October 2, 2008 - A major report was discussed in the World Bank’s Moscow Office: “Innovation, Inclusion and Integration: From Transition to Convergence in Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union.” The event was organized by the World Bank team of experts headed by the author of the report, Pradeep Mitra, Chief Economist of the Europe and Central Asia Region. The World Bank’s team included Marcelo Selowsky, former Chief Economist of the Europe and Central Asia Region, Zeljko Bogetic, Lead Economist for Russia, and Andrei Markov, Senior Human Development Specialist. The Russian think-tank community was represented by prominent researchers Yevgeny Yasin, Deputy Rector of the Higher School of Economics, Mikhail Dmitriev, Chair of the Center for Strategic Research, Ksenia Yudaeva, Chief Economist of Sberbank, and Yevgeny Pogrebenko, Managing Director of Vnesheconombank. Innovation, Inclusion and Integration is divided thematically into four sections which explore the sources of productivity growth in the region: (1) innovation in labor productivity and the business environment; (2) inclusion concerning employment and poverty; (3) international trade and migration; and (4) demographic change. Synthesizing the findings of six flagship regional reports produced by the World Bank’s Europe and Central Asia Region, this report concludes that productivity growth depends on a business environment that delivers competitive markets, a deep financial sector, good governance, and superior jobs skills and infrastructure. By presenting evidence at the firm level, this report will be of particular interest to policy makers and researchers interested in fostering economic growth and deepening integration in the countries of the region. After discussing the Innovation, Inclusion and Integration report, the participants turned to discuss the concept paper of the World Bank’s 2009 Flagship titled “Transition Turns Twenty: Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union since the fall of the Berlin Wall.” The goal of the flagship, which is going to be published on the eve of the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin wall, is to provide a retrospective analysis and to look into the future of the evolution from plan to market in thematic perspectives. The analysis is planned to identify major elements of the reform agenda required to improve productivity growth, expand trade and integration, strengthen capital and labor markets, and reduce poverty and inequality. The participants discussed both the theoretical and empirical aspects, and well as the economic policy implications of the flagship. Special attention was given to political economy issues including the evolution of state-business relations, and the importance of regional variance both within and across countries. At the event, the flagship’s task leader Pradeep Mitra announced that a decision draft review of the report will take place in April 2009, and its publication in October 2009. |
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