Millions of people died during 1932-1993 famine, which engulfed the majority of regions of the USSR. Ukraine was particularly affected by the catastrophe and primarily its regions which had been considered to be the most productive ones. What could be the reason for the fact that the highest mortality was observed in the most prolific areas? It can be explained by at least two effects of the collectivization of Soviet agriculture that both decreased incentives of peasants to work and led to the overprocurement of grain in the very productive regions. On the 6th of December the professor of Northwestern University Natalya Naumenko presented an article «Collectivization of Soviet agriculture and 1932-1933 famine», discussing this result in more detail.
The phrase «He who owns the information, owns the world» is familiar to us all. However, is completeness of information always a good thing? It turns out that in the principal-agent model this is not so. Transparency can decrease the willingness of agents to act in the most efficient way and provide incentives to behave in order to put themselves in a favorable light. The professor of Warwick University Niall Hughes spoke about this in more detail, presenting an article «How Transparency Kills Information Aggregation: Theory and Experiment».
In the modern world gender roles often differ from the ones that dominated in the developed societies hundred years ago. Nowadays work and own career are goals for both men and women. Thereby here comes a question how this alternation in the family structure affects children. In what way does employment of a mother influences her child in the first years of a life? According to some preliminary results, if a woman is a full-time employee, the cognitive outcomes of her child are lower than of the one whose mother is not fully employed. Presenting an article "Fertility, Maternal Employment and Children's Cognitive Achievement: a Structural Approach», the assistant professor of HSE Anna Yurko spoke about these results in more detail.
What is relationship between a level of democracy in a country and nutrition of its population? According to the data, the higher is consumption of protein in the country, the higher is the probability that it will become more democratic. It can be explained by the fact that the share of the macronutrient in a food ration of the population is a proxy to a size of the middle class, which is a key element for democratization. The assistant professor of HSE Andrey Shcherbak spoke about this interesting result, presenting his article «The recipe for democracy? Improvement in diet as a structural prerequisite for political change».
Politics encompasses omnifarious spheres of social life, facing various problems in every of them. How can ordinary citizens not be confused by all these political issues and prioritize properly? In what way do people form their political views about what a solution to a problem is more preferable? Probably, a person shapes their opinion basing partially on the position of the preferred party. On the 1st of November the assistant professor of London School of Economics and Political Science Thomas J. Leeper presented an article «If Only Citizens Had a Cue: The Process of Opinion Formation over Time», discussing this hypothesis in more detail.
Why are Russians inclined to be tolerant of the high level of social inequality? How does interpersonal trust influence their preferences for redistribution? HSE research fellow Denis Ivanov discussed this in «Bridging or Bonding? Preferences for Redistribution and Social Capital in Russia».
On September 29 a research seminar on political economy took place at HSE. Andrew Little (Cornell University) spoke on 'I Don't Know'.
On September 20 a research seminar on political economy took place at HSE. Galina Besstremyannaya (Lead research fellow, Center for Economic and Financial Research) spoke on 'The adverse effects of incentives regulation in health care'.
On September 13 a research seminar on political economy took place at HSE. Andrea Matranga (New Economics School) spoke on 'All Along the Watchtower: Linear Defenses and the Introduction of Serfdom in Russia'.
The Higher School of Economics has selected its Best Teachers of 2016. This year the voting process was different from previous years’, and First Vice Rector Vadim Radaev explains how.
