The economic impact of sanctions on the Russian economy

This paper assesses the impact of the EU and NATO sanctions on the Russian economy. An examination of the data revealed that the sanctions have directly impacted on various sectors of the Russian economy. Notable among them were the financial sector which includes the banks, major publicly owned companies in the fuel/energy sector as well as the military and technological equipment. These sanctions severely constrained these sectors as they struggled with lack of funding and investment. The economy also witnessed huge capital flight or outflow at an estimated value of $7.8bn, which was further compounded by gross negative capital inflow in the form of FDI’s (foreign direct investments). In addition to that, the embargo on food imports as well as trade sanctions led to a rise in inflation which further resulted to a rise in commodity prices and by extension loss of confidence in the falling Ruble. The sanctions also led to erratic trade flows and loss of market share. On the contrary, despite the sanctions the Russian economy moved to 45th place in the global competitiveness report. Besides the Russian government continuously offer support to its financial institutions in the form of low interest loans which led to their buoyancy

Political stability and innovation in Africa

This paper examines the role of institutional factors, primarily, political stability, in shaping the dynamics of innovation activity in today’s modern society. Using panel data consisting of 26 African countries from the period between 1996 and 2016 as well as employing the negative binomial estimate, we model the impact of those factors on the number of applications for patents per resident. GDP per capita, education and also other institutional factors including the rule of law and financial freedom. The results reveal a strong positive effect of the rule of law on patenting activity. © Foundation of International Studies, 2020 © CSR, 2020.Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst, DAADMinistry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, MinobrnaukaMinisterstwo Nauki i Szkolnictwa Wyższego, MNiSWThe authors are thankful to the Russian Ministry of Education and Science, DAAD, The Ministry of Science and Higher Education in Poland for financial support to carry out this research. Thanks (IOS, Regensburg) for hosting James Okrah for the period of his research internship with them, with special thanks to Dr Alexander Nepp (Supervisor), Dr. Olga Popova (IOS, Regensburg), Prof. Richard Frensch (IOS, Regensburg) and Dr Stefan Huber for their support

Оценка влияния конкуренции фирм на инновации в России

Инновации - важный фактор выживания компании в конкурентном мире бизнеса. Фирмы, действующие как на свободных, так и на конкурентных рынках, вынуждены внедрять более эффективные методы производства, чтобы предоставить потребителям новые улуч山енные продукты. В данной статье рассматривается влияние конкуренции на инновации на свободных и конкурентных рынках, исходя из цели российского правительства увеличить производительность малых и средних предприятий до 32% ВВП. Для анализа данных исследования предприятий Всемирного банка была применена логит-модель. Полученные выводы свидетельствуют о существенном негативном влиянии жесткой конкуренции на инновации. В частности, конкуренция отрицательно влияет на такие показатели, как инновации в продуктах, процессах и новых продуктах, приводя к их снижению на 5%, 3% и 3,5% соответственно. Модель пошаговых инноваций показывает, что конкуренция стимулирует инновации в фирмах на состязательных рынках. Кроме того, более высокий уровень конкуренции негативно влияет на создание новых инновационных продуктов. Согласно результатам анализа, острая конкуренция может снижать способность фирм к инновациям, особенно в области разработки продуктов, улучшения процессов и внедрения новых продуктов. Однако выступая в качестве движущей силы, конкуренция заставляет компании вводить нов山ества, чтобы поддерживать свою конкурентоспособность на рынке. Следовательно, усиление конкуренции может привести к отвлечению ресурсов организаций на исследования и разработки (НИОКР), потенциально ограничивая возможность внедрения новых продуктов.Innovation is an essential component of a company’s survival in this competitive world of business. Firms in free and competitive marketplaces are compelled to adopt more efficient production techniques and provide customers with new and improved products. This research examines the impact of competition on innovation in free and competitive marketplaces.The study is motivated by the Russian government’s goal of increasing productivity of small and medium-sixed enterprises (SMEs) to 32% of gross domestic product. The study employed the Logit model to analyse the data from the World Bank Enterprise Survey.The findings reveal that fierce competition has a significant negative effect on innovation. Specifically, competition reduces product, process, and new product innovation by 5%, 3%, and 3.5% respectively.The step-by-step innovation model indicates that competition stimulates innovation in firms operating in contestable markets. Additionally, higher levels of competition negatively affect new product innovation. These results suggest that intense competition may impede firms’ ability to innovate, particularly in the areas of product development, process improvement, and introducing new products. However, competition acts as a driving force that compels firms to innovate in order to maintain their competitiveness in the market. Consequently, increased competition may lead to a diversion of resources towards research and development (R&D), potentially limiting firms’ capacity to introduce new products.Автор выражает глубокую признательность Екатерине Цыганковой за поддержку и оказанную помощь в проведении исследования, её бесценный опыт и знания в области российского права. Также автор выражает искреннюю благодарность анонимным рецензентам и редактору за их вклад, ценные замечания и предложения, повлиявшие на качество статьи. Их преданность делу и стремление к совершенству достойны похвалы.I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Ekaterina Tsygankova for her unwavering support and invaluable expertise in Russian law. Her immense knowledge has been instrumental in shaping and refining this work. I would also like to extend my sincere thanks to the anonymous reviewers and the editor for their contributions. Their insightful comments and suggestions have played a crucial role in the development and improvement of this script. Their dedication and commitment to excellence are truly commendable

The expression of SLAMF7 levels in malignant B cells: a novel therapeutic pathway for patients with CLL

Signalling lymphocyte activation molecule (SLAM) F7 is found on the surface of some immune cells including B-lymphocytes. Its activation leads to the proliferation or differentiation of immune cells. The objectives of the study were to measure SLAMF7 expression levels on B-CLL cells, and to upregulate the expression of SLAMF7 with phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) and Bryostatin. The levels of expression of SLAMF7 receptors of B-CLL cells from patients were measured; using immunofluorescence, flow cytometry, confocal microscopy and reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The effects of treatments with PMA and Bryostatin were determined from different patients. Different levels of SLAMF7 expression were found to be associated with B-CLL cells from different patients. PMA treatment of B-CLL cells showed more positive SLAMF7 staining with the majority of the extracted B-CLL cell cases, while less positive results were associated with Bryostatin treatment. The study has shown that both PMA and Bryostatin could upregulate SLAMF7. Successful modulation of SLAMF7 expression may provide a novel target for the treatment of patients with CLL.Keywords: SLAMF7, RT PCR, Elotuzumab, Bryostatin, PM

The Contradictory Role of Corruption in Corporate Innovation Strategies

This study considers the influence of the work experience of Russian top managers on the willingness to stimulate innovative processes in companies, includ-ing using some corruption schemes to bypass bureaucratic barriers at a certain stage. Using a logit model based on enterprise surveys carried out by the World Bank, data on the managers of small and medium-sized businesses were analyzed. It was revealed that the presence of «corruption com-petencies» has a positive effect on the innovative activity of enterprises in developing countries. This effect is due to the fact that corruption in such countries acts as a mechanism to reduce the transaction costs associated with innovation. The level of corrupt activity of managers increases as they accu-mulate experience due to the high degree of bureaucratization and the weakness of institutions, which turn into time and financial costs for enterprises. In the short term, corruption can accelerate the development of innovation, but it cannot serve as a permanent tool in this regard, since its long-term consequences turn out to be extremely negative. © 2022, National Research University, Higher School of Econoimics. All rights reserved

Trends in Weekly Reported Net use by Children During and after Rainy Season in Central Tanzania.

The use of long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) is one of the principal interventions to prevent malaria in young children, reducing episodes of malaria by 50% and child deaths by one fifth. Prioritizing young children for net use is important to achieve mortality reductions, particularly during transmission seasons. Households were followed up weekly from January through June 2009 to track net use among children under seven under as well as caretakers. Net use rates for children and caretakers in net-owning households were calculated by dividing the number of person-weeks of net use by the number of person-weeks of follow-up. Use was stratified by age of the child or caretaker status. Determinants of ownership and of use were assessed using multivariate models. Overall, 60.1% of the households reported owning a bed net at least once during the study period. Among net owners, use rates remained high during and after the rainy season. Rates of use per person-week decreased as the age of the child rose from 0 to six years old; at ages 0-23 months and 24-35 months use rates per person-week were 0.93 and 0.92 respectively during the study period, while for children ages 3 and 4 use rates per person-week were 0.86 and 0.80. For children ages 5-6 person-week ratios dropped to 0.55. This represents an incidence rate ratio of 1.67 for children ages 0-23 months compared to children aged 5-6. Caretakers had use rates similar to those of children age 0-35 months. Having fewer children under age seven in the household also appeared to positively impact net use rates for individual children. In this area of Tanzania, net use is very high among net-owning households, with no variability either at the beginning or end of the rainy season high transmission period. The youngest children are prioritized for sleeping under the net and caretakers also have high rates of use. Given the high use rates, increasing the number of nets available in the household is likely to boost use rates by older children

Efficacious, effective, and embedded interventions: Implementation research in infectious disease control

Background: Research in infectious disease control is heavily skewed towards high end technology; development of new drugs, vaccines and clinical interventions. Oft ignored, is the evidence to inform the best strategies that ensure the embedding of interventions into health systems and amongst populations. In this paper we undertake an analysis of the challenge in the development of research for the sustainable implementation of disease control interventions. Results: We highlight the fundamental differences between the research paradigms associated with the development of technologies and interventions for disease control on the one hand and the research paradigms required for enhancing the sustainable uptake of those very same interventions within the communities on the other. We provide a definition for implementation research in an attempt to underscore its critical role and explore the multidisciplinary science needed to address the challenges in disease control. Conclusion: The greatest value for money in health research lies in the sustainable and effective implementation of already proven, efficacious solutions. The development of implementation research that can help provide some solutions on how this can be achieved is sorely needed

期间的限制性措施对独联体国家国内生产总值增长的影响

Received March 01, 2023; accepted September 03, 2023.Дата поступления 01 марта 2023 г.; дата принятия к печати 03 сентября 2023.Relevance. Global economy has suffered significant economic consequences as a result of the COVID-19. The impact of the pandemic crisis had generally been felt around the world. However, developing economies, with their many institutional constraints, have been much more affected by the crisis. This prompted governments to devise stringent policies to limit its destructiveness, with the goal of saving the populace while minimizing economic damage. Research objective. We investigate the effect of government’s stringent policies on economic growth and the influence of stringent policies and inflation on economic growth in CIS’s countries. Data and methods. Our analysis is conducted using quantile regression, which is an extension of the Johnson-Neumann interval OLS, and a simple slope analysis for the period from 1 March 2020 to 17 September 2021. Results. Our findings show that the government’s stringent policies have a negative effect on economy, reducing GDP growth by 4.9% in the mean model. Excessively stringent policies have a negative impact on the economy and the consequent decline in living conditions. Conclusions. The findings of this study reveal that policymakers should take a targeted approach to COVID policies, considering the varying effects of stringency across different levels of economic growth and taking into account the potential interaction with inflation rates. By implementing policies that balance the need for public health and economic growth, policymakers can mitigate the negative impacts of COVID restrictions on the economy and minimize the risk of stagnation traps.Актуальность. Мировая экономика понесла значительные потери в результате COVID-19. Воздействие пандемического кризиса в целом ощущалось во всем мире. Однако развивающиеся экономики с их многочисленными институциональными ограничениями пострадали от кризиса в большей степени. В связи с этим правительствам пришлось разрабатывать жесткую политику, направленную на ограничение разрушительных последствий пандемии с целью спасения населения и минимизации экономического ущерба. Цель исследования. Мы исследуем влияние жесткой политики правительства на экономический рост, а также влияние жесткой политики и инфляции на экономический рост в странах СНГ. Данные и методы. Анализ проводится с использованием квантильной регрессии, которая является расширением интервального метода наи-меньших квадратов Джонсона-Неймана и простого наклонного анализа для периода с 1 марта 2020 года по 17 сентября 2021 года. Результаты. Результаты исследования показывают, что правительственные ограничения оказывают негативное влияние на экономику, снижая рост ВВП на 4,9% в средней модели. Проведение излишне жесткой политики оказывает негативное влияние на состояние экономики и, как следствие, снижает уровень жизни. Выводы. Результаты данного исследования показывают, что политикам следует применять целенаправленный подход к разработке политики противодействия COVID, с учетом различного воздействия ограничительных мер в зависимости от уровня экономического роста страны и с учетом потенциального взаимодействия с инфляционным показателем. Проводя политику, обеспечивающую баланс между потребностями здоровья населения и экономическим ростом, государственные органы могут смягчить негативное влияние ограничений COVID на экономику и минимизировать риск возникновения ловушек стагнации.现实性：COVID-19 给世界经济造成了重大损失。全世界普遍感受到了这一疫情危机的影响。然而，一些发展中经济体由于存在许多体制限制，受危机的影响更为严重。因此，各国政府必须制定严格的政策来限制疫情的破坏性影响，以拯救民众和最大限度地减少经济损失。 研究目标：我们研究了政府紧缩政策对经济增长的影响，以及紧缩政策和通货膨胀对独联体国家经济增长的影响。 数据与方法：分析采用了分位数回归，该方法的基础是Johnson-Neyman（JN）的最小二乘法；以及简单斜率分析法，分析期为 2020年 3 月 1 日至 2021 年 9 月 17 日。 研究结果：研究结果表明，政府的限制措施对经济产生了负面影响，在平均模式下，国内生产总值的增长率降低了 4.9%。实施过于严格的政策会对经济状况产生负面影响，从而降低生活水平。结论：本研究结果表明，政策制定者在制定应对 COVID 的政策时应采取有针对性的方法，考虑到限制性措施因国家经济增长水平不同而产生 的不同影响，并考虑到通货膨胀率的潜在作用。通过实施兼顾公共卫生需求与经济增长的政策，政府当局可以减轻 COVID 限制措施对经济的负面影响，最大限度地降低陷入停滞陷阱的风险

Malaria and anemia prevention in pregnant women of rural Burkina Faso

BACKGROUND: Pregnant women are a major risk group for malaria in endemic areas. Only little information exists on the compliance of pregnant women with malaria and anaemia preventive drug regimens in the rural areas of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). In this study, we collected information on malaria and anaemia prevention behaviour in pregnant women of rural Burkina Faso. METHODS: Cross-sectional qualitative and quantitative survey among 225 women of eight villages in rural northwestern Burkina Faso. Four of the villages had a health centre offering antenatal care (ANC) services while the other four were more than five kilometers away from a health centre. RESULTS: Overall ANC coverage (at least one visit) was 71% (95% in health centre villages vs 50% in remote villages). Malaria and anaemia were considered as the biggest problems during pregnancy in this community. ANC using women were quite satisfied with the quality of services, and compliance with malaria and anaemia prevention regimens (chloroquine and iron/folic acid) was high in this population. Knowledge on the benefit of bed nets and good nutrition was less prominent. Distance, lack of money and ignorance were the main reasons for women to not attend ANC services. CONCLUSIONS: There is an urgent need to improve access of rural SSA women to ANC services, either through increasing the number of rural health centres or establishing functioning outreach services. Moreover, alternative malaria and anaemia prevention programmes such as intermittent preventive treatment with effective antimalarials and the distribution of insecticide-treated bed nets need to become implemented on a large scale