Announcement of the next BRICs seminar: Ruben Enikolopov and Vladislav Inozemtsev on Russian economy’s situation and perspectives

With the Support of CREE-Inalco, the next session of our BRICs seminar will be held on Wednesday, April 3rd, 6:00 PM (Paris Time), in presence and online, at the Maison de la Recherche de l’Inalco, 2 Rue de Lille, 75007 Paris, Salle Sylvestre de Sacy (2nd Floor).

We will have the pleasure to receive:

Ruben Enikolopov (Universita Pompeu Fabra, Barcelone),- in presence and

Vladislav Inozemtsev (founder of the Moscow Center for Post-Industrial Studies) – online

On the following topic:

Deciphering the Russian economic situation and pespectives after two years of war in Ukraine – and sanctions

Discussants: Dmitry Volkov and Julien Vercueil, CREE-Inalco

(Link to the online diffusion: https://zoom.us/j/97808508043)

Abstract:

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has marked the return of prolonged, full-scale armed conflict in Europe. The swift response in the form of cascading sanctions on the part of the EU and the USA, and the exit of western technological companies were designed to limit Russia’s means (financial, technological but also political) at engaging in prolonged warfare against Ukraine. 

However, two years into the war, Russia’s macroeconomic indicators leave little cause for alarm, oil exports have been reoriented, Chinese consumer products replaced their
EU and US counterparts, parallel imports for high-tech products are now commonplace, while the prospects for economic or political protests remain far-fetched.

Is it too soon to evaluate the consequences of the war and sanctions on Russia’s economy? Is there a certain specificity about Russia’s capitalism that makes it endure through extreme conditions? Have EU and US policy makers done enough to limit Russia’s capacity to wage prolonged war against Ukraine?

Complementary abstract from V. Inozemtsev:

Russia’s Economy in 2024 and Beyond: What to Expect?

Russia’s economy demonstrated a strong resilience to both the war and the sanctions which can be explained first and foremost by its private-sector flexibility and world-class public finance administration. I would argue that for the very start of the war with Ukraine the West possessed quite limited means for undermining the Russian economy (nevertheless, it succeeded in inflicting more harm to itself than to Russia).

I would like to address first of all the change in Russia’s foreign trade flows and their volumes; the impact of militarization on the economic dynamics (both through the extended funding of the military industry and through dispersing money to soldiers and their relatives); the sources of financial stability; the overall mood of the Russian society after the presidential elections and the Crocus City terrorist attack.

My general conclusion would be that Russia may keep its economy running, and even grow, for years (as it may continue with its war efforts) but Russia’s economy is unable to be modernized and developed as the changing composition of trade and investment partners excludes any chance for a significant technology transfer that has been crucial for the rise of the Russian economy in the last quarter century. The Kremlin may deprive the Western investors of their property but cannot create new mechanisms for technological development.

Some texts that might reflect my views on the matter can be found here:

https://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/2010/10/INOZEMTSEV/19776

https://www.cairn.info/revue-internationale-et-strategique-2013-4-page-157.htm?ref=doi (copy attached)

https://www.ifri.org/sites/default/files/atoms/files/ifri_inozemstev_exode_juillet_2023.pdf

https://www.ifri.org/en/publications/politique-etrangere/articles-de-politique-etrangere/war-ukraine-how-does-russian (copy attached)

Bios:

Ruben Enikolopov is an ICREA Research Professor at UPF and Barcelona Institute of Political Economy and Governance and a visiting professor at the New Economic School. He is also a Research Fellow at CEPR and a Research Affiliate at the IGC. His research interests include political economy, the economics of mass media, and development economics, with a special focus on the political effects of social media. He has published in American Economic Review, Quarterly Journal of Economics, Review of Economic Studies, Econometrica, Proceedings of National Academy of Science, etc. He is aCo-Editor of the Journal of Comparative Economics and a member of the Editorial Boards of the Review of Economic Studies and Journal of European Economic Association.

Dr. Vladislav Inozemtsev is a Russian economist and political scientist, focusing on global economic issues, development of the knowledge economy in the West and modernization of the Third World nations, with special reference to Russia’s history and current policies. He founded the Center for Post-Industrial Studies in Moscow in 1996 and has been its Director ever since, combining this activity with teaching at Moscow State University and the Higher School of Economics and numerous fellowships held in the US (Johns Hopkins University and CSIS) and Europe (DGAP in Berlin, Institute of Human Sciences in Vienna and Warsaw Institute of Advanced Studies, among many others). Dr. Inozemtsev served as an advisor to the Commission on Modernization of the Russian Economy under President Dmitry Medvedev in 2009-2011, as the chief aide to Mikhail Prokhorov’s presidential bid in 2012, and as a member of Russia’s ‘Open Government’ in 2013-2014. He left Russia after the start of the war with Ukraine in 2014 and lives in Washington. Dr. Inozemtsev has authored more than 20 books and is a columnist for the Neue Zürcher Zeitung, NRC Handelsblad, The Independent, Gazeta Wyborcza and La Razon.

Dr. Vladislav Inozemtsev est un économiste et politologue russe qui se concentre sur les questions économiques mondiales, le développement de l’économie de la connaissance en Occident et la modernisation des pays du tiers monde, avec une référence particulière à l’histoire et aux politiques actuelles de la Russie. Il a fondé le Centre d’études post-industrielles à Moscou en 1996 et en est depuis lors le directeur, combinant cette activité avec l’enseignement à l’Université d’État de Moscou et à l’École supérieure d’économie et de nombreuses bourses accordées aux États-Unis (Université Johns Hopkins et CSIS) et en Europe (DGAP à Berlin, Institut des sciences humaines de Vienne et Institut des hautes études de Varsovie, entre autres). Le Dr Inozemtsev a été conseiller auprès de la Commission sur la modernisation de l’économie russe sous le président Dimitri Medvedev de 2009 à 2011, conseiller principal de la candidature présidentielle de Mikhaïl Prokhorov en 2012 et membre du «gouvernement ouvert» de Russie en 2013-2014. Il a quitté la Russie après le début de sa guerre contre l’Ukraine en 2014 et vit à Washington. Dr. Inozemtsev est l’auteur de plus de 20 livres et est un chroniqueur pour Neue Zürcher Zeitung, NRC Handelsblad, The Independent, Gazeta Wyborcza et La Razon.

 

Bien cordialement / Best regards,

Julien


— Julien Vercueil Inalco Vice-président Valorisation et Responsabilité environnementale Vice-President for Valorization and Environmental Responsibility BRICs Seminar, Régulation Review

Announcement of the next session of the BRICs Seminar (March, 20th) : Sudip Chaudhuri on Industrial Policy in Developing Countries (Africa, India, Bangladesh)

The next session of our BRICs Seminar will be held – online – on March 20th, 6:00 PM Paris Time. Link to the webinar: https://zoom.us/j/96809736204

We will receive:

Sudip Chaudhuri (Indian Institute of Management of Kolkata)

On the following topic:

Revisiting the Question of Local Production of Medical Products
in Developing Countries in the light of COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract:

Import-dependent developing countries suffered tremendously during the COVID-19 pandemic because of the inability to secure international supplies of vaccines. The importance of diversifying production is now acknowledged both nationally and internationally. The presentation will critically review the initiatives underway to develop the vaccine and pharmaceutical industries with special reference to African countries which have been among the worst affected during the pandemic.

Despite intense deliberations and negotiations in different international forums, attempts to remove intellectual property barriers to facilitate the manufacturing of medical products in developing countries have not yet succeeded. While these efforts need to continue, it is also essential for developing countries to take proactive steps for developing manufacturing capacities. The elimination of IP barriers does not automatically lead to the creation of such capacities. The abolition of product patent protection in India and Bangladesh, for example,
has contributed to the development of pharmaceutical industries in these countries. In both the
countries specific steps were taken before the abolition which empowered the local firms to
take advantage of an environment free of patent restrictions.

Notable progress has been made in creating capacities for vaccine manufacturing in Africa. But
despite a long history of vaccine and pharmaceutical manufacturing and in spite of some
incentives that have been put in place to support the industry in several African countries, the
overall impact has been disappointing in the past. But the post COVID-19 environment is quite
different from the past. It is important to understand the constraints under which the African
countries operate and also appreciate the changes in the environment that have emerged for
sustainable development of the industry.

Here is the link to Sudip’s Paper : Paper-Sudip-Industrial-policy-Covid-19-Dec-2023

About the Author:

Professor Sudip Chaudhuri is a Retired Professor of Economics, Indian Institute of Management Calcutta. He is an Indian national and currently lives in Kolkata, India.

His research interests include intellectual property regime, pharmaceutical industry, industrialization and economic development in developing countries. He has published widely including a book on WTO and India’s Pharmaceuticals Industry: Patent Protection, TRIPS and Developing Countries, Oxford University Press.

He has done commissioned studies for various organizations including the World Health Organization, Geneva, United Nation Development Programme, New York, United Nations Industrial Development Organization, Vienna, the South Centre, Geneva, the Reserve Bank of India and the Government of India.

He has participated in policy dialogues in different forums in different countries and covered diverse topics such as R&D and innovation, industrial policies, price policies and product patent regimes. Promoting local production of pharmaceutical products in developing countries has been one of the major areas of his recent research. He has written several papers/reports on policies and strategies in general and also specifically on the history and experiences relating to the pharmaceutical industry in Bangladesh, India, Ghana and Tanzania.