Eurasian Economic Integration Research Articles

FDI DETERMINANTS IN THE EURASIAN ECONOMIC UNION COUNTRIES AND EURASIAN ECONOMIC INTEGRATION EFFECT ON FDI INFLOWS

The paper examines the potential determinants of foreign direct investment inflows into the region of Eurasian Economic Union, as well as incentives for investment into other neighboring countries. In the first model, the authors test a hypothesis on country specific foreign direct investment determinants for the Eurasian Economic Union region. The results of fixed effects estimation show that gross domestic product, infrastructure development and secondary education enrollment have a positive statistically significant effect on the foreign direct investment inflows into the region. Conversely, the impact of Customs Union on foreign direct investment appeared to be negative. Furthermore, in the second model of the natural experiment, the authors empirically test the hypothesis on Customs Union’s effect on foreign direct investment while controlling for both country and time effects. The model includes evaluating the impact of the policy change on foreign investment inflows. The natural experiment outcome also points to the negative effect of Eurasian economic integration on foreign direct investment inflows. Although the countries of Eurasian Economic Union have relatively business friendly regulations, such procedures as enforcing contracts, resolving insolvencies and dealing with construction permits are time-consuming. For attracting foreign investment, it is advisable to facilitate such procedures and make the process of setting up a new business less onerous. The research can be used as an outline for further examining of Eurasian economic integration and apart from that, the study results can be applied for practical purposes of policy elaboration aimed at stimulating foreign direct investment into the Eurasian Economic Union.

Legal challenges to the management of transboundary watercourses in Central Asia under the conditions of Eurasian Economic Integration

Worldwide experience has shown that interstate economic integration can help states in strengthening of management of transboundary waters and international water law serves as a reference for developing of relevant interstate cooperation. Transboundary waters in Central Asia play important role in the economic cooperation among riparian states, including those who are members of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). At the current stage of transboundary waters management in Central Asia, the obsolete legal status is evident. The international water law sources developed under the United Nations’ auspices have no binding application due to luck of formal membership of the EAEU states in these treaties. Also the regional set of regulations, especially for the Aral Sea Basin, needs further enhancement and more efficient implementation. The bilateral interstate regulatory framework of the managemennt of waters shared by EAEU states in Central Asia requires development of additional rules to enable better accommodation of challenges existing in terms of the current interstate cooperation. Having said that can one further assume that EAEU could serve as a new legal framework for more effective cooperation on transboundary watercourses in Central Asia? The answer might be yes, but… the current stage of the legal framework for cooperation on transboundary waters within the EAEU requires sufficient enhancements in terms of developing its legal and institutional framework. The first condition for EAEU to serve as framework for cooperation on transboundary waters of Central Asia is to strengthen the regulatory framework for the cooperation of EAEU member states regarding environmental issues in general and transboundary water relations in particular, able to accommodate two main goals: environmental protection on the one hand and economic development on the other hand. The EAEU legal framework shall also lead to improvement of existing institutional cooperation and a dispute settlement mechanism on transboundary waters shared by the member states of the EAEU.

Правовые модели интеграционных объединений государств Евразии и Латинской Америки

The article deals with various legal models of integration associations of Eurasia and Latin America. The authors argue that the model of integration association is based on a set of attributes (purpose of integration, system of bodies and its’ competence, procedure of decision making, depth of economic and legal convergence, etc.). One of the characteristics of a model of integration association is a type of cooperation: coordination or supranational. Integration associations differ depending on a particular form of economic integration (free trade area, customs union, common economic space, common market, economic union, etc.), which also characterizes the individual model of each of the integration union. Organization of American States is characterized as a union of a coordination type of cooperation. Mercosur is an international organization of coordination with several supranational features. The model of the Andean Community is seeking for a supranational type. The evolution of Latin American integration communities depends primarily on the political and economic factors. There are new models of integration communities based on the agreements between several regional blocs. The forms of the Eurasian economic integration are the customs union, the common economic space, forming common market. The Eurasian Economic Union tends to the supranational association. Based on the research conducted using the formal-legal, comparative and historical-legal methods the authors formulate conclusions about the trends, challenges and prospects of further development of integration processes in the Eurasia and Latin America.

(Development Potential of China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor and Korea's Linkage Plan)

(Development Potential of China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor and Korea's Linkage Plan)

Юго-Восточная Азия: формирующаяся региональная идентичность. Интервью с проф. Д.В. Мосяковым (Институт востоковедения РАН)

Dmitry Mosyakov, leading Russian expert on South-East Asia, graduated from the History and Philology Department of Institute of Asian and African Countries at Lomonosov Moscow State Uni-versity, majoring as an interpreter of the Khmer language in 1979. In 1979-1983 he studied in the post-graduate school of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. In 1983 he defended his thesis on the problems of the Pol Pot regime in Cambodia. He works for the Institute of Oriental Studies (IOS) since 1985. In 1991, he was trained at the Yale University (USA). In 1994 he defended his doctoral dissertation on the modern history of Cambodia. He is the organizer of the multi-year project “Monitoring of the Modern History of Southeast Asian Countries”, within which the IOS hosts the annual inter-institute conference and, according to the results of the conferences, its materials are published in the peer-reviewed academic journal “Southeast Asia: To-pical Problems of Development”. Dmitry Mosyakov is an editor-in-chief of this journal. He is also the head of the center of South-Eastern Asia, Australia and Oceania of IOS, a member of the Academic Council of the IOS. He is a member of the dissertation council for historical sciences at the IOS, Moscow State Uni-versity, and of the editorial board of the journal “Asia and Africa Today”. Since 2001 he is a Professor and the head of the department of regional studies at the Moscow Humanitarian University (part-time). In 2015, Dmitry Mosyakov was the provisional director of the IOS. Since 2013 he is a member of Editorial Board of Vestnik RUDN. International Relations. The interview includes following topics: the state of development of the South-East Asian studies in Russia and abroad, the perception of international processes in the region, the contemporary problems of the South-East Asia, and the cooperation of Russia and the Eurasian Economic Union countries and integration associations of the South-East Asia region. Describing the processes in the Southeast Asia, Dmitry Mosyakov emphasizes the scientific and practical relevance of the region's research for Russian science, he also draws attention to the possibility of the formation of the new civilizational identities and unique sociocultural processes in the countries of this part of the world.

ЕВРАЗИЙСКАЯ ЭКОНОМИЧЕСКАЯ ИНТЕГРАЦИЯ: ЭВОЛЮЦИЯ, ПРОБЛЕМЫ И ПЕРСПЕКТИВЫ

ЕВРАЗИЙСКАЯ ЭКОНОМИЧЕСКАЯ ИНТЕГРАЦИЯ: ЭВОЛЮЦИЯ, ПРОБЛЕМЫ И ПЕРСПЕКТИВЫ

ИЗУЧЕНИЕ ТРАНСНАЦИОНАЛЬНЫХ КОРПОРАЦИЙ В ИМЭМО: ДОСТИЖЕНИЯ И НОВЫЕ ЗАДАЧИ

The author briefly reviews books of key researchers in foreign direct investment (FDI) and transnational corporations (TNCs) from the Institute of World Economy and International Relations (IMEMO) which was the main Soviet center in the field of International Business (IB) studies. Despite of few possibilities of practical application of their results of IB studies Soviet scholars managed to produce some interesting fundamental researches as well as to receive good knowledge of Western achievements in IB studies. Then the article presents modern achievements of IMEMO in this field. Research of Russian TNCs has become the most successful topic of IB studies for IMEMO due to good knowledge of specifics of modern Russian business in contrast to majority of Western scientists. The most interesting results of IMEMO specialists are connected with analysis of mutual FDI relations between Russia and various countries (including the problem of competition between Russian investors and TNCs from European and East Asian countries), rankings of Russian TNCs and new methods of FDI data collection which help to present information on Russian FDI geographical and industrial structure. It was difficult to overcome quickly the gap in theoretical work and quantitative analysis but an original concept of mobilizing factors for FDI was presented as well as some econometric exercises were made with data on mutual FDI in the CIS. According to competitive advantages of Russian scientists, new tasks for their IB studies can be connected with more complicated synthesizing analysis of various sources of FDI statistics (especially for research in Eurasian economic integration), deeper comparative studies of TNCs from various countries (especially BRICS and other emerging markets), unprejudiced analysis of political aspect of foreign expansion of TNCs from Russia and other BRICS, and further theoretical work (e.g. with elaboration of so named corporate map concept).   &nbsp

Eurasian Economic Union integration in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan

ABSTRACTThis article analyses the political and social discourses towards Eurasian integration in Central Asia. I concentrate on the independent non-Russian political elites and wider popular responses to the integration in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan and on the motivations leading these decision makers and societies to Eurasian economic integration. The focus is on Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, the only Central Asian countries in the Eurasian Economic Union, and on their respective populations. I demonstrate how post-Soviet Kazakhstani and Kyrgyz regimes facilitated ideas and ideals of Eurasianism so closely connected to their own interests in economic and socio-political contexts. The article also aims to reveal the complex web of interests, identities and mobilities of groups and individuals behind the political façade of integration talks in Central Eurasia. In doing so the study focuses on the historical approach and political elite-led discourses combined with the sociological data of social responses to the integration projects at different stages of their development.

The EDB System of Indicators of Eurasian Integration: Trends and Dynamics of the Eurasian Economic Integration in 199992012

For almost two decades, regional cooperation and integration has remained one of the most talked about issues of economic policy of the post-Soviet countries. There are hundreds of initiatives and projects that aim for deepened cooperation between countries in the region. In many cases, these initiatives have overlapping membership and objectives, ceased to exist or were re-established by the same actors; agreements with similar content (like free trade areas or customs unions) were signed over and over again by the same countries. This variety of outcomes called for a comprehensive system to monitor and assess the current processes of economic, political and social interaction between countries. Undeservingly, the CIS region did not possess any of these comprehensive studies and measurements. Therefore, typically, the assessments had to be done on ad-hoc basis and were limited in terms of scope of aspects of cross-border interaction covered and time span of analysis.The blank space was filled by the large-scale research project initiated and implemented by the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB). The outcome of the project completed by the end of 2009 was a System of Indicators of Eurasian Integration (SIEI), which is intended to become an instrument to monitor and assess regional integration projects in the post-Soviet space. In 2013 the second version of SIEI was published by the EDB’s Centre for Integration Studies. Generally, SIEI represents analysis of a long-term integration trends in countries and groups of countries of the post-Soviet space for the entire period from 1999 to 2012. During the analysis of a number of indicators individual attention is also paid to the short-term dynamics from 2009 to 2012.

Понятия, виды и формы евразийского и латиноамериканского интеграционных объединений (сравнительно-правовой анализ)

The article is devoted to the comparative analysis of the concept, types and forms of Eurasian and Latin-American integration associations. On the authors’ mind the integration association is the group of states united on the basis of an international treaty to achieve the integration goals. It is proposed to distinguish between the integration associations of the coordination and supranational types. According to the identified features of each of the indicated types of integration associations the authors conclude that the Organization of American States is the union of the coordination type, the MERCOSUR is in transition from coordination to supranational integration association, in the Andean Community the supranational model is implemented, and the Eurasian Economic Union tends to the supranational association. It is noted that integration associations can be also classified depending on the different forms of economic integration (free trade area, customs union, common market, economic union, etc.). The main forms of the Latin-American economic integration are free trade area and customs union, while the common market is still developing. The forms of the Eurasian economic integration are the customs union, the common economic space, forming common market. A trend of formation of new forms and types of inter-state integration associations and cooperation between them, particularly in the form of a mega-association (Union of South American Nations) is revealed. The ways of further development of the integration associations in Latin America and Eurasia are marked.

Евразийская экономическая интеграция и ее влияние на внешнюю торговлю современной России

Евразийская экономическая интеграция и ее влияние на внешнюю торговлю современной России

Евразийская экономическая интеграция в кризисных условиях: проблемы развития

Евразийская экономическая интеграция в кризисных условиях: проблемы развития

Информационные технологии и экономические отношения: проблемы международно-договорной унификации в ЕАЭС

Since 2013, at the State Duma initiative, each April Saint-Petersburg has hosted the “Eurasian Economic Perspective” International Forum. This discussion venue for the exchange of opinions by parliament members of the post-Soviet states, with the participation of scientists, representing humanitarian sciences and education, furthers, among other things, the goal of the states’ integration and their economic development. The topic for discussion offered this year was the implementation problems of the Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Integration as of January, 1, 2015. One of the main integration problems is the problem of unification and harmonization of national legislations of the Treaty countries. The key question of the unification process is separation of powers and competences of the integration organization’s common body and the participating countries’ national bodies. The understanding of the supranational power of the common body is not correct. The integration experience in other unions between the states proves the importance of the sovereignty principle in the integration process. The author provides the analysis of former integration experience. For example, CMEA (Council of Mutual Economic Assistance) united the former Eastern European socialist republics and South-Eastern Asia and was dissolved in 90-ies after the transition of the States — participants to market economy. Notwithstanding its dissolution, CMEA created effective integration instruments on the basis of unification of national legislations: The CMEA General Conditions of Delivery. This instrument of the socialist common market continues to be practiced as model conditions for international contracts. The legal instrument of the International Business Corporation (IBC) has initiated the movement of resources that can be compared to the movement of capital in a free-market world. The CMEA experience has provided basic knowledge of cooperation, which was later used in other integration groups. The article also covers the economic integration of the European Union. It can be useful from the point of view of critics of “federalist” theories on the nature of integration of a group of states. The latter remains, as the authors show, to be subject to the International Law system. It is quite logical, that due to this position of the authors, they pay special attention to the key role of national legislation in the integration process. On the basis of the analysis of the Andean Common Market experience the authors underline the features of integration in the Latin American region. The comparative analysis of international regional unions of states is necessary to make the work of the Eurasian International Economic Union (EAEU) more effective. The Information Law is the technique that provides the diffusion of the most effective models of regulation for the purpose of economic integration. This approach in solving problems of economic integration in EAEU seems to be useful in search of the ways to overcome difficulties of the integration process.

Features of legal regulation of cross-border e-commerce in the CIS and in the framework of the Eurasian economic integration

Features of legal regulation of cross-border e-commerce in the CIS and in the framework of the Eurasian economic integration

Russian Language in the Central Asia Region

He article is devoted to the role of the Russian language in Central Asia and its development perspectives in the context of the Eurasian integration processes. Russian language has a long historical tradition in Central Asia and hasn't lost its importance even at the background of two waves of "derussification" that took place after 1991. Notwithstanding the decrease of the status, it keeps substantial public significance. During last two decades only in Turkmenistan we are witnessing the decrease in spreading of the Russian language among title population of the Central Asia region. Its positions as an active communication channel is secured not only by the social tradition, but also by the competitiveness of the Russian language education, advantages of the bilingual business, requirements of the labor migrants, HR interests and by some other pragmatic thoughts, which role within the context of Eurasian economic integration will increase. Despite the difficulties, it is too early to speak about the decrease of the Russian language in the Central Asia region. It is more likely that the institutes itself that maintain it and promoting it are at the low ebb. New scales and forms of practical work that is interested not only for Russia, but also Central Asia countries are required. Pressure on the resources of the Russian language increases the possibility of ethnic conflicts and strengthens the positions of political radicalism in Central Asia region.

Russian Politics in Times of Change: Internal and External Factors of Transformation

The first few months of 2014 brought an unprecedented collapse of the Russian Federation's image on the world stage, the worst since the end of the Cold War. The events in Ukraine and the reaction to them by a significant number of countries in the international community, quickly demoted Russia to that group of countries whose foreign policy provokes harsh condemnation. For the first time in decades, international sanctions have been put in place against Russia, adopted by a large number of the world's largest countries, de facto downgrading Russia to the rank of a rogue state; these sanctions are intended to exert pressure on the elite, who are responsible for implementing certain foreign policy decisions. For many experts, the events are associated with a new and sudden sea-change in Russia's foreign policy. However, it appears to us that the current stage of cooling relations with the West is a logical consequence of the way in which the Russian state was constructed in recent years; in fact, a different scenario could hardly have been anticipated. This article presents the author's view of the mechanisms and logic that shaped Russia's foreign policy course, which has evolved through several iterations in the last three years. The below analysis could facilitate a fuller understanding of Russian motives in international relations, and help find opportunities and mechanisms for dialogue between Russia and the West.Vladimir Putin's new presidential term, which began in 2012, was typified by a significant transformation of Russia's foreign policy, both with respect to neighboring states, and world politics in general. The majority of pundits tend to link this transformation with domestic, social processes in Russia itself, an increasingly active public and a qualitative transformation of the Russian elite. However, we consider that Russia's current foreign policy concept is a complex combination of three factors, which are both foreign and domestic:A. The evolution of the political system, which took place as a result of competition between different groups within the Russian elite, over the past 3-5 years. As a result of these processes, Russia's political spectrum has a complex structure, which includes liberal-economic, conservative-political and oligarchic elements. Competition between these groups is a major factor behind the complex character of Russia's current foreign policy.B. The Eurasian economic and political integration project which, in the mindset of Russian leaders, is the key to Russian development in the 21st century. Success or failure in implementing the giant steps required to re-integrate post-So- viet space is seen as the main indicator of the effectiveness of the Russian political system today, and its foreign-policy strategies.C. The international security situation, which features a wide range of uncertainties and threats in the Middle and Far East, as well as Central Asia and Afghanistan.We consider it important to analyze how much the above factors influence current Russian foreign policy, and then ascertain how much each factor can influence policies. This analysis will offer answers to key issues about the dominant factors in foreign policy decision-making in today's Russia, e.g. whether policy-making is reactive or proactive, and what transformations the next few years will bring.The Russian EliteTo answer the questions raised, we must first determine the structure of the Russian elite today. This stratum can nominally be divided into two, deeply inter-connected segments. The first is a hierarchy: the distribution of economic and financial influence and interests within a ruling class that took shape during the first presidential terms of President Putin. The second is the values of the members of the elite who occupy the country's political governance system.The Russian elite, taken in general, are fairly well understood. Between 2000 and 2010, four main groups of influence emerged in Russia. …

Eurasian Integration: Challenges of Transcontinental Regionalism by Evgeny Vinokurov, Alexander Libman (review)

Reviewed by: Eurasian Integration: Challenges of Transcontinental Regionalism by Evgeny Vinokurov, Alexander Libman Ararat Osipian (bio) Evgeny Vinokurov and Alexander Libman . Eurasian Integration: Challenges of Transcontinental Regionalism. 288 pp. Basingstoke : Palgrave Macmillan , 2012 . ISBN 9780230302686 . In Eurasian Integration: Challenges of Transcontinental Regionalism, Evgeny Vinokurov and Alexander Libman bring to the fore one of the most important issues of modern day economics and geopolitics: the present and future of Eurasia. As the largest, most diverse, and most promising super-continent, Eurasia hosts such giants as China, India, and Russia, as well as several other important regions. Eurasia is where two-thirds of the world’s population reside and produce more than half of the world’s GDP. The authors are quite right in pointing out that the significance of Eurasia on the world stage is likely to rise in the future. In their view, “Eurasian continental integration could become a key developmental force, driven by the integration of energy trade, non-energy trade and transport, capital and labour flows, tourism, the drug trade and epidemiological threats” (p. 1). The key question is whether the main continental powers will allow this integration, which would allow the alignment of the continent’s processes with the overwhelming process of globalization. The multiplicity of cross-border, sub-regional, regional, supra-regional, and other frequently overlapping areas and locales requires constantly adjusting the focus and capturing different scales of each phenomenon, event, or process, addressed in the book. Indeed, comprehending the material would be very hard, if not impossible, without at least a fair knowledge of Eurasian geography, as the topic of the book is strongly related to the subject of economic geography. In order to help the reader, the book features, in addition to a dozen tables, almost two dozen figures, some of which are schematic maps depicting circles of supra-regional cooperation, economic clusters, and extensive railway networks that bind the continent. The authors begin by (re)formulating and elaborating the concept of Eurasian integration and tracing emerging Eurasian economic integration. They do this by offering a historical background of Eurasian trade in which they follow trade, capital, and labor flows. The book then describes major infrastructural projects, including transportation corridors, electric power grids, and telecommunications. This network of overlapping and interdependent infrastructures is at the core of the integration process. The authors argue that common problems, including ecological challenges caused by growth and industrialization, may serve not as a ground for domestic and cross-border conflict, but as a platform for cooperation. Formal intergovernmental cooperation [End Page 337] is discussed in the chapter that follows. The book concludes with a deeper analysis of the post-Soviet area, which the authors see as defined by Northern and Central Eurasia, while calling Central Asia “a laboratory of Eurasian integration” (p. 213) and “Eurasia en miniature” (p. 222). The authors present a myriad of data throughout the book to place analysis in context or to substantiate their arguments with numbers. In addition, in order to highlight different aspects of Eurasian integration, the authors use examples taken in comparative and historical perspectives. In terms of economic development, it is clear that in the 21st century, Eurasia has been experiencing very significant growth in international trade. But the pace of growth varies region by region. The authors argue in favor of open regionalism in Eurasia as an “economically optimal component of post-Soviet integration” (p 2). In the political dimension, the authors emphasize the role of the state in negotiations at different levels that have an impact on both political arrangements and economic conditions. It is interesting that the authors suggest that post-Soviet regionalism, if properly elaborated and implemented, will not preclude the integration of its participants with the European Union. No doubt, this point goes straight to Ukraine, which continues to position itself between the Russia-propagated Customs Union and more orientation toward the EU. Indecisive, Ukraine has an option of “ensuring a preferable regime with Russia and other FSU partners but not jeopardizing its European choice” (p. 210). The most recent dramatic events in Ukraine indicate that regionalization can dominate the agenda even in relatively stable post-Soviet societies. These dramatic developments pose new challenges...

The Prospects of Eurasian Economic Integration

.

Transport and energy infrastructure of Eurasia as a basis of its sustainable development

A territory equipped with infrastructure is the most important component of Russia’s national wealth. It is not only the natural resources, but also the material and spiritual capital of the country, the source of its welfare and sustainable development. The Eurasian economic integration as the first step assumes the creation of the general infrastructure as a framework of development and productive forces. Key points of infrastructure system coincide with the territorial and production clusters (TPC) in which power and commodity flows are concentrated. The scheme of their connection is not simply a communication network but is a blood system of all Eurasia. Infrastructure is a requirement of the population migrations, transport and power communications, and information and institutional integration. In Eurasia’s territory, 5 width and 3 meridian corridors of development are allocated, it creates the cellular scheme of integrated development of space and formation of the world power system.

Eurasian Economic Integration: Eurasian Economic Community and Shanghai Cooperation Organization

Eurasian Economic Integration: Eurasian Economic Community and Shanghai Cooperation Organization