Even considering an 8.5% increase in wages, regional budgets will not be able to avoid a deficit for 2014. The federal centre will have to find additional funds to pay for Russian federal subjects’ spending or else the subjects will be forced to increase debt, experts from the HSE Centre of Development Institute said in the latest issue of New Comments on the State and Business

In the coming months, Russia’s embargo on food from western countries could result in decreased consumption for the low-income groups of society and a drop in the quality of the consumer basket for mid- and high-income groups, experts from HSE’s Centre of Development said in the latest issue of Comments on State and Business

Russia’s planned tax increase could bring about slower economic growth rates and a drop in the ability of Russian companies to compete, experts from HSE’s Centre of Development Institute say in the latest issue of Comments on State and Business

A hostel is not just a cheap hotel with shared facilities, but a specific business model supporting an emerging new culture in the tourism industry, one which mainly targets the 'creative class' and the members of modern urban subcultures, according to the recent report 'Hostels: A New Culture of Hospitality. St. Petersburg's Experience' by Senior Research Fellow of the HSE's Laboratory of Cultural Economics (St. Petersburg) Irina Borovskaya

A drop in food prices, particularly fruit and vegetable prices, usually observed in summer, and an improved situation in the commodity markets have helped slow down the rate of inflation, according to expert analysis in Comments on State and Business published by the HSE's Centre for Development

The government in Russia has been the main customer for research and development (R&D) since 2009, while the real sector of the economy finances only a third of the total R&D costs of innovation-focused research companies, according to findings from a monitoring of innovation activity carried out by the HSE's ISSEK

Experts from the HSE Center for Business Tendency Studies at the Institute for Statistical Studies and Economics of Knowledge have found that limited demand, high taxes, lack of financial means and a high level of uncertainty in the onward course of economic development all reduce the length of time for which businesspeople can plan, in turn obstructing investment and innovative initiatives

Data from Rosstat and the Federal Customs Service suggest that import substitution – not limited to substituted Ukrainian imports – has played a major role in keeping the Russian economy from recession in the first half of 2014. However, Russia cannot expect to achieve a sustained and dynamic GDP growth without boosting exports, in particular its non-commodity exports, according to expert analysis in Comments on State and Business published by the HSE's Centre for Development

A seasonal revival in consumer demand stimulated an increase inretail trade in Q2 2014. Food retail showed the best results, but intensified moods to save household earnings, a slowdown in income growth, high inflation, and difficulties in obtaining consumer credit might soon change the situation, according to experts from the Centre for Business Tendency Studies at the Institute for Statistical Studies and Economics of Knowledge at the Higher School of Economics in their latest monitoring of the retail business climate

Russia's cooperation with China ona natural gas deal over the next few years will marginally improve Russia's economic performance and bring additional revenues, but is unlikely to offset the country’s sluggish economic growth rates, according to the recent issue of New Comments on the State and Business published by the HSE Centre of Development Institute

There is a big gap between the intention to start a business and actually doing it. According to Anna Lipatova, Junior Research Fellow of the HSE's International Laboratory for Socio-Cultural Research, less than one third of those who think of becoming entrepreneurs or starting another business bring their ideas to life

Public sector employees are better off in the regions with fewer users of public services, substantial federal subsidies, and high unemployment. In such regions, a public sector job can bring in just 20% less pay than a private sector job, according to Anna Sharunina, Junior Research Fellow of the HSE's Centre for Labour Market Studies. Her findings are based on a multi-sectoral analysis of wage differences across different Russian regions