HSE Researchers Receive 2020 Russian National Award in Applied Economics
On Wednesday, May 13, the award ceremony for the 2020 Russian National Award in Applied Economics took place on Zoom as part of the XXI April International Academic Conference on Economic and Social Development. This year the prize was awarded to Marco Francesconi (University of Essex, UK), Fabián Slonimczyk, and Anna Yurko (HSE University, Moscow).
The researchers were awarded for their paper, ‘Democratizing Access to Higher Education in Russia: The Consequences of the Unified State Exam Reform’, which was published in the European Economic Review.
The decision to select the paper was made unanimously, said Leonid Polishchuk, who chaired the award committee this year. ‘It was a consensus of all of the committee members,’ Professor Polishchuk said. However, he added, ‘It was not a simple choice. The short list was exceptionally strong.’
The Russian National Award in Applied Economics was established in 2009 by the National Research University Higher School of Economics (HSE University, Moscow), New Economic School (NES, Moscow), Yeltsin Ural Federal University (UrFU, Ekaterinburg), Association of Russian Economic Think Tanks (ARETT, Moscow), RAS Institute of World Economy and International Relations (IMEMO RAS), and Expert business magazine (Moscow).
The team’s paper is the first paper to evaluate the effects of a reform requiring Russian universities to make admission decisions based on the results of the Unified State Exam, Russia’s standardized high-school exam. By analyzing data regarding the geographic mobility of high-school graduates in Russia, the authors determined that the reform led to a threefold increase in geographic mobility rates among graduates from small cities and towns to start college. The reform was also accompanied by increases in students’ expectations to attend university, parental transfers, and educational expenditures.
‘We selected this paper for several reasons,’ explained Professor Polishchuk explained. ‘First the paper is extremely relevant for Russia’s economic development and policy making process. It is well known that this reform was quite controversial and many people point to its shortcomings. Therefore, evaluating this reform impartially using data is extremely important.’
The committee also valued the paper’s scope. ‘The paper also estimated the effect of this reform not only on those fortunate who were able to get into good schools, but also those who remained in their hometowns,’ said Professor Polishchuk.
And the authors showed that the gain in mobility does not come at the expense of those who stay home. There was no negative spillover effect, which was a possible effect of the reform that many people were concerned about
For these reasons, Professor Polishchuk continued, ‘This paper has made a valuable and important contribution to the literature on the relationship between mobility and human capital, both internationally and in Russia.’
The three authors of the paper, Marco Francesconi, Fabián Slonimczyk, and Anna Yurko were in attendance to virtually accept the award. ‘It would have been wonderful to be there physically and all together to share this experience, but I am happy to be here,’ said Marco Francesconi. ‘It is a great honour to have this type of acknowledgement and recognition by a group of peers and policy makers and people who are coming from the wider community (not just research) to recognize the contribution we are making. I hope this will be the first of a long stream of contributions that Anna, Fabián, and I will make. We are indeed working on something else that is, we hope, once again relevant for the Russian economy.’
Fabián Slonimczyk and Anna Yurko both noted that the high caliber of the other papers considered makes receiving the award a particular honour.
It is an honor to receive this prize with such competition
In addition to thanking the committee, Fabián expressed gratitude to the HSE International College of Economics and Finance, which provided travel support so that the group could collaborate in person. After the three co-authors accepted the award, Fabián Slonimczyk delivered a comprehensive slide presentation detailing the study’s methodology and findings.
The Russian National Award in Applied Economics is given once every two years for outstanding published papers on the Russian economy at the country, industry, regional, or company level. The main purpose of the award is to identify works of high importance to the development of academic research and economics education in Russia, as well as to the increased efficiency of the Russian economy and economic policy.
The award jury also selected three papers worthy of honorable mention. The first is an article by Olga Malkova (University of Kentucky, USA) entitled, ‘Can Maternity Benefits Have Long-Term Effects on Childbearing? Evidence from Soviet Russia’, which was published in Review of Economics and Statistics. The second study is an article by Andrei Markevich (New Economic School) and Ekaterina Zhuravskaya (Paris School of Economics) entitled, ‘Economic Effects of the Abolition of Serfdom: Evidence from the Russian Empire’, which was published in American Economic Review. The third is an article by Evgeny Yakovlev (New Economic School) entitled, ‘Demand for Alcohol Consumption in Russia and Its Implication for Mortality’, published in the American Economic Journal: Applied Economics.
See also:
FES Announces the Winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics 2024 Prediction Contest
The HSE Faculty of Economic Sciences summarised the results of its traditional prediction contest. FES holds this contest annually on the eve of Nobel Week. This year, the contest once again attracted participants from different regions of Russia and countries around the world. Remarkably, one participant managed to predict all three laureates of the 2024 Economics Prize.
Try Your Hand at Predicting the 2024 Nobel Prize Winner in Economics
The Faculty of Economic Sciences is launching its annual prediction contest. On October 14, the Nobel Committee will announce the winners of the Sveriges Riksbank Alfred Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences live on air. You have time to prepare and explore the landscape of contemporary economic thought. What topics and areas are considered particularly important and promising at the moment? Anyone can win.
Choosing the Right Server Results in Better Outcomes in Doubles Tennis
The Roland Garros tennis tournament, one of the most prestigious in the world, began on May 26. The prize money for this year's French Open totals nearly 54 million euros, with athletes competing in both singles and doubles events. In doubles tennis, choosing the right strategy for a match is crucial. Athletes' ability to adapt to the dynamics of the match and strategically choose the server can earn the pair up to 5% more points, according to Nikolai Avkhimovich, doctoral student and research fellow at the Laboratory of Sports Studies of the HSE Faculty of Economic Sciences. A paper with the study findings has been published in Applied Economics.
Consumer Prices Decrease in Densely Populated Areas
HSE University economists have proposed a novel approach to modelling monopolistic competition with heterogeneous firms and consumers. The results of collaborative research carried out by Alexander Tarasov from Moscow, his co-authors from HSE University–St Petersburg, together with the Norwegian School of Economics, the University of Pennsylvania, and the Free University of Brussels, have been published in American Economic Journal: Microeconomics.
Football Players Cover Greater Distances During Critical Derby Matches at Home Arena
Researchers at the HSE Faculty of Economic Sciences examined the level of effort that professional football players are willing to exert during a match in absence of financial incentives. It appears that the primary factors driving players to strive harder for victory are the strength of the opponent and the significance of the match for the club. This is particularly noticeable in derby matches between teams from the same city, such as the Moscow derby between CSKA and Spartak on April 25, 2024. The study has been published in the Journal of the New Economic Association.
Participation in Crowdfunding Can Generate up to 73% in Returns Annually
Backers of projects on crowdfunding platforms can expect rewards from their pledges. For example, funding someone's idea on Kickstarter can result in an average annual return of 11.5%, with design projects known to deliver returns as high as 70%. However, it is important to note that these returns do not come in the form of direct cash payments but rather as savings on the purchase of the product once it hits the market. This has been demonstrated in a study by researchers at the HSE Faculty of Economics published in Economic Analysis Letters.
Economists Suggest Using Media's Attention to Bitcoin to Predict its Returns
Researchers at the HSE Faculty of Economic Sciences have studied the relationship between the changes in the bitcoin prices and the media attention to this cryptocurrency. The researchers examined the mentions of bitcoin in the media between 2017 and 2021 and built a mathematical model that revealed the strong relationship between media attention and bitcoin prices. The study was published in the Applied Stochastic Models in Business and Industry journal.
HSE Economists Develop a Model for Sustainable Solar Geoengineering Agreements
Researchers at HSE University and George Mason University have investigated the sustainability of prospective international agreements on solar geoengineering. The authors have proposed a scheme in which payments flow from affluent nations to less wealthy ones; an arrangement which sets their proposal apart from traditional systems. The proposed model aims to dissuade more vulnerable countries from excessive use of the prevalent geoengineering method by providing compensation for the potential damage they may incur and supporting their adaptation to climate change. The paper has been published in Environmental and Resource Economics.
Crypto Investors Receive Downside Risk Premiums
Victoria Dobrynskaya, Assistant Professor at the HSE Faculty of Economic Sciences, has analysed the price dynamics of 2,000 cryptocurrencies from 2014 to 2021 and investigated the association between downside risks and average returns in the cryptocurrency market. As it turns out, cryptocurrencies exhibiting a greater risk tend to yield higher average returns. The study has been published in International Review of Financial Analysis.
Results of the Contest to Predict Nobel Prize Winners in Economics
Claudia Goldin's award was predicted by five people. They are Olga Peresypkina (RSVPU), Anastasia Sirotina (first-year student of the Bachelor's in Applied Mathematics and Information Science at HSE University), Mikhail Shabanov (Global Vision Asset Management LLC), Tatul Hayrapetyan (PhD student at the Stanford Graduate School of Business), and Hemant Kumar (Ettumanoorappan College, Kerala, India).