The CIS-7 Initiative was launched in 2002 and endorsed by ministers from the CIS-7 and donor countries, with the objective of promoting poverty reduction, economic growth, and debt sustainability among the seven poorest countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). This volume draws from the follow-up conference held in Lucerne, Switzerland, in January 2003. The objective of this conference was to achieve an understanding of the development agenda in the seven countries and the key policy measures to be taken by the governments and donors to improve future prospects for the countries’ populations.
The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional organization that formed during the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991. It has few supranational powers, but aims to be more than a purely symbolic organization, nominally possessing coordinating powers in the realm of trade, finance, lawmaking, and security. As such, it is vital to examine this region and its economic and geopolitical impacts on the world. Economic and Geopolitical Perspectives of the Commonwealth of Independent States and Eurasia is a vital research publication that explores the importance and influence of the Commonwealth of Independent States and Eurasia in the twenty-first century. Highlighting a wide range of topics such as sovereign democracy, economic integration, and foreign policy, this book is geared toward business managers, economists, business professionals, entrepreneurs, business analysts, and researchers seeking current research on the effects of political organizations like the CIS on various regions.
Drawing upon recent progress in development economics and political science, the book provides fresh analysis of the Caucasus and Central Asia (CCA) countries transition to a market economy by tracing the impact of natural resource endowment. The book examines the synergies between energy-rich and energy-poor states and highlights the practical consequences of both well-managed and poorly-managed deployment of energy. Featuring contributions from prominent specialists on resource-driven economies, the book argues that unless CCA elites change the way in which they deploy natural resource, revenues regional development will fall short of its potential with possible disastrous consequences. The contributors apply the experience of the developing market economies to demonstrate that the region still holds considerable potential to become an important, stable supplier of raw materials and a source of industrial demand to the global economy. However, the CCA is equally likely to become a threat to the global economy as a consequence of the misuse of energy revenues to promote the interests of predatory political elites.
How do the former Soviet republics that now constitute the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) interact with each other and with other regional and world powers? What are the conceptual foundations, mechanisms, and main directions of each member state's foreign policy? What role do economic and political factors play? Answering these questions and more in this systematic, comprehensive survey, a team of in-country experts sheds important light on the complex regional and international interactions of the CIS states in the twenty-first century.
"Despite sustained output growth since 1997, low-income Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries (CIS-7) have not experienced growth in employment, a phenomenon observed elsewhere in transitional economies and labeled as "jobless growth." The author addresses the causes of this phenomenon in the CIS-7. He argues that the lack of job creation is explained by a combination of structural factors, including capital-intensive growth, large potential for productivity gains among existing workers, and compartmentalized economies best depicted by a dual labor market framework. Agriculture and industry have performed asymmetrically and grown apart during the recession and during the growth periods. Agriculture provides subsistence and refuge from urban poverty and unemployment but is unable to grow beyond subsistence because it is disconnected from industrial manufacturing and because the agricultural infrastructure is depleted and underinvested. Industry has progressively lost its manufacturing capacity, and focuses on capital-intensive, highly productive sectors, and provides good wages for the few highly skilled workers. With governments and the international community currently refraining from investing in agricultural and industrial policies focused on reviving manufacturing, jobless growth is likely to persist. "--World Bank web site.
The book examines the legal regime for protection of company shareholders in the CIS. The focus is on important aspects of domestic legal reform in the twelve CIS countries, but also on the contribution of CIS model legislation to this process.
Building on the substantial progress made in establishing fiscal systems consistent with market economies, the paper identifies priorities for further fiscal structural reforms among the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries. Activities of extra budgetary accounts and quasi-fiscal activities need to be brought into the budget framework. Although there is room for improvements, the CIS countries now have, broadly, levels of tax revenues and expenditures not out of line with the international norm, taking into account income levels. The main challenges they face are to further increase the market friendliness of taxation and to implement an efficiency-improving structural reform of the expenditure system while strengthening control and accountability.
There are wide inconsistencies between, and even within, countries in how community-orientated care is defined and interpreted. The analysis presented in this book take as a starting point an evidence-based balanced care model in which services are provided in community settings close to the populations served, with hospital stays being reduced as far as possible, usually located in acute wards in general hospitals. The surprising conclusion from the research is that the same problems arise in all countries, regardless of resource status, and thus the recommendations of this book apply to mental health provision everywhere. This book reviews the implementation of community-orientated care using the balanced care model. It summarizes the steps, obstacles and mistakes that have been encountered in the implementation of community mental health care worldwide and presents guidelines on how to avoid them. It proposes realistic and achievable recommendations for the development and implementation of community-orientated mental health care over the next ten years. These guidelines will be of practical use to psychiatrists and other mental health and public health practitioners at all levels worldwide, including policy makers, commissioners, funders, non-governmental organisations, service users and carers. A core message of the book is that the mental health sector will more powerfully advocate for better services in future through strong and unified alliances, especially with powerful representation from consumer/service user and carer groups. Community-orientated care draws on a wide range of practitioners, providers, care and support systems (both professional and non-professional), though particular components may play a larger or lesser role in different settings depending on the local context and the available resources, especially trained staff. Research by a WPA task force has demonstrated that most of the challenges are common and global, but with local variations. The book is therefore relevant to psychiatrists and mental health workers in developed countries who are trying to deliver better health care on reduced budgets and for those in the developing economies who are in the position to modernise their mental health care. It provides clear, concise guidance on policy and practice decisions, learning from what has and has not worked in regions in the world. The book contains many tables documenting the evidence, supported by an essential reference list, and a Key Points summary for each chapter. Highly Commended in the Psychiatry section of the 2012 BMA Book Awards.
This paper sets out a detailed quantitative analysis, based on standard econometric models, of the trade trends in the CIS countries, focusing on its low-income members; as well examining the nature of the existing CIS intra-bloc trade. Findings include that overall, progress in the trade area was slower in the low-income economies (CIS-7) than in the higher income CIS members, reflected in lower overall export level and slower export growth, a higher trade deficit, and a lower share of manufacturing exports. On balance, the CIS free trade area is a beneficial, trade-facilitating bloc, although the potential benefits of CIS trade integration remain badly underutilised.
