Financial Journal

p. 20-35

Authors: Nikolay A. Avxentyev, Valery M. Baydin, Olga A. Zarubina, Natalia N. Sisigina

Private health expenditures in Russia (38–48 % of total health expenditures, depending on the source) significantly exceed OECD countries level (27 %). High private spending, in turn, affects healthcare system performance. The paper analyzes determinants and consequences of private health spending in Russian regions. The authors use data on 80 Russian regions during 2006–2014 and apply panel data models to analyze determinants and consequences of private health expenditures. The authors found that private and public health expenditure are complimentary in Russia: 1 % increase in public health spending results in 0,17 % increase in private health expenditures. The latter also increase with wealth, income inequality and prevalence of healthy and active population. The optimal level of private health expenditures is 34–40 %, but it might be overestimated because the authors did not consider public health expenditures at the federal level.

p. 46-61

Authors: Aleksandra L. Suslina, Roman S. Leukhin

The size of Russian shadow economy is difficult to measure. Some indirect estimates show that its size is rather big. The purpose of this paper is to identify the causes of informal economic activity in Russia and to define the main directions of struggle against shadow economy.

p. 71-80

Authors: Elena I. Andreeva, Dmitry G. Bychkov

The present paper discusses certain aspects of the proposed concept of introducing universal minimum income support. This paper also presents the estimated amount of funding which is required to close the income gap of all households whose incomes fall below the poverty line for a full transition to a Universal Minimum Income Support system. This amount is compared with the cost of the existing social benefits financed from the budget, including targeted ones.

p. 90-102

Authors: Inna N. Rykova, Makar I. Kudelich, Alexander M. Shaykin

The article formulates proposals on possible changes of the current legislation in connection with the forthcoming opening of foreign insurance companies’ direct branches in Russia in accordance with the obligations for World Trade Organization entry.

p. 110-120

Authors: Yuliya S. Evlakhova

The article is devoted to the research on financial institutions on the basis of institutional and network approaches complementarity. In the theoretical plan the author offers the concept of the research on financial institutions on the financial market including elements (financial institutions, financial institutions networks, financial market institutional and network structure), mechanisms (interaction, regulation, transformation), theoretical toolkit of the research (classification by groups of formal/informal and endogenous/exogenous financial institutions; theory of institutions survival; financial institutions network typology, financial networks metrics). In the implementation plan the author carries out the analysis of one of the offered concept mechanisms — interaction in the national network of financial institutions on the Russian financial market using the example of credit institutions, the insurance market and investment funds players. In the conclusion the author determines the need to form network restrictions of the financial institutions regulation on the Russian financial market.