Author: Anna Pluta

Wage rigidity and workers’ flows during recessions

New SSE Riga/BICEPS research paper by Anete Pajuste (SSE Riga) and Hernan Ruffo (UTDT).

Abstract. Wage rigidity generates higher unemployment volatility in matching models. By comparing the wage dynamics and workers’ mobility during the period 2004-11 in Spain and Latvia we provide empirical evidence to this effect. We find that wages in Spain were rigid even during periods of rising and high unemployment. In contrast, Latvian wages were reduced by about 10 percent and wage cuts affected 60 percent of jobs. At the same time, the elasticity of finding and separation rates to productivity shocks was four times higher in Spain than in Latvia, and that these responses were more persistent in Spain. We use finding and separation conditions from a matching model to show that these empirical results are in line with what a model would predict. We also emphasize that separations are very responsive to shocks, more so in a rigid-wage economy, a fact that has not been highlighted in theoretical literature.

Entrepreneurship in Transition Economies

The new book, “Entrepreneurship in Transition Economies”, edited by Arnis Sauka and Alexander Chepurenko, presents a state-of-the-art portrait of entrepreneurship in the transition economies of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) as well as Georgia and Ukraine. The book contains a chapter “The Business Cycle and Early-Stage Entrepreneurship in Latvia” written by Marija Krumina and Anders Paalzow (BICEPS/SSE Riga).

Vienkārši un saprotami par ekonomiku – VPP SUSTINNO projekta Nr.1 publiskā lekcija Sarunu festivālā LAMPA

30. jūnijā un 1. jūlijā Cēsu pils parkā aizvadīts jau trešais Sarunu festivāls LAMPA, par spīti lietum pulcējot vairāk nekā 10 000 cilvēku. Divsimts dažādu notikumu programma sarunās vienoja raibu publiku – mūziķus, māksliniekus, mediķus, ministrus, politiķus, mācībspēkus, mediju pārstāvjus, uzņēmējus un daudzu citu profesiju pārstāvjus. Arī projekta Nr.1 pētnieki piedalījās šajā pasākumā.

Kāpēc? Ekonomika nav garlaicīga. Tā nav arī ķīniešu ābece. Ikvienam indivīdam no literāta līdz santehniķim ir svarīgi ekonomiskos procesus un teorijas konceptus izskaidrot tā, lai tos izprastu un izmantotu reālajā dzīvē.
Kā? Ar īsām, interesantām prezentācijām par tēmām, kuras cilvēki parasti nesaskata caur ekonomikas prizmu. Piemēram, kāpēc cilvēki balso? Kādi ir ieguvumi no laulības? Šie un citi jautājumi var tikt atbildēti, izmantojot elementārus ekonomikas modeļus.

On July 1st BICEPS researchers – Nicolas Gavoille, Marija Krūmiņa and Anna Zasova – participated in the annual Conversation Festival “LAMPA” and showed how economists use models to answer questions like “Why do people decide to form a relationship?” or “How do people exploit imperfections of benefit systems to extract extra gains?”. It was great fun and thank you to all participants who came to listen to us to the Swedish tent and initiated very interesting discussions.

Pētnieces Annas Zasovas prezentācija pieejama šeit.

 

Dalība konferencē “Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Regional Development – EIRD 2017”

Ventspils Augstskolas 5. starptautiskā zinātniskā konference “Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Regional Development – EIRD 2017 Smart Growth of the Local Community in the Global World” notiek no 29. līdz 30. jūnijam Ventspils Augstskolā, un arī BICEPS pārstāvji, VPP SUSTINNO projekta Nr.1 pētnieki Marija Krūmiņa un Anders Paalzow konferences ietvaros šodien uzstājās ar prezentāciju “The Business Cycle and Early-Stage Entrepreneurship evidence from Latvia”.

Prezentācija pieejama šeit.

 

 

VPP SUSTINNO projekta Nr.1 pētniece prezentē pētījumu Saeimā

Šodien Baltijas Starptautiskā Ekonomikas Politikas Studiju Centra (BICEPS) pētniece Anna Zasova uzstājās ar ziņojumu “Sistēmas nepilnību izmantošana: no ienākumiem atkarīgo pabalstu blakusefekti” Saeimas Budžeta un finanšu (nodokļu) komisijas Demogrāfijas lietu apakškomisijā.

Prezentācija pieejama šeit

VPP SUSTINNO projekta Nr.1 pētnieki piedalās konferencē “New Challenges of Economic and Business Development – 2017: Digital Economy”

Konference “New Challenges of Economic and Business Development – 2017: Digital Economy” notiek no 18. līdz 20. maijam Rīgā, un BICEPS pētnieki, VPP SUSTINNO projekta Nr.1 dalībnieki Anna Pļuta un Vents Vīksna uzstājās ar prezentācijām:
“The impact of the tax and benefit system on the labour supply in Latvia” (Pļuta, A.), “The comparison of exporting and non-exporting enterprises in Latvia” (Pļuta, A.) un “European funding: Does it induce exports?” (Vīksna, V.).

 

VPP SUSTINNO projekta Nr.1 pētnieki piedalās konferencē “Corruption, Tax Evasion and Institutions”

No 11. līdz 13. maijam norisinājās starptautiska konference “Corruption, Tax Evasion and Institutions”, ko organizēja BICEPS sadarbībā ar Rīgas Ekonomikas augstskolu un Stokholmas pārejas ekonomikas pētniecības institūtu (SITE, Zviedrija), un tās mērķis bija veicināt un izplatīt augstas kvalitātes ekonomiskos pētījumus par mehānismiem, kas veicina korupciju un izvairīšanos no nodokļu maksāšanas. Konferencē uzstājās tādi ievērojami zinātnieki kā Eriks Berglofs (LSE Globālo lietu institūta direktors (IGA)) un Konstantīns Sonins (Čikāgas universitāte), kā arī pazīstams pētnieciskais žurnālists Paul Radu (OCCRP izpilddirektors), kurš strādāja Panamas dokumentu izpētes komandā. Uzaicināto runātāju sarakstā bija iekļauti arī augsta līmeņa ierēdņi, tostarp ESAO (OECD) pārstāve Grace Perez-Navarro (ESAO Nodokļu politikas un administrācijas centra direktora vietniece).

Arī VPP SUSTINNO projekta Nr.1 dalībnieki Anna Zasova un Irakli Barbakadze uzstājās konferencē ar prezentācijām: “Tying benefits to earnings when tax evasion is high” (Zasova, A.) un “The Effect of Participation in Shadow Economy on Firms’ Growth: Case of Latvian Firms” (Barbakadze, I.).

Konferences programma ir pieejama šeit.

Watch the video records of the academic conference “Corruption, Tax Evasion and Institutions”, which was held in Riga, Latvia

The conference took place on May 11 – 13, 2017 at the Stockholm School of Economics in Riga (SSE Riga). Its aim was to promote and diffuse high quality economic research on the mechanisms driving corruption and tax evasion, their relationships with institutions and their consequences on economic outcomes. In addition to parallel sessions and keynote speeches, the conference hosted a panel where economic scholars exchanged their understanding of corruption and tax evasion with policy makers and leading journalists who were at the core of the Panama Papers investigations. The conference was organized by the Baltic International Centre for Economic Policy Studies (BICEPS), the Stockholm School of Economics in Riga (SSE Riga), the Stockholm Institute of Transition Economics (SITE) and Centre for Media Studies at SSE Riga. Click to read more about the conference.

Introduction to Alf Vanags memorial lecture by Charles Chinedu Okeahalam (AGH Capital)

Alf Vanags memorial lecture by Erik Berglöf (LSE)

“Avoiding the Middle Income Trap – industrial policy and state capacity”

Keynote address by Konstantin Sonin (University of Chicago)

“Economic Transition and the Rise of Alternative Institutions”

Panel discussion

Participants:
Erik Berglöf, LSE
Petra Blum, Westdeutscher Rundfunk
Charles Chinedu Okeahalam, AGH Capital
Grace Perez-Navarro, OECD
Paul Radu, OCCRP
Moderator: Yuri Romanenkov, SSE Riga

Plenary session – Zareh Asatryan, ZEW Mannheim

“Responses of Firms to Tax, Administrative and Accounting Rules: Evidence from Armenia”

Plenary session – Giancarlo Spagnolo, SITE

“Leniency, Asymmetric Punishment and Corruption Evidence from China”

Plenary session – Gianmarco Daniele, Barcelona Economic Institute & University of Barcelona

“Do politicians react to a big scandal?”

Plenary session – Marc Sangnier, Aix-Marseille School of Economics

“Political Connections and Insider Trading”

Plenary session – Michele Valsecchi, University of Gothenburg

“Corrupt Bureaucrats: The Response of Non-Elected Officials to Electoral Accountability”