts to tie food aid to local changes in agricultural production and settlement patterns. In part, food aid thus reinforced processes of social differentiation that had contributed to causing the famines in the first place.     

THE CHLOR-ALKALI INDUSTRIES IN THE USSR

Spatial patterns in the production of chlor-alkali chemicals (soda ash, caustic soda, and chlorine) in the USSR are examined. The opening of large new salt deposits in the Volga region in the 1950s not only increased output of soda ash considerably, but also dramatically shifted production because of soda ash's raw material orientation. In contrast, because caustic-chlorine production tends to be market oriented, it was mainly the development of chlor-organic synthesis in the 1960s and 1970s that resulted in much greater spatial dispersion of production. Overall, the industry is now in a slow-growth phase, following the rapid gains made during the postwar period. Soda ash production is actually declining, while the wide array of applications for chlorine, especially chlorinated hydrocarbons, promises continued growth for the caustic-chlorine sector.     

THE NONCHERNOZEM DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM AND PROSPECTIVE SPATIAL SHIFTS IN GRAIN PRODUCTION IN THE AGRICULTURAL TRIANGLE OF THE SOVIET UNION

The Soviet program to proceed from further expansion of the grain area in the semi-arid steppe zone to intensification of graingrowing in the humid Nonchernozem Zone after decades of neglect is considered a landmark decision in the history of Soviet agriculture. If successfully carried out, the Nonchernozem program might yield by the late 1980s a grain increment equivalent to the amount now being imported by the Soviet Union for its own needs and for re-export to its allies. The implementation of the Non-chernozem program would also have consequences for regional grain-production patterns in the Soviet Union. The Nonchernozem Zone would be in a position to make a more significant contribution to the demand for grain in the industrial centers of European Russia, thus easing the pressure on the virgin lands of northern Kazakhstan and reducing the need for the present long grain hauls. Finally, a greater shift of grain production into the humid Nonchernozem would be in keeping with a program of water economies since grain output in the humid zone requires less than half of the water needed for grain production in the arid zone. The success of the Nonchernozem program is conditioned on greater attention to the development of rural infrastructure, particularly roads, which the author considers a key element in upgrading the agriculture of the region.     

内蒙古人口与粮食问题研究

内蒙古地处中纬度内陆地区,生态环境脆弱,干旱和半干旱面积占自治区总面积的80%以上。长期以来,形成的观念是内蒙古地广人稀、资源丰富,尤其是"文革"期间,在牧民不吃亏心粮口号的驱使下,将大向积林草地辟为粮田,导致草场的退化和土地的沙化。本文分析内蒙古人口发展和粮食生产的历史和现状,揭示在PRED系统中,人口增长与粮食生产面临的主要问题,结合内蒙古"九五"计划和2010年远景目标的要求,提出控制人口数量,提高粮食单产水平,实行退耕还草还林、降低耕地总量,保持人均粮食产量的动态平衡。     

The impact of Russian food security policy on the performance of the food system

Abstract

Food security has guided Russia’s food policy since 2010. The article examines the impact of food security policy on the food system. The Russian model of food security combines government intervention in the form of assistance for domestic production while simultaneously restricting market access. Food security does not appear to have a deleterious impact on the food system. We measure impact on four dimensions. Financial support for agriculture continues to increase in nominal rubles. In food production, the beef and dairy branches continue to lag, but increased grain production has made Russia a global leader in grain exports. Average per capita food consumption improved, although the poor consume much less, and the decline of the ruble affects the way Russians shop. The largest impact of food security has been on food trade. Food security policy has brought food to the forefront as an instrument of foreign policy. Food trade is politicized, witnessed by the food embargo against the West and food import bans against Turkey and Ukraine.     

转型期俄罗斯区域经济发展空间差异研究

本文从区域地理的视角,通过对俄罗斯转型以来的经济地带、基本经济区、联邦区和联邦主体四个不同层面的区域经济发展空间差异的现状进行动态分析,得出俄区域经济发展差异具有三个鲜明的特征:一是无论在其经济整体下降或增长的同时均伴随着区域之间经济发展差异的绝对或相对扩大过程;二是区域之间经济发展空间差异反映了市场经济在不同区域的作用,即在市场条件基础较好和资源性外向型经济发展有利的区域经济增长优于其他区域;三是形成了大量的"低水平塌陷"区域,即经济指标低于全俄平均数的问题区域数量多,覆盖面大。在此基础上,从自然因素、市场发育水平、体制因素以及社会历史因素等方面探讨了各因素在区域经济发展中的不同作用。     

Russia's Oil Industry: Risk Aversion in a Risk-Prone Environment

A Russian economist and a Norwegian political scientist, both long-term observers of the Russian energy industries, discuss the outlook for the Russian oil industry. The focus is on the relationship between reserves and industry strategies, and is presented from the perspective of an oil-producing enterprise. The authors analyze trends in reserve exploration and development and compare them with oil-industry investment patterns. They discuss differences and similarities among companies, as well as implications for future output. Also examined in the paper are factors inhibiting long-term private investment in the oil industry (including factors specific to particular companies) as well as the relevant policies of the government. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: D21, H25, L71, Q48. 8 figures, 1 table, 40 references.     

Russia’s gas “Triopoly”: implications of a changing gas sector structure

The growth strategies of the two largest so-called independent Russian gas producers – Novatek and Rosneft – as well as developments in international markets and changing domestic energy needs have put pressure on the present Russian gas sector model dominated by Gazprom. The three companies are involved in a struggle over export liberalization as well as the conditions in the domestic market. Liquefied natural gas is top priority for Novatek and Rosneft’s main gas focus is on eastern Russia and Asia, but there is still room for considerable tension with Gazprom. The government wants to both improve Russia’s position in export markets and maintain stable domestic supplies, including to socially disadvantaged regions and institutions. Gazprom is insisting that if further access to export markets is granted to the Independents, then they must take greater responsibility for domestic market obligations. On the other hand, the key Independents seem intent on stopping or slowing down their expansion in the domestic market in order to prioritize export sales, and will certainly not take broader domestic supply responsibilities without better access to export markets. The balancing of policies involves strong players on the Russian economic and political scene, all with ties to the Kremlin.     

Russian Agriculture During Putin's First Term and Beyond

An American specialist on Russian agriculture surveys developments during Putin's first term in office, as well as the challenges that loom for the future. The focus is on how economic growth more broadly, and agrarian reform policy more specifically, have led to increasing agricultural output and improved financial stability of farms, with emphasis on the large-farm sector (former state and collective farms). Among the at least partially successful stabilization measures described in some detail are development of reliable sources of farm credit, debt restructuring and cancellation, greater fulfillment of state budget obligations, state intervention in grain markets, and trade protectionism. The paper also assesses the agenda for increasing Russian agriculture's global competitiveness in Putin's second term. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: F13, O18, Q10. 3 tables, 61 references.     

COMPETITIVE AND IMPERFECTLY COMPETITIVE LABOR MARKETS IN URBAN AREAS*

ABSTRACT. In this paper, I present a model incorporating two kinds of spatial labor markets: a centralized competitive market at the central business district (CBD) and dispersed local markets across economic space under imperfect competition. Wage differentials and the size of the two types of markets are endogenously determined by rational choices of workers as well as profit maximization of firms. Workers can exercise rational choices with respect to market places where they commute and supply their labor. In this model, I attempt, in effect, to integrate the Hotelling-type paradigm and the Samuelson-type paradigm in a consistent spatial setting.     

Excerpts from Tables of Contents of other Translation Journals

The Russian conquest of Siberia was one of the great feats of history, bringing almost one-tenth of the landmass of the world under the control of the Russian Empire. This paper proposes a framework for examining the role of Siberia in the development of the Russian state and the evolution of the world economy from the sixteenth to early twentieth century. This study supports the contention that, rather than representing an interesting aside in the annals of European imperialism, Russian colonization of Siberia was not only affected by European colonialism and the European-based capitalist world economy, but, in fact, was part of it Moreover, the conquest and consolidation of Siberia is viewed as a “series of changing geographies,” over space and time, as it was affected by and in turn affected the rise of Russian nationalism and the development of European capitalism. The three-part framework for analysis suggested in this study employs (1) a world-systems model, (2) a multi-disciplinary approach, and (3) cross-cultural comparison.     

Who identifies with the “Russian World”? Geopolitical attitudes in southeastern Ukraine,Crimea, Abkhazia,South Ossetia,and Transnistria

Abstract

The concept of the Russian world (Russkii mir) re-entered geopolitical discourse after the end of the Soviet Union. Though it has long historical roots, the practical definition and geopolitical framing of the term has been debated and refined in Russian political and cultural circles during the years of the Putin presidency. Having both linguistic-cultural and geopolitical meanings, the concept of the Russian world remains controversial, and outside Russia it is often associated with Russian foreign policy actions. Examination of official texts from Vladimir Putin and articles from three Russian newspapers indicate complicated and multifaceted views of the significance and usage of the Russkii mir concept. Surveys in December 2014 in five sites on the fringes of Russia – in southeastern Ukraine, Crimea, and three Russian-supported de facto states (Abkhazia, South Ossetia, and Transnistria) – show significant differences between the Ukrainian sample points and the other locations about whether respondents believe that they live in the Russian world. In Ukraine, nationality (Russian vs. Ukrainian) is aligned with the answers, while overall, attitudes toward Russian foreign policy, level of trust in the Russian president, trust of Vladimir Putin, and liking Russians are positively related to beliefs about living in the Russian world. In Ukraine, the negative reactions to geopolitical speech acts and suspicions about Russian government actions overlap with and confuse historical linguistic-cultural linkages with Russia, but in the other settings, close security and economic ties reinforce a sense of being in the Russian “world.”     

Russia’s energy relations with China: passing the strategic threshold?

This article examines Russian energy policies toward China over the past decade as reluctant engagement changed into a priority energy partnership. From 2008 to 2016 Russian and Chinese companies signed several major oil and gas agreements, a period in which Moscow reassessed China as a future energy consumer and lifted bilateral cooperation to a new level. The article utilizes the strategic partnership concept as an analytical framework and finds traditional realist concepts and hedging inadequate for this particular case. The study illuminates Russian geopolitical considerations and acceptance of vulnerability, which combined make long-term Russian energy policies more China dependent. Officially, Russia seeks diversification among Asian energy buyers, but its focus has increasingly been on China. Western sanctions imposed in 2014 for Russia’s role in Ukraine accelerated this trend. Moscow’s energy policies toward Beijing with its pipelines and long-term agreements are permanent arrangements that resemble strategic partnership policies. China is eager to increase energy relations with Russian companies, but Beijing also ensures that it does not become too dependent on one supplier. Russian concern over its increased dependence on China in the East is deemed secondary to expanding Russia’s customer base beyond the still-dominant European market.     

当前俄罗斯人口地理变动的新特点

俄罗斯是一个地广人稀的国家。在20世纪90年代世界性人口增长的大背景下,人口持续减少,已成为影响国家发展和民族生存的重大问题,特别是其人口的发展显示出有悖于世界人口增长普遍规律的一些特征,非常值得探讨和研究。本文在对俄罗斯人口的增长、结构、分布和城市化发展特点等四个方面进行全面分析的基础上,探讨了俄罗斯人口危机产生的经济、社会和文化原因。指出解决俄罗斯人口问题的当务之急是加快发展经济,全面提高人口的生存环境质量。     

民国时期北平城市粮食市场区位分布及其等级研究

民国时期北平城市人口众多,粮食需求颇费。北平火车站附近的粮栈作为第一级市场将粮食输入到北平城内,一级销售商携带粮食样品在第二级粮食交易市场进行商品交换,第三级市场销售商在二级交易市场确定货源后,将粮食供应全市人民,最终覆盖整个北平城。第一级粮食市场承担代替外地粮商销售买卖的功能,多集中在车站附近;二级粮食市场确定了一级市场的货源后,进一步将粮食供应系统扩大;三级销售市场的主要表现形式为米庄和陆陈行,其特点为数量大、规模小、覆盖范围广,有效地将粮食输入给最终消费者。粮食供给直接关系到民生问题,本文围绕粮食这一主题,探讨了民国时期北平城市粮食市场的总体运作原则、粮食商业的运行模式以及每级粮食供应商的特点与粮食流通方式,指出北平粮食市场的三个级别间的相互联系。     

China's Nuclear Energy in Light of the Disaster in Japan

An American specialist on Russian agriculture examines that country's agrarian policy, as well as the agricultural sector more generally, one year into the presidency of Dmitriy Medvedev. Focusing on the three key policy issues—state financial support, state intervention in the grain market, and international food trade policy—he assesses the extent to which current policy represents a continuation of that prevailing during the presidency of Vladimir Putin. The author discusses the appointment of a new Agriculture Minister in 2009, which may signal a different approach to the management of the sector, and concludes with an assessment of the impact of the global financial crisis. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: F130, Q100, Q170, Q180. 2 tables, 63 references.     

Russia and the Islamic World

This article offers a historical retrospective of the interactions between Russia and the Islamic world in all their diversity, beginning from the first trade contacts of Medieval Rus with the Arabs and Persians of the Abbasid era, as well as with the Turkic-speaking residents of Volga Bulgaria. The author concludes that except for the initial sporadic period, the connections between Russian and Muslim worlds have been stable and close throughout all the following periods. Moreover, with time, these two civilizational communities turned into communicating vessels because of the growing number of Muslims within the Russian State and in Russian society. Special attention is paid to Russian-Turkish relations across several centuries. A complete comprehension of the relations between Russia and the Islamic world through an example of the historical retrospective of Russian interactions with the Ottoman Empire and the Republic of Turkey helps to provide a full appreciation of the importance of joint efforts to secure a bridge connecting East and West and the oriental civilizations with Russia.     

THE WATER ASPECT OF THE GEOGRAPHY OF AGRICULTURE IN THE USSR

The long-term grain requirements of the growing Soviet population are calculated. On the basis of the relationship between water use and grain yields by natural soil zones of the USSR, the authors show that the amount of water needed per unit of output declines with a growth of productivity, especially in the non-chernozem zone of the Soviet Union. It is therefore concluded that greater water savings might be assured by expanding grain production in zones with an adequate supply of natural moisture rather than by the use of artificial irrigation of arid lands.