1887

OECD Economics Department Working Papers

Working papers from the Economics Department of the OECD that cover the full range of the Department’s work including the economic situation, policy analysis and projections; fiscal policy, public expenditure and taxation; and structural issues including ageing, growth and productivity, migration, environment, human capital, housing, trade and investment, labour markets, regulatory reform, competition, health, and other issues.

The views expressed in these papers are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the OECD or of the governments of its member countries.

English, French

Russian Industrial Restructuring

Trends in Productivity, Competitiveness and Comparative Advantage

This article investigates issues related to industrial restructuring in Russia. Based on extensive sectoral data it examines, more particularly, levels and changes in labour productivity, unit labour costs and revealed comparative advantages for a large number of Russian industrial sectors. The main findings are the following. First, impressive increases in labour productivity have been achieved since 1997, especially during the post-crisis period. Secondly, this has been true for all major sectors, with the exception of those which are still predominantly state controlled or which suffer from strong state interference. Thirdly, there have been significant relative adjustments within the industrial sector, as labour productivity increased more in less productive sectors. Since the crisis, relative unit labour costs have also adjusted considerably, as less competitive sectors experienced relatively slower wage growth and larger labour force reductions. Fourthly, international ...

English

Keywords: Russia, industry, transition, unit labour costs, state control, wages, competitiveness, private sector, restructuring, sector, productivity, revealed comparative advantage
JEL: O52: Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth / Economywide Country Studies / Economywide Country Studies: Europe; L1: Industrial Organization / Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance; P31: Economic Systems / Socialist Institutions and Their Transitions / Socialist Enterprises and Their Transitions; P2: Economic Systems / Socialist Systems and Transitional Economies
This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a Success
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error