The Great Divide: Ruralisation of Poverty in Russia

Using data from the RLMS for the period 2000-2004 we investigate poverty trends in Russia. We find that urban poverty declines at twice the rate of rural poverty so that by 2004 poverty in Russia had become a largely rural phenomenon for the first time since transition began. This finding does not stem from changing population characteristics or shares, is not dependent on the use of a particular poverty line nor is it driven by the rapid expansions that have occurred in Moscow, St. Petersburg or other urban areas. Our findings flesh out those of Ravallion et al (2007) who, in contrast to other regions, "find signs" of a ruralisation of poverty in Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union. We attribute some of the differential to the labour market

Macroeconomic Stability, Governance and Growth: Empirical Lessons from the Post-Communist Transition

Using panel data for the period 1989-2006 we revisit the empirics of economic growth in the context of the post-communist transition. We pay particular attention to the mechanisms of causation and to the potential endogeneity of the macroeconomic stability indicators considered to be important in the existing literature. Carefully employing a variety of econometric techniques we consistently find that macroeconomic instability is bad for economic growth. We find some evidence that institutions of governance are important for economic growth through their influence on the macroeconomic environment. That is, good institutions are conducive to macroeconomic stability which in turn positively impacts upon economic growth. We also find, in contrast with other work, that investments in education have had a strong positive impact on growth in transition while other 'standard' economic growth determinants remain less important. These findings are shown to be robust to a variety of econometric approaches, specifications and time spans

Vulnerability to welfare change during economic shocks: Evidence from the 1998 Russian crisis

Using changes in consumption as a proxy for "vulnerability" we identify the characteristics associated with vulnerability around the time of the 1998 Russian financial crisis. In addition, we examine the role of formal and informal safety nets in preserving individual well being. We apply quantile regression techniques in order to identify the characteristics associated with vulnerability across the two periods. Amongst those most vulnerable during the crisis were, less educated individuals living in urban areas, in households containing greater numbers of pensioners. Furthermore, we found that increases in home production and help from relatives acted to decrease vulnerability, especially amongst those suffering the largest changes in consumption. Following the crisis, amongst the least vulnerable were, better educated individuals, resident in urban areas, able to increase home production, and in receipt of improved pension payments and child benefits.

Low error measurement-free phase gates for qubus computation

We discuss the desired criteria for a two-qubit phase gate and present a method for realising such a gate for quantum computation that is measurement-free and low error. The gate is implemented between qubits via an intermediate bus mode. We take a coherent state as the bus and use cross-Kerr type interactions between the bus and the qubits. This new method is robust against parameter variations and is thus low error. It fundamentally improves on previous methods due its deterministic nature and the lack of approximations used in the geometry of the phase rotations. This interaction is applicable both to solid state and photonic qubit systems.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures. Published versio

Rationalizing Historical Successes of Malaria Control in Africa in Terms of Mosquito Resource Availability Management.

Environmental management of mosquito resources is a promising approach with which to control malaria, but it has seen little application in Africa for more than half a century. Here we present a kinetic model of mosquito foraging for aquatic habitats and vertebrate hosts that allows estimation of malaria transmission intensity by defining the availability of these resources as the rate at which individual mosquitoes encounter and use them. The model captures historically observed responses of malaria transmission to environmental change, highlights important gaps in current understanding of vector ecology, and suggests convenient solutions. Resource availability is an intuitive concept that provides an adaptable framework for models of mosquito population dynamics, gene flow, and pathogen transmission that can be conveniently parameterized with direct field measurements. Furthermore, the model presented predicts that drastic reductions of malaria transmission are possible with environmental management and elucidates an ecologic basis for previous successes of integrated malaria control in Africa before the advent of DDT or chloroquine. Environmental management for malaria control requires specialist skills that are currently lacking in sub-Saharan Africa where they are needed most. Infrastructure and human capacity building in clinical, public health, and environmental disciplines should therefore be prioritized so that growing financial support for tackling malaria can be translated into truly integrated control programs

The Gender Wage Gap and Wage Arrears in Russia: Evidence from the RLMS

Using the RLMS, this paper re-examines the gender wage gap in Russia from 1994 to 1998. We find that the average gender wage gap was fairly stable during 1994-1996 but that it became wider following the financial crisis of 1998. In particular, low-income female employees were hardest hit by the financial crisis. Furthermore, we find that wage arrears and payment in kind acted as compensating mechanisms to reduce losses stemming from higher wage discrimination, suggesting that the allocation of wage arrears and payment in kind was driven by equity considerations for female workers. Yet the relationship between wage arrears and the gender wage gap was not linear: female employees suffering wage arrears at low levels of the wage distribution failed to enjoy such compensation.