• R. J. Gordon — Is U.S. Economic Growth Over? Faltering Innovation Confronts the Six Headwinds

• E. Gontmakher — Russian Social Inequality as a Factor of Socio-political Stability
• A. Solovyev — The Macroanalysis of Russian Pension System
• S. Shishkin, E. Potapchik, E. Selezneva — Private Health Care Sector in Russia: Present State and Development Prospects
• E. Savitskaya, D. Chertykovtseva — Secondary Education Funding and Quality: Econometric Approach

• A. Muravyev — On Scientific Value of Russian Journals in Economics and Related Fields

• P. Orekhovsky — The Third Mechanism (On the Book by С. Crouch "The Strange Non-Death of Neoliberalism")

• Senchagov V. K. Economy, Finances, Prices: Evolution, Transformation, Security

Abstracts

The article deals with the relation between assumptions of economic theories and their political implications. Two canons of economic science are being analyzed according to the degree of abstraction. A hypothesis is that the more abstract formal canon is connected with a liberal kind of economic policy whereas the more concrete canon presupposes an active state intervention in economic affairs. Several attempts at integrating both canons are studied separately (Marshall, Schumpeter, Eucken). Historic evidence is more or less consistent with the hypothesis stated above, but there happens to be one important exclusion: the general equilibrium theory is so abstract that it can imply opposite policies.

JEL classification: B12, B13, B15, B16, B21, B22, B31, B41.
Keywords: economic methodology, economic policy, history of economics, classical political economy, historical school, marginalist revolution.

Explicit economic incentives designed to increase contributions to public goods and to promote other pro-social behavior sometimes are counterproductive or less effective than would be predicted among entirely self-interested individuals. This may occur when incentives adversely affect individuals’ altruism, ethical norms, intrinsic motives to serve the public, and other social preferences. The opposite also occurs—crowding in — though it appears less commonly.

JEL classification: D02, D03, D04, D83, E61, H41, Z13.
Keywords: preferences, incentives, social goods, experiments.

This paper raises basic questions about the process of economic growth. It questions the assumption, nearly universal since Solow’s seminal contributions of the 1950s, that economic growth is a continuous process that will persist forever. There was virtually no growth before 1750, and thus there is no guarantee that growth will continue indefinitely. Rather, the paper suggests that the rapid progress made over the past 250 years could well turn out to be a unique episode in human history. The paper views the future from 2007 while pretending that the financial crisis did not happen.

JEL classification: D24, E2, E66, J11, J15, O3, O31, O4, Q43.
Keywords: economic growth, USA, innovation policy.

The article analyzes Russian social inequality on the basis of data of domestic and international statistics and expert assessments. It introduces the terms "negative" and "positive" socio-political stability, exploring the relationship of present social inequalities with each of these types of stability. The author concludes that in the current situation the country’s development is on the way of "negative" stability, which creates serious risks of Russia’s entering an open socio-political crisis. The possibilities of avoiding the unfavorable scenario are discussed.

JEL classification: I31, I38.
Keywords: social inequality, stability, socio-political crisis.

In the article conditions and development of Russian pension system in long-term prospect is analyzed. The author reveals the reasons of the Pension fund deficit and argues that tariff policy imbalance is the basic cause, as well as nonparticipation of a considerable part of able-bodied population in payments in the Pension fund, and the fact that a lot of persons receive labour pension ahead of schedule. Possible measures aimed at reaching financial stability of the pension system are offered in the article.

JEL classification: Е620, Е690.
Keywords: pension system, pension fund.

The private sector which has emerged in the Russian health care system has become a competitor to the public one and has pulled a part of effective demand of the middle class. It has developed out of the public health care financing system. Depending on the policy of the state towards modernization of health care, the private sector can continue to grow as an alternative to the public one, but it can be a tool of modernization and an organic part of an integrated health care system.

JEL classification: I11.
Keywords: health care, private health care providers.

The paper estimates the relationship between public expenditure on secondary education and its quality. The investigation is based on regression analysis of cross-nationally comparable funding data and student performance metrics — PISA and TIMSS. The authors conclude that the growth of teachers’ salaries measured in absolute terms and public education expenditure per student have positive influence on educational achievement, though it is rather small. However, regression analysis has not revealed dependence of students’ performance on other financial indicators — public expenditure on secondary education as a percentage of GDP, public expenditure on secondary education as a percentage of total government expenditure and teachers’ salaries measured relative to average wages in the country.

JEL classification: I22, H52.
Keywords: schooling, public expenditure, secondary education, human capital.

In this paper we attempt to classify Russian journals in economics and related disciplines for their scientific significance. We show that currently used criteria, such as a journal’s presence in the Higher Attestation Committee’s list of journals and the Russian Science Citation Index (RSCI) impact factor, are not very useful for assessing the academic quality of journals. Based on detailed data, including complete reference lists for 2010—2011, we find significant ­differentiation of Russian journals, including among those located at the top of the RSCI list. We identify two groups of Russian journals, tentatively called category A and B journals, that can be regarded as the most important from the viewpoint of their contribution to the economic science.

JEL classification: A12, A14.
Keywords: journal rankings, economics journals, economics in Russia.

This paper is devoted to the book by C. Crouch "The Strange Non-Death of Neoliberalism". The central important innovation of the book consists in introducing the third coordination mechanism apart from the state and the market, and this is the corporation. It allows to reconsider the neoliberal model of political economy, which includes marketization (commercialization), "privatized Keynesianism" and economization of political regimes. The 2008 Crisis, caused by this model, has led not to its demise, but rather to the increase in the power of banks, financial and industrial corporations.

JEL classification: H4, H5, Z18.
Keywords: Keynesianism, neoliberalism, public sector.