The Results of 2003 and The Results of Four Years: Policy versus Economy The paper deals with factors and trends of the economic policy in Russia in 2003-2004, as well as with policy debate on economic growth issues. Current stage of economic development is characterized as transition from the reconstructive growth to the investment one. The author discusses the role of elections in the development of economic policy in 2003, the danger of economic populism, and prospects of economic policy in the "one-and-a-half-party" democracy model. Conclusion presents economic policy priorities for the next presidential term.

     In the article conceptual and practical questions of natural rent are examined. Special attention is paid to the principles and mechanism of its development and division in a market economy. Land rent is analyzed in more details. Methodical approaches and means of government regulation of rent mechanism, provision of equal economic terms and stimuli of effective production to producers are offered.

     The "marketocentric" economic theory is now dominating in modern science (similar to Ptolemeus geocentric model of the universe in the Middle Ages). But market economy is only one of different types of economic systems which became the main mode of resources allocation and motivation only in the end of the 19th century. Authors point to the necessity of the analysis of both pre-market and post-market relations. Transition towards the post-industrial neoeconomy requires "Copernical revolution" in economic theory, rejection of marketocentric orientation, which has become now not only less fruitful, but also dogmatically dangerous, leading to the conservation and reproduction of "market fundamentalism".

     The paper is devoted to the problems of power in the institutional economic theory. The approaches to the analysis of the power phenomenon in various economic conceptions are considered. The underdevelopment of the problem of power in modern pure economics is emphasized. The methodological narrowness of the transactional approach to the power problems analysis is shown. The arguments for the necessity of including the problem of power into the subject of the economic analysis are formulated.

     Сreation of the stabilization fund was the main feature of the Russian federal budget for 2004. This instrument provides the opportunity to reduce the dependence of budget incomes on the fluctuations of oil prices. The accepted model does not consider the world experience in building of such funds as the "funds for future generations", and the increase of other revenues from the growing oil prices as well. That can lead to shortening and immobilization of the financial basis of economic growth.

     The article discusses the issue of shortage of skills in the Russian industry. Using microdata from a survey of industrial enterprises, the author confirms that most of employers complain of difficulties in hiring and attaching skilled workers. In case of mass occupations, this shortage relates mostly to low efficient enterprises, which are unable or unwilling to pay competitive market going wage. More efficient and better paying firms are less likely to face shortage of general skills on the labor market but may face limited supply of specific skills.

     In order to outline the problem of unemployment in Russia, the authors calculate the natural rate of unemployment by consecutively estimating the optimal number of employed and economically active population. For estimation of optimal values modified Hodrick-Prescott filter was used. The results show that the natural rate of unemployment in Russia in 1994-1997 was stable around 12-12,5%, and decreased to 8,1% by 2003. In addition, before 1998 the actual unemployment was significantly lower than the natural rate and currently practically equals it.

     The expediency of using in scientific parlance and in practice of human resources management the category "internal labor market" is grounded in the article. The specifics of intra-firm labor market forming and functioning are described. The authors study the mechanism of external and internal labor markets interaction from the standpoint of providing their balanced development.

     The problems of employment in the informal sector of the Russian economy are considered in the article. Special attention is paid to the influence of informal employment on the quality of labor potential. On the one hand, informal employment provides noncompetitive persons with work, on another - reproduces inefficient employment and preserves poor quality of labor potential. The structure of informal employment by educational and age criteria is examined.

     The article summarizes major results of the work carried out in Russia and other CIS countries during the last ten years on introduction into regular statistical practice of the System of National Accounts, the concepts and definitions of which have been designed for description and analysis of the market economy. The progress achieved by the countries in this area makes it possible for the governments to use the SNA data for formulating economic policy. At the same time the article discusses the problems which require further efforts by the statistical services of the CIS countries;: the solution of these problems is essential for enhancing reliability and analytical usefulness of the principle indicators of the SNA.

     The article contains list of questions related to antimonopoly regulation to be discussed (group exemptions, rule of reason, "per se" rule, sanctioning, abuse of law, etc). The economics of property rights approach to the problems of antimonopoly policy is clarified. For this purpose the status of externalities as a key concept of Economics of Property Rights is described.