CROWD ELEVATOR

In the World Bank and IFC Doing Business Report 2014 , Kyrgyzstan is on the 68th place out of 189 in the rankings on the ease of doing business. For comparison, Kyrgyzstan went up on two positions and was on the 70th place last year.  Kyrgyzstan's good practice is that it is making it easy to obtain an electricity connection. On the first lines of ranking are Singapore, Hong Kong SAR, China, New Zealand, United States, Denmark. Last one in the ranking is Chad. Central Asia is continuing its steady pace of regulatory reform. However, Central Asian countries are spread across the ranking. That is, Kazakhstan is on the 50th place, Tajikistan on 143rd and Uzbekistan is on 146th. Russia this year is on 92nd place, went up on twenty positions since last year. This ranking Ease of doing business is based on various criteria and indicators. Among them are: starting a business, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting investors, paying taxes, trading ac

Recently, I came across the SIPRI (Stockholm International Peace Research Institute) yearbook. It's a thick 700+ pages yearbook with summaries on armaments, disarmament and international security. I would leave it as it is until I flipped the page on military expenditures. In 2011 there were hot debates about the military expenditure in the US. Well, the expenditures by the Ministry of defense on national defense according to SIPRI yearbook made up 716.3 bln USD in 2012. It is a big amount, but roughly makes up about 5% of US GDP. Picture source http://www.texasgopvote.com/issues/restore-families/house-approves-national-defense-authorization-act-fiscal-year-2014-005572 For me, as for the Kyrgyz citizen, it is a big amount of dollars flowing to "fight with global terrorism activities." Just for the comparison GDP of Kyrgyzstan roughly makes up about 0.4% of US GDP. Per capita GDP of KR ($1,160) makes up around 2.3% of US per capita GDP ($49,965) in 2012.

The world leader in franchising is the United States of America. Franchising takes a big part of the business in the US. Among the rankings of the franchises in 2010, on the first place was Subway, the second place took McDonald's and the third place was taken by 7-Eleven. From this top list of franchise companies around the globe, we see that all of them are US franchise companies, and 2 out of 3 companies are involved in fast food industry. And this is not surprising as there are many advantages of running a fast food franchise. The most important one is that there is a same developed menu in each branch that the clients are aware about. As an example, let's say a person traveling from Seattle to Kansas city does not know good places to eat out and in order not to be disappointed she/he will choose to go to a familiar Subway or McDonald's for example. There are notable advantages as to the franchisee, so to the franchiser. Thus, a franchisee gets the rights fo

Сегодня вечером ко мне в дверь постучал молодой парнишка. Я бы ему дала не больше 18 лет. Так как это было уже вечером, то я побоялась сразу открывать ему дверь. Спрашиваю: "Кто там?". Он мне отвечает: "Вы согласитесь, если я уберу ваш подъезд за 80 сом?" Так как моя квартира находится на последнем этаже, то у меня соответственно возник вопрос. "А остальные соседи согласны? - спрашиваю я." На что он мне отвечает, что начал с моей квартиры. Ну думаю, ладно, не буду расстраивать парнишку раз хочет подзаработать честным трудом, да и подъезд давно не убирали (не уверена, если его вообще убирают). В общем я согласилась и сказала, чтобы он у всех соседей спросил. Ну думаю будет жаль, если не все согласятся, останется наш подъезд неубранным и парнишка расстроеным. Через некоторое время выхожу значит на балкон посмотреть на парнишку, а он все не выходит и не выходит из подъезда. Ну думаю наверное упрашивает всех соседей согласится. Потом вдруг слышу шум в подъезд

Following my previous article on the issue of a huge incarceration rates in the US. Let me clarify that I am not trying to defend or justify the imprisoned. The only thing that interests me is the economics behind the crimes/prisons. Earlier in the year, President Obama signed the amnesty for illegal aliens that would forgive undocumented people and as a result award them with legal status (Green Card). This in turn will benefit 12 to 20 million undocumented persons currently being in the US. Looks like the authorities accounted that it is more beneficial as for the state budget in terms of extra taxes to be paid by the new legal aliens (up to 20 mln!), so for the illegal immigrants as well. In 1986 through Immigration and Reform Control Act (IRCA) was the first and only amnesty for a large group of people. Back then it was 2.8 million undocumented aliens. Just imagine the benefits to the state budget from this act. First of all there is no more need to pay $160 per imprisoned

The United States always tends to be the first one in any sphere. It didn't stay behind in the putting people behind the bars.The US has the highest incarceration rates in the world. The second place is taken by Russia. In 2007, the US peaked in its incarceration rates and those numbers are comparable with the imprisoned people during the years from 1934 to 1953 in Soviet Union ("The Gulag Archipelago" A. Solzhenitsyn). That is 23.4% of the world's prison and jail population was in the US, and this is while there is less than 5% of the world's population living in the US. Does it mean that people in the US tend to commit more crimes or is it a matter of profits to some? Well, according to the professor in the University of Chicago, G. Becker ( the founder of the theory of economics of crime and law enforcement, a Nobel laureate in economics ): "The essence of the economic approach to crime is amazingly simple - It consists in the fact that peopl

We want to study in good schools, get education, earn our diploma and become "smarter". But only a few people really think about education system, specifically higher education systems, their national and international standards.  Once accepted to college, a student has an important decision to make, that is, in what direction she/he should specialize on and what classes to take (unless she/he exactly knows what she/he wants to study). A certain list of required courses is provided and a student starts to studying that, often without thinking if it worth it. We obey the rules, most of us do not question already created standards. But who sets those standards? Is it a Ministry of education or a donor who makes big donations? And are the standards set in the past still relevant today? I haven't been thinking much about this issue, but got really inspired to think on this when attended the public lecture called How 'Global' is the Global Transformation of the Un

There has been a lot of talks about China's economy, its rapid growth since 1978 (when China shifted from centrally planned to market based economy) and its recent slowdown. Most critics on China claim that its growth will gradually slow down. Transitioning from middle-income to high-income status can be more difficult than moving up from low to middle income (WB ). A comprehensive work on China called China 2030. Building a Modern, Harmonious, and Creative Society, was conducted by a joint research team with experts from the World Bank and China (Ministry of Finance, the Development Research Center of the State Council). A four hundred page research work covering China's path 1978 - 2030, its structural reforms, growth through technological convergence and innovation, green development, security and China's integration in Global                                  picture source: The Telegraph Markets, is the product of various workshops, studies, background papers a

Эта статья написана как вдохновление биографией одной из влиятельных женщин нашего времени. Эта женщина в 2011 году заняла 5 место в списке «100 самых влиятельных женщин в мире» от Forbes, в 2012 году попала в ежегодный список Тайм (Time) 100, список наиболее влиятельных людей мира по версии журнала Тайм (Time).  Ее доход за прошлый год составил $845 млн и при этом она замужем и у нее двое детей. Кто говорит, что семья и карьера несовместимы? Шерил Сэндберг - главный операционный директор Фейсбук. Шерил Кара Сэндберг родилась 28 августа 1969 года. В 1991 году Шерил окончила с отличием Гарвард (бакалавр в экономике) и поступила на службу к Ларри Саммерсу во Всемирном банке в качестве ассистента по исследованиям. В 1995 году Шерил окончила с отличием МВА в Гарварде. C 1997 по 2001 она проработала в Министерстве финансов США, далее 8 лет работала в Гугле вице президентом по глобальным онлайн продажам и операциям. С 2009 года Шерил Сэндберг работает в Фейсбуке и в этом году она издала

My microeconomics teacher used to tell me that if one want to make money she/he should target people with low income. Most starting businesses I see in Bishkek are focused on luxury, upper class goods and services. Those are either bars & restaurants or stores with expensive brand clothing and accessories. They promote themselves as unique and only for wealthy people type of business. As a result, not all of those businesses succeed and they either close or do "re-branding". Where do businessman look? Do they see the sad reality??? Yes, there are people with high incomes, but it is only a small fraction of the total country population. I think that if business start to focus on a wider part of the population, they will not only get greater profits, but will also bring 'good' with affordable in price products for many and will contribute to more developed markets in the region, not only in the city. However, there is always the other side of the coin. Ethan Kay a

A sparkling precious stone with couple carats is considered to be a thoughtful gift to a beloved one. But the story behind one such a stone might start with a little child working eight to ten hours a day to help his family get food and clothing. The four major diamond mining districts of Sierra Leone in the study of 2006 showed that 36 % of children involved in mining-related activities were between ages 16 and 17, 60 % were between 10 and 15 years old, and 4 % were under 10 years old. According to International Labor Organization, the term “child labor” is defined as work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity, and that is harmful to physical and mental development. Children are considered as a cheap labor and thus are regularly employed in the mining industry. Children working in the diamond mines of Sierra Leone face such problems as working under hazardous and unhealthy conditions, performing difficult work for a low pay, and missing

Согласно отчету, который опубликовал The Economist Intelligent Unit (EIU) , количество стран с полной демократией на 2012 год составило 25, с недостаточной демократией 54, с гибридным режимом 37 и  с авторитарным режимом 51 страна. Развитые страны ОЭСР (организация экономического сотрудничества и развития, OECD) доминируют среди стран с полной демократией. Хотя в списке также числятся 2 латино-американские, 1 восточно-европейская и 1 африканская страны. Согласно отчету около 11% всего земного населения живет в странах с полной демократией. Чуть больше 1/3 (2.6 млрд) людей живут в странах с авторитарным режимом (большую долю занимает конечно Китай). Что касается Кыргызстана, то по рэнкингу он стоит на 106 месте. Оценка избирательного процесса и плюрализма равна 6.58, а функционирование правителство равно 2.21. Общая оценка согласно данному отчету равна 4.69 в 2012 году и в 2011 она была равна 4.34 Интересно, что у наших соседей в Казахстане общая оценка за 2012 год сост

In media we always hear that Kyrgyzstan needs to attract investments and everyone is eager or seems like it, to contribute to country's economic growth. The bad news is that many talented people are leaving their motherland in a search of a better quality education or higher paid jobs leading to country's "brain drain". Only few of them return. However, the good news is that those left, in most cases are interested in the economical, political and social life of the Kyrgyz Republic. Why should not they be, especially when they have many friends and relatives left there? But with political instability, low human capital and weak legal system, the attraction of investments seems as a very challenging task. What do you think Kyrgyz people abroad do with the earned money? Probably send it to their relatives and save in foreign banks. Well, here is the solution for investments. Why doesn't our government issue bonds and market them for emigrants in ric