The number of foreign specialists working in Russia has been declining rapidly over the last several years. These specialists often perceive Russian capitalism as something temporary that depends on oil prices. Under such conditions, expats are not likely able to make a serious contribution to the modernization of the Russian economy, but their view of local realities is nonetheless valuable for understanding the processes that hinder economic development, researchers from HSE’s Laboratory for Comparative Analysis of Post-Socialist Development Vladimir Karacharovskiy, Ovsey Shkaratan and Gordey Yastrebov concluded from a research study

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

States are forming alliances to stand against the dictates of international capital and also to successfully attract this capital to their markets, argues the head of HSE’s Department of International Affairs, Maxim Bratersky, in his report “Political Functions of Regional Trade Agreements.”

It’s time for doctors to actively control discussions of self-treatment over the Internet. Unqualified opinions of uninformed people can mislead many participants of Internet communities, and doctors’ comments about online prescriptions would help users to make right decisions and could even save their lives. Elena Tarasenko, Deputy Head of the HSE Department of Health Care Administration and Economy, has studied the content of web communities dedicated to self-treatment in social networks

Russians are increasingly using online communication for professional and business reasons in addition to personal ones. They are exploring advanced solutions and strategies to access, process, and share information on the web, according to a study by the HSE's Laboratory for Studies in Business Communications

The number of people travelling to the U.S. for engineering studies has grown dramatically in the past 20 years, while the number of foreign doctorate recipients who return to their home countries has dropped. The increase in the number of non-returnees is due mainly to poor governance in the graduates' home countries, according to the report 'Drivers of Migration among Young Doctorate Recipients from U.S. Universities', which was prepared by Timur Natkhov, Associate Professor of the HSE's Subdepartment of Institutional Economics

Parental social and occupational status plays a significant role in children's career success. This is mainly due to the help that children get from their parents in pursuing opportunities to become highly paid professionals in Russia, argues Alexey Bessudnov, Research Fellow at the HSE's Centre for Advanced Studies

Top-ranking LiveJournal (LJ) bloggers in Russia differ from casual contributors by how much they blog, but offer largely the same content, according to a study by Sergey and Olessia Koltsov of the HSE's Internet Research Laboratory (St. Petersburg)

Social responsibility amongst business in Russia is gradually transforming from a corporate voluntary decision to standard conduct in the market. Society, state and business associations all expect notable social work from companies. Not taking part in sociallly responsible tasks often affects a company’s reputation, which can result in the loss of influence in the region. And on the contrary, becoming involved in social activities can make companies feel more confident, according to Irina Krasnopolskaya, Research Fellow of Centre for Studies of Civil Society and Non-Profit Sector

Russia faces a situation where orphans, rather than potential adoptive parents, have to go through a selection process. To change this, adoptive families should become professional, while orphanages need to be downsized and open to the community, says Svetlana Biryukova, Research Fellow of the Centre for Studies of Income and Living Standards

Despite the wide income gap between the rich and poor in Russia, their basic values and attitudes are not dissimilar. However, there are indications of an impending rift, says Svetlana Mareeva, Associate Professor of the HSE's Sub-department of Socio-Economic Systems and Social Policy, based on her findings from a survey of poor Russians