Institutional reform was a central issue at the Russian Investment Forum in Sochi. With this in mind, renowned economist Victor Polterovich, member of Russia’s Presidential Economic Council and of the European Academy, shared his thoughts on the outlook for Russia’s economic development with readers of the magazine issued by the Roscongress Foundation in the run-up to the Forum. The Academician believes that catch-up development cannot be accomplished using only the conventional economic regulation toolkit.

Idea 1. Administrative modernization. The experience of “economic wonder” nations and analysis of Russia’s own institutional framework suggest the key areas for revision, Victor Polterovich said, noting that modernization of administrative governance is a top priority.

Victor Polterovich believes it necessary to set up teams of like-minded individuals, include representatives of business and society in the governance structure, assess the performance of top administrators by their contribution to promoting growth and ensure regional decentralization.

Idea 2. Second, the Academician suggests setting up a special national planning system based on collaboration between the state, business and the public. Its objective would be to design and coordinate special-purpose programmes, as well as short-, medium- and long-term plans.

Idea 3. Russian institutions should be made more open to new ideas, which is known in academic terms as “a country’s absorption capability”. Russia will have to establish institutions in order to borrow technology to make a gradual transition to innovation-driven development.

For your reference, the “Russian Investment Forum. Roscongress” magazine has included articles by Minister of Economic Development Maxim Oreshkin, Head of the Centre for Strategic Research Alexei Kudrin, VEB Chairman Sergei Gorkov, and Head of the Russian Export Centre Petr Fradkov.