The Eurasian continent, which has for over a century lagged behind in global markets, is currently gaining economic and political momentum. This book investigates emerging economic linkages in the area, examining the factors shaping this integration, the benefits and risks involved, and the future of these states on the global stage.
This study is intended for non-Russian researchers wanting to get familiar with the education system of the Russian Federation and more generally for all those involved in education and education policy. It does not represent exhaustive information on the Russian education system and all problems and challenges existing there, but briefly describes its main features. The report has the following structure. The opening chapter provides an overview of the education system in Russia and briefly reviews the most evident emergent trends. Chapters two through five are devoted to description of education system by level. The chapters are arranged by ascending order of educational level and each chapter's present information in a progression from the most general to the most specific. First, data on the current state of education system is provided. They characterize the human and financial resources allocated to education; describe the network of educational institutions across the country, and show regional disparities of spending on education. Next in each section key problems and challenges are examined; the focus is mainly made on access to and quality of educational services. Third, information on recent and ongoing reforms in the education sphere addresses each subsector separately and defines features typical for each of them. Fourth, there is discussion of policy options and analysis of what can be improved in the Russian education sphere. Finally, section six is devoted to lifelong learning. First, the section focuses on the condition of and development trends in lifelong learning. Then it examines the state of policy, staff training including financing and coverage, and learning for socially deprived groups of people. The section concludes with policy options and possible measures for improvement.
Exploring the capacity and impact of decentralization within European health care systems, this book examines both the theoretical underpinnings as well as practical experience with decentralization.
This book takes stock of the diverse and divergent welfare trajectories of postsocialist countries across central and eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. Authors from different disciplines address key aspects of social protection including health care, poverty reduction measures, labor market policies, pension systems, and child welfare.
We explore two issues triggered by the crisis. First, in most advanced countries, output remains far below the pre-recession trend, suggesting hysteresis. Second, while inflation has decreased, it has decreased less than anticipated, suggesting a breakdown of the relation between inflation and activity. To examine the first, we look at 122 recessions over the past 50 years in 23 countries. We find that a high proportion of them have been followed by lower output or even lower growth. To examine the second, we estimate a Phillips curve relation over the past 50 years for 20 countries. We find that the effect of unemployment on inflation, for given expected inflation, decreased until the early 1990s, but has remained roughly stable since then. We draw implications of our findings for monetary policy.
The book presents the best contributions from the international scientific conference “Growth Poles of the Global Economy: Emergence, Changes and Future,” which was organized by the Institute of Scientific Communications (Volgograd, Russia) together with the universities of Kyrgyzstan and various other cities in Russia. The 143 papers selected, focus on spatial and sectorial structures of the modern global economy according to the theory of growth poles. It is intended for representatives of the academic community: university and college staff developing study guides on socio-humanitarian disciplines in connection with the theory of growth poles, researchers, and undergraduates, masters, and postgraduates who are interested in the recent inventions and developments in the field. It is also a valuable resource for expert practitioners managing entrepreneurial structures in the existing and prospective growth poles of the global economy as well as those at international institutes that regulate growth poles. The first part of the book investigates the factors and conditions affecting the emergence of the growth poles of the modern global economy. The second part then discusses transformation processes in the traditional growth poles of the global economy under the influence of the technological progress. The third part examines how social factors affect the formation of new growth poles of the modern global economy. Lastly, the fourth part offers perspectives on the future growth of the global economy on the basis of the digital economy and Industry 4.0.