6.9. Labour economics

1. Current labour market trends in Russia.

2. Employment opportunities in the Moscow labour market.

3. Unemployment in Russia: current trends, economic and social costs.

4. Labour remuneration in the Russian labour market.

5. Labour Code of Russia and its practical implementation.

6. Minimum wage rate and average earnings in Russia.

7. Income policy in Russia.

8. Wage differentials in Russia.

9. Full-time/part-time trade-off in Russia.

10. The employment/hours trade-off in Russia.

11. Firms’ labour investments in Russia.

12. Internal (intrafirm) labour market in Russia.

13. Workers’ investments in human capital in Russia.

14.A model of household production. The tripartite choice. (Theory and case in Russia).

15. A model of joint husband-wife labour supply decisions (Russian case).

16. The market value of working at home (theory and Russian case).

17. Present-orientedness and future-orientedness: how they influence the workers’ behaviour in the labour market (Russian case).

18. Geographical mobility of labour (Russian case).

19. Immigration to Russia: current trends and problems.

20. Emigration from Russia: causes and costs.

21. Brain drain (Russian case).

22. Voluntary turnover (Russian case).

23. Labour market discrimination in Russia.

24. Occupational segragation in Russia.

25. Measured and unmeasured sources of earnings differences in Russia.

26. Productivity and the level of pay in Russia.

27. The employment contract in Russia.

28. Asymmetric information in the Russian labour market.

29. Personal prejudice discrimination in the Russian labour market.

30. Statistical discrimination in the Russian labour market.

31. Monopoly power discrimination in the Russian labour market.

32. Union and collective bargaining in Russia.

33. Public sector labour market in Russia.

34. Labour motivation in Russia.

35. Demographic trends and the labour market in Russia.

36. Unemployment and inflation in the Russian labour market. Phillips curve.

37. Quantitative and qualitative analysis of the labour force in Russia.

38. Fixed costs of working and the decision to work in Russia.

39. Is education a good investment?

40. Technological changes and labour demand in Russia.

6.10. National economy

(all the topics relate to the Russian economy)

1. The economic and historical backgrounds to perstroika and the reforms of the 1990s.

2. Aims of the reforms (1990s) and the results.

3. Major directions of the reforms (1990s).

4. Privatisation programme (1992): aims, stages, results.

5. Privatisation and efficiency.

6. Privatisation and competition. Monopolistic trends in the Russian economy.

7. Liberalisation of the Russian economy.

8. Liberalisation of prices: social and economic costs.

9. Inflation and anti-inflationary policy in Russia.

10. Consumer prices and cost of living.

11. Prices and incomes: recent trends and perspectives.

12. Income differentiation and poverty in Russia.

13. Factors of inflation in Russia.

14. Production costs: current trends and problems.

15. GDP: structure, dynamics (since 1990), trends.

16. Russian industry: restructuring, current trends, dynamics (since 1990).

17. Structural and regional problems of the Russian industry.

18. Russian industry in the context of joining the WTO.

19. Gross Investments in Russia: structure, dynamics (since 1990), trends.

20. Sources to finance investments: how they work in Russia.

21. Russian capital abroad.

22. Foreign investments in Russia.

23. Should Russia attract foreign investments?

24. Foreign loans: advantages and disadvantages.

25. Ahead of schedule debt payment: is it good or bad for Russia?

26. The international indebtedness of Russia: debt service and debt payment.

27. Agriculture in Russia: major trends of development, outcomes, perspecties.

28. Who can feed the country: private farms vs cooperation.

29. Russian agriculture in the context of joining the WTO.

30. Central Bank of Russia: its functions and policy.

31. Monetary policy in Russia (since 1990).

32. Financial oligarchy and financial groups in Russia.

33. Commercial banks and their role in the national economy.

34. Banking system of Russia.

35. Russian banking system in the context of joining the WTO.

36. Financial market and its development in Russia.

37. Russian exchange rate policy.

38. Budget policy in Russia.

39. The national economic programmes (2005) and their implementation.

40. Social dimension of the Russian economy.