Keeping Up with the Neighbours: Envy as a Driver of Economic Growth
Classical economic theory assumes that economic agents are entirely self-interested and rational in their pursuit of material well-being, and that they are not affected by external factors. As a result, externalities are not considered in any way when constructing economic models. Nevertheless, some sociologists argue for a revision of modern economic theory to incorporate the ethical dimensions of economic agents' behaviour. Kirill Borissov, Professor of the Faculty of Economics at the European University in St Petersburg, spoke at the XXIV Yasin (April) International Academic Conference and shared his observations from creating his own economic model incorporating the factor of envy.
Measuring Well-Being and Happiness
On April 30, the Laboratory for Comparative Social Research sponsored a seminar in St. Petersburg by Associate Researcher Francesco Sarracino on ‘Do people care for a sustainable future? Evidence from happiness data’. Sarracino is an economist at Luxembourg’s National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (STATEC) and specializes in social capital, economic growth and well-being; he recently spoke at length with the HSE news service about his research interests, implications of measuring happiness and wellbeing for policymakers, and his experience collaborating with the Higher School of Economics.
Why Do Economies Stop Growing?
Professor Kyoji Fukao of the Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo will give an honorary lecture on "The Structural Causes of Japan's Lost Decades" at the XVI April International Academic Conference on Economic and Social Development. He talked to HSE English News Website in the run up to the conference.
'Human Capital, Quality of Life and Infrastructure around Cities Should Be the New Areas for Investment' Says Yaroslav Kuzminov
On the 28th February at a plenary session of the economic forum in Krasnodar 'New sources of growth for Russia' attended by deputy PM Arkady Dvorkovich and ex-minister of finance Aleksei Kudrin, HSE Rector Yaroslav Kuzminov set out three important sources of economic growth. This article presents the main points of his address.
'New' Economy Ignored by Statistics
Official statistics fail to capture – in fact, they simply ignore – the development of Russia’s high-tech industry. This distorts macroeconomic indicators and negatively impacts the quality of the government's decisions. Vladimir Bessonov, Head of HSE Expert Institute's Laboratory for Studies of Inflation and Economic Growth, has authored the report: 'In Search of Information and Communication Technologies: The Quirks of Russian Statistics and Economic Measurements'.
Deadline for applications to present academic reports - January 20, 2025