Grigory Yavlinsky elected chair of the Expert Council
The New Economic Association (NEA) joining together the cream
of the Russian economic science formed Expert Council for
Economic Reform (EC). NEA Executive Board elected Professor
of the Higher School of Economics Dr. Grigory Yavlinsky Chair
of the Expert Council.Grigory Yavlinsky elected chair of the
Expert Council
The first meeting of the NEA Expert Council which took place
in Moscow on December 14 discussed the guidelines and the
rules of procedure of the Council. By this day 59 renowned
researchers, academics and practitioners – key specialists
on socio-economic institutions – had given their consent to
join NEA headed by Yavlinsky.
Members of the NEA Expert Council include Igor Artemyev,
head of the Federal Antimonopoly Service, Andrei Klepach,
Deputy Minister for Economic Development and Yevsei Gurvich,
head of the Economic Expert Group under the Russian Government,
academicians of the Russian Academy of Sciences Viktor Polterovich,
Leonid Abalkin, Abel Aganbegyan, Vice President of the Russian
Academy of Sciences Alexander Nekipyelov, directors of the
Russian Academy of Sciences institutes – Alexander Dynkoin
(the Institute of the World Economy and International Relations),
Viktor Ivanter (the Institute of Economic Forecasting), Valery
Makarov (the Central Economics and Mathematics Institute),
Nikolai Petrakov (the Institute of Market Problems), Sergei
Rogov (the Institute of the USA and Canada), as well as Ruslan
Grinberg, Director of the Institute of Economics of the Russian
Academy of Sciences and corresponding member of the Academy
and rector of the Higher School of Economics Yaroslav Kuzminov,
Sergei Aleksashenko, Alexei Arbatov, Alexander Auzan, Sergei
Glazyev, Eugeny Gontmakher, Natalya Zubarevich, Valery Kryukov
(the Siberian department of the Russian Academy of Sciences)
and other well-known specialists.
The NEA Expert Council for Economic Reforms is created as
a civil society institution, as an independent body adopting
recommendatory decisions. Its goal is to develop expert conclusions
on the strategy and tactics for achieving sustainable economic
growth in Russia. The Expert Council plans to conduct expertise
on the projects targeted at reforming economic institutions
and development of economic policies including laws and normative
acts adopted by the legislative and the executive authority,
as well as analyse the results of implementation of such projects.
The Council will meet on a monthly basis and invite developers
of reforms and representatives of the executive power bodies.
The Expert Council will inform the society, the government
and the parliament of the results of the expertise. The records
of the meetings will be also published.
Acad.Viktor Polterovich, NEA President, said, “Drafts of
reforms introduced into parliament should be developed by
experts in accordance with tough norms like in case of large-scale
investment projects. Drafts that do not meet these norms should
not be submitted to the parliament at all.”
Grigory Yavlinsky is certain that the Expert Council should
“encourage a free discussion, so that there should be no biased
attitudes. The specifics of the Expert Council is that no
one should intrude anything upon anyone,” he stressed in his
speech.
“We join together people with different views. We shall avoid
any politisation,” added Polterovich.
“The most important task is to inspire trust and respect
to the work of the Expert Council and to make so that decisions,
recommendations and records of discussion of problems would
evoke interest, as well as influence the society and decision-making,”
noted Yavlinsky.
Answering Interfax questions after the first meeting of the
Expert Council Polterovich drew attention to the fact that
many well-known people would be interested in the Council
work. Speaking about whether the government would listen to
the Council’s recommendations he noted, “I believe that all
that we say or write about does not go in vain.”
“If we discuss serious issues we will gradually find the
ways and means to influence decision-making. Life will prompt
us [how to do it],” Yavlinsky added.
NEA was created in 2008 as a union of Russian economists
aiming at development of the economics. Its founders are 11
institutes of the Russian Academy of Sciences and 9 educational
institutions. A certificate of state registration was given
on January 14, 2009. The founders elected Acad.Polterovich
NEA President. Acad.Valery Makarov, Director of the Central
Economics and Mathematics Institute, Acad. Nikolai Petrakov,
Director of the Institute of Market Problems and Ruslan Grinberg,
Director of the Institute of Economics (he also heads the
Executive Board of NEA), were elected Vice Presidents. Acad.Oleg
Bogomolov was elected Honorary President.
See also:
Modernisation
in Russia
Russian
Economy
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