Russian agricultural credit and subsidy policies in the early 1990s

In high income countries, the agricultural sector, like the telecommunications sector, includes well established interests and complex government subsidy and credit policies. Reform in the telecommunications sector greatly affects the leading edge of the economy, and thus job creation, income growth, and technological development. The agricultural sector is typically much less important. Even very bad agricultural policies have not prevented considerable macroeconomic success. In light of real policy alternatives, the most important aspect of agricultural policy today may be the lessons it offers for telecommunications policy. The Russian Federation provides an important example of an attempt to change dramatically agricultural policy. The first section considers the role of government subsidies in the effort to promote private farms. The second considers the impact of state procurement and state procurement subsidies on the development of marketing and distribution channels. The third section looks at subsidies that cover part of the cost of agricultural inputs. The final section examines general producer subsidies and their relationship to agricultural output adjustment. Overall, the attempts to support agriculture through subsidies and credits have limited rural development and contributed to weak, inefficient agriculture. Credits for individual farmers have not been structured to promote the success of efficient farmers. Input and procurement subsidies have strengthened the privileged position of enterprises with connections to the government, and producer subsidies have encouraged high-cost producers who can claim a more pressing need for additional funds. Such outcomes are not unexpected or distinctive to Russia. They are consistent with outcomes observed in a considerable body of world-wide experience.agriculture, credit, subsidies, Russia, Russian Federation

International Aspects of Social Reform in the Interwar Period

The reconstruction of the international order after World War I put great emphasis on social reforms through the International Labor Organization (ILO). Three types of arguments were used to promote social reform. The first asserted that international economic competition meant that social reform had to be coordinated internationally in order to maintain the relative competitiveness of countries. The second proposed that social reform was necessary to preserve the stability of states, and hence the stability of the international system. The third appealed for international action on the basis of common notions of human dignity. The idea that common concern about human dignity demanded international action became an assertion of human rights. While this understanding of human rights has helped to inform the pursuit of social justice, the history of the founding and program of the ILO in the interwar period shows that other arguments for social reform have also been historically influential.

Copyright and Creativity: Authors and Photographers

The history of the occupations “author” and “photographer” provides an insightful perspective on copyright and creativity. The concept of the romantic author, associated with personal creative genius, gained prominence in the eighteenth century. However, in the U.S. in 1900 only about three thousand persons professed their occupation to be “author.” Self-professed “photographers” were then about ten times as numerous as authors. Being a photographer was associated with manufacturing and depended only on mastering technical skills and making a living. Being an author, in contrast, was an elite status associated with science and literature. Across the twentieth century, the number of writers and authors grew much more rapidly than the number of photographers. The relative success of writers and authors in creating jobs seems to have depended not on differences in copyright or possibilities for self- production, but on greater occupational innovation. Creativity in organizing daily work is an important form of creativity.occupations, authors, photographers, copyright law, economic history

A New Account of Personalization and Effective Communication

To contribute to understanding of information economies of daily life, this paper explores over the past millennium given names of a large number of persons. Analysts have long both condemned and praised mass media as a source of common culture, national unity, or shared symbolic experiences. Names, however, indicate a large decline in shared symbolic experience over the past two centuries, a decline that the growth of mass media does not appear to have affected significantly. Study of names also shows that action and personal relationships, along with time horizon, are central aspects of effective communication across a large population. The observed preference for personalization over the past two centuries and the importance of action and personal relationships to effective communication are aspects of information economies that are likely to have continuing significance for industry developments, economic statistics, and public policy

The significance of credits and subsidies in Russian agricultural reform

The author analyzes the role of federal agricultural credits and subsidies in Russia since the Gaidar reforms of January 1992. Pressure on the budget has led to a significant reduction in federal transfers to the agro-industrial complex. Transfers fell from 10 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 1992 to 3 percent of GDP in 1993, and budget transfers for 1994 are only about 2 percent of GDP. But the nature of federal transfers to the agro-industrial complex has not changed significantly since 1992, and federal transfers have tended to impede market-oriented reform rather than enhance it. So, reform in the agriculture sector has been driven largely by a budget squeeze on the implementation of policies that hinder the development of market-oriented agriculture. The author provides an overview of federal agro-industrial programs, describing four types of support in detail: 1) credits and subsidies to promote private farms; 2) credits associated with state procurement of agricultural products; 3) subsidies for agricultural inputs; and 4) general subsidies to agricultural producers. He shows the difficulty of using federal transfers to support agriculture when institutions are unstable, the government's administrative and regulatory capabilities are weak, and information needed for effective credit allocation is unavailable. The author also shows the extent to which the framework for agricultural policy has not changed since the Soviet era.Banks&Banking Reform,Environmental Economics&Policies,Payment Systems&Infrastructure,Economic Theory&Research,Crops&Crop Management Systems,Environmental Economics&Policies,Economic Theory&Research,Banks&Banking Reform,Agricultural Knowledge&Information Systems,Crops&Crop Management Systems

A New Account of Personalization and Effective Communication

To contribute to understanding of information economies of daily life, this paper explores over the past millennium given names of a large number of persons. Analysts have long both condemned and praised mass media as a source of common culture, national unity, or shared symbolic experiences. Names, however, indicate a large decline in shared symbolic experience over the past two centuries, a decline that the growth of mass media does not appear to have affected significantly. Study of names also shows that action and personal relationships, along with time horizon, are central aspects of effective communication across a large population. The observed preference for personalization over the past two centuries and the importance of action and personal relationships to effective communication are aspects of information economies that are likely to have continuing significance for industry developments, economic statistics, and public policy.new economy, information economy, personalization, mass media, communication, regulation, information theory, Industrial Revolution

Communications Policy, Media Development, and Convergence

In the deliberations of scholars, policy analysts, and policy makers, television has exceptional power and influence. Yet the historical record shows that television has not changed the economics of attention for large populations in the course of their daily lives. By the mid- 1920s, print media alone were highly successful in creating new consumer visions and aspirations, building national brands, and establishing significant brand equity. The advent of radio and television did not change total advertising spending as a share of total economic output, nor did it change significantly total advertising spending per adult media hour. The contrast between communications policy and the reality of media development is not merely a fluke or just ironic. It points to a major impediment to the development of information societies. State- owned-and-controlled media can be an important policy lever for overcoming this opposition and promoting the growth of more diverse media environments and more diverse ways of interacting with media.media, communications, advertising, time, e-government, regulation, reading, newspapers, television, radio