Is Russia Still a BRIC?
Can Russia break its dependence on oil and diversify its economy (its so-called resource curse)? Aleksandr Gevorkyan argues that it has the potential and may be well on the way to doing so—that is, beating the curse and becoming a full-fledged global player again.
Global Security and Economic Leadership of Russia
This chapter considers the global security and economic ambitions of Russia. Russia is now ruled by leaders who regard the collapse of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) as one of the greatest geo-strategic debacles of the twentieth century. They are keenly aware of the rich history of their country and are determined to re-assert the role and position of Russia in the world. While willingness and capacity to make such a claim for global leadership is unequivocal what is more moot is the acceptance factor. Increasingly Russia’s policies and actions are regarded with great scorn in some capitals notably in the Western World. Its policies on Ukraine, human rights, Syria and denuclearization are considered antagonistic in many parts of the West. The challenge for Russia and other global actors is to increasingly find those areas where there are shared interests even if tactics may differ such as on counter-terrorism and limiting the proliferation of weapons of mass murder.
Controlling inflation in transition economies: The relevance of central bank independence and the right nominal anchor
Controlling inflation is a central problem in transition economies. This paper asks under what conditions or even whether central bank independence helps in this task. The conclusion shows that merely imposing legal independence on the central bank may be ineffective or even counterproductive. It is necessary to make a monetary strategy and the responsibilities and restrictions of central bank policy transparent to the public. In addition, it is important that the right nominal anchor is selected—one that is, or is believed to be, effective and sustainable. Both monetary targeting and inflation targeting are assumed to be unsuitable for most transition countries. Instead, some kind of dynamic exchange rate targeting appears to be the most reasonable choice.