The Russian economy (catch all)

[Firn]

I think that Guriev points into the right direction, althought the future is generally rather difficult to predict. Lots of brainpower has certainly left Russia as it has become a far less attractive place to do business.

I found the latest Guardian article rather interesting:

Irina Rodionova, a manager at a cleaning business that has contracts with a number of shopping centres, said 30% to 40% of the company’s labour needs are unmet because lots of Kyrgyz and Uzbeks have left. In a bid to find more workers, it recently raised salaries from 15,000 to 20,000 roubles a month for men and from 12,500 to 17,500 roubles a month for women. “With the smaller salary, we couldn’t find anyone,” she said.

The food price shock should hit those generally the hardest. Stioll clearly the Russian economy is still far better then in the countries mentioned, including Ukraine:

“If America was next door, [migrants] would all leave,” Karimov said. “But what’s next door is Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, where the level of living is lower and there are no jobs. There’s nowhere to go.” Says Vladimir Anandiyev, 24, from Kirovohrad, Ukraine, who worked with his twin brother Vitaly at a construction materials store for four years until it cut wages and laid off staff this year: “[In Ukraine] you need to search for work, and even if you do find it, it will pay a low salary. Here, it’s bad. But there, it’s critical.”