Informal Payments: A Side Effect of Transition or a Mechanism for Sustaining the Illusion of ‘Free’ Health Care? The Experience of Four Regions in the Russian Federation

2009 ◽  
Vol 38 (4) ◽  
pp. 649-670 ◽  
Author(s):  
MARIANNA FOTAKI
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Side Effect ◽  
Former Soviet Union ◽  
Policy Option ◽  
Informal Payments ◽  
Free Health Care ◽  
The Russian Federation ◽  
The Government ◽  
Moderate Cost

AbstractInformal payments for health services are widespread in many transition economies in post-communist Europe and the former Soviet Union. Their existence complements and in some cases significantly contributes to the financing of their health systems. It has been suggested that they are the legacy of planned socialist economies and a temporary side effect of the transition from a planned to a market economy. This article discusses the findings of the study investigating the extent and nature of the informal payments and evaluates the policy options on offer. It asserts that despite the level of declared support for moderate cost-sharing by different population groups, it is unlikely that any legalised form of co-payment will affect or replace informal payments, as the government uses them to sustain the illusion of ‘free’ health care. The study argues that the utilitarian gain maximisation principle, calling for the greatest collective welfare in communitarian egalitarianism, and the satisfaction of individual preferences in libertarian economics enable the acceptance of informal payments as a viable policy option.

Ideology and alphabets in the former USSR

2006 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 99-125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Sebba
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Russian Federation ◽  
Former Soviet Union ◽  
Autonomous Systems ◽  
Soviet Period ◽  
Turkic Languages ◽  
The Russian Federation ◽  
The Government ◽  
Language Law ◽  
Former Ussr

In 2002 the Russian parliament passed a law requiring all official languages within the Russian Federation to use the Cyrillic alphabet. The legislation caused great controversy and anger in some quarters, especially in Tatarstan, the Russian republic whose attempt to romanise the script for the Tatar language provoked the new law. This paper examines the background to these recent events in the former Soviet Union, showing how they provide a contemporary illustration of the ways that linguistic (in this case, orthographic) issues can interact with ideologies and discourses at the political and social levels. The paper takes an approach which treats orthography and script selection as social practices which are amenable to sociolinguistic analysis, even though they are more commonly modelled as autonomous systems (or “neutral technologies”) which can be detached from their social context (cf. Street’s “ideological” and “autonomous” models of literacy). The article begins with a very brief overview of the early twentieth-century changes of script from Arabic to Roman and then to Cyrillic, which affected most of the Turkic languages, including Tatar, and an account of the trend to return to the Roman alphabet in the immediate post-Soviet period. It goes on to describe the circumstances of the decision by Tatarstan to introduce the script change, and the resulting backlash from the government of the Russian Federation, in the form of a new language law. It then goes on to analyse the discourses which underlie this story of rebellion and reaction. In particular, the following discourses are identified and discussed: unity and membership (the discourse of belonging), technology and globalisation, cultural heritage (change and permanence), Cyrillic as “defective”/Cyrillic as a conduit for Russian lexis, romanisation as a threat to the integrity of Russia and its language. It is noted that many of the discourses present in the Tatarstan case are also found in other debates over orthographies elsewhere.

scholarly journals What Do Banks, Rural Credit Institutions, and Regulators Infer from the Current Strengths and Standing of Indonesian SMEs?

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jenri Panjaitan ◽  
Muhadjir Darwin ◽  
Indra Bastian ◽  
Sukamdi Sukamdi
Keyword(s):  
Social Cognition ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Former Soviet Union ◽  
Readiness For Change ◽  
Organizational Readiness ◽  
Regulatory Body ◽  
Organizational Readiness For Change ◽  
Shifting Balance ◽  
Optimal Distinctiveness ◽  
The Government

This study investigates whether the Indonesian regulators control Indonesian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with matching or mismatching empowerment strategies, in light of their strengths and current standing. Indonesian SMEs contributed approximately 60.34% to Indonesia’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2018. In addition, Indonesian regulators have focused on financial support through credit policies and tax incentives. Indonesian SMEs have been standing on organizational readiness and readiness for change, based on their social networks and social cognition. It collected thirteen informants with different expertise and experiences. This study’s results suggest Indonesia’s regulatory body and financial institutions should consider the SMEs’ social cognition and organizational readiness for change. According to the current situation, to empower Indonesian SMEs, we recommend strategies such as achieving knowledge supremacy, creating an economic development board, as in Singapore, formulating comprehensive industry-wide policies, adopting omnibus laws, and implementing a shifting balance strategy. In other words, the Indonesian regulators should implement major reforms, which are similar to glasnost and perestroika in the former Soviet Union. This is to enhance Indonesian SMEs and achieve the goal of the Government of Indonesia (GoI) with respect to the optimal distinctiveness of Indonesia’s future economy. This optimal distinctiveness refers to the GoI’s policies, which focused on knowledge supremacy, an industry-wide regime, and research for empowerment.  

scholarly journals Legal status of diplomatic workers: rights, state guarantees, encouragement

2013 ◽  
pp. 121-126
Author(s):  
T. A. Zanko
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Russian Federation ◽  
Former Soviet Union ◽  
Comparative Research ◽  
Legal Status ◽  
Legal Regulation ◽  
Foreign Countries ◽  
The Russian Federation

This article provides an analysis of the legal status of diplomats in the Russian Federation with regard to their rights, safeguards and rewards. These elements are presented through the prism of comparative research of more than a dozen countries and consider the experience of diplomatic service legal regulation in the former Soviet Union countries as well as in other foreign countries.

Economic importance of the potato tuber nematode Ditylenchus destructor in Russia.

2021 ◽  
pp. 354-361
Author(s):  
Mikhail Pridannikov
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Potato Tuber ◽  
Former Soviet Union ◽  
Economic Importance ◽  
Cyst Nematode ◽  
Future Research ◽  
The Russian Federation ◽  
Management Optimization ◽  
Ditylenchus Destructor

Abstract The potato tuber nematode (PTN), Ditylenchus destructor, is ranked second only to the potato cyst nematode, Globodera rostochiensis, in importance in Russia. D. destructor is distributed throughout the former Soviet Union, now the Russian Federation, but has had no significant economic impact in the past. This historically low impact was due to the fact that around 80-90% of potato tuber yield had been produced on small private gardens or fields of approximately 600 square metres. This chapter discusses the economic importance, host range, distribution, biology and life cycle, symptoms of damage, interactions with other nematodes and pathogens, recommended integrated nematode management and management optimization of D. destructor. Future research requirements are also mentioned.

Creating an Information System for the Russian State Library

2001 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monika Segbert ◽  
Alexander Vislyi
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Staff Development ◽  
Former Soviet Union ◽  
National Library ◽  
Library Automation ◽  
Know How ◽  
Russian State ◽  
The Russian Federation ◽  
Set Up ◽  
State Library

The Russian State Library, the national library of the Russian Federation (until 1992 known as Lenin State Library), began in 1862 when Count N.P. Rumyantsev bequeathed his collection of books, manuscripts, and other materials to the state. From the beginning the library received a free copy of all Russian publications. The library started to look into automation in the late 1960s. Eventually, after a series of false starts and small initiatives, a feasibility study was set up in 1995, funded by the European Commission, focusing on library automation while setting the issue in the wider context of collection development, building improvements, conservation, document supply and staff development. As a result of this study the Russian State Library was awarded a Tacis project and a budget of one million Euro over 18 months (later extended by six months, plus 300,000 Euro for the extension). Tacis fosters the development of links between EU countries and the states of the former Soviet Union and Mongolia. A key area of Tacis activity is Know-How transfer, carried out through policy advice, consultancy teams, training studies and partnerships. Several other varied projects have been initiated. Many positive changes have occurred during the project, notably in the development of staff.

IMPROVING THE ASSESSMENT OF THE ACTIVITIES OF THE STATE BODIES IN CONTROL AND SUPERVISION OF HEALTHCARE

2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 76-89
Author(s):  
Людмила Шубцова ◽  
Lyudmila SHubtsova
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Russian Federation ◽  
Assessment System ◽  
Qualitative Assessment ◽  
Human Potential ◽  
The Russian Federation ◽  
The Government

The work shows the importance of rational and efficient assessment of control and supervision in health care for society as a whole and for its individual members. Health care is part of the system that shapes the quality of life of the population, influences the development of human potential, economic performance, on the adoption and diffusion of innovations in Russia. Control and supervision in public administration reform received much attention. The Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation has developed a methodology for assessing and comparing the activities of Supervisory authorities. However, there is a need for not only implementation of the standardized approach in assessing but taking into account the specific features of activity of Supervisory authorities. The article presents the system of socially significant indicators for assessing the activities of Roszdravnadzor and its territorial offices in the RF entities. Currently the authority spends a lot of tests (about 10 thousand per year), however, the effectiveness of control and supervision is low. The health of the population remains low, satisfaction with public health services is reduced. Researching foreign experience of health systems development in countries with socially oriented economy allows to draw a conclusion about the necessity of building a qualitatively new assessment system of control and supervision, which should be based on the interests of society. The author proposes to depart from the principle of "check for validation" and change over to socially significant indicators for the government activities. The article highlights such indicators for healthcare and proposes their decomposition for fractional quantitative and qualitative assessment of activities. This system of indicators is aimed at improving the efficiency of public health care management and growth of the citizens’ health and their quality of life in a whole. The work is performed in as part of research of Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation by order of the Government of the Russian Federation.

scholarly journals Health Care Reform in the Former Soviet Union: Beyond the Transition

2011 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 840-864 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dina Balabanova ◽  
Bayard Roberts ◽  
Erica Richardson ◽  
Christian Haerpfer ◽  
Martin McKee
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Health Care Reform ◽  
Former Soviet Union

scholarly journals THE LAW REGULATION OF ANTI-TUBERCULOSIS ACTIVITIES AT THE REGIONAL LEVEL

2019 ◽  
Vol 62 (2) ◽  
pp. 81-87
Author(s):  
Nadezhda A. Pavlyuchenkova ◽  
A. V. Krikova ◽  
E. A. Sakharitova
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Russian Federation ◽  
State Regulation ◽  
Single Subject ◽  
Health Care Institutions ◽  
Single Region ◽  
Single Subjects ◽  
The Russian Federation ◽  
The Government ◽  
Care Support

The article presents the results of analysis of condition of normative legal base regulating anti-tuberculosis care support in the Russian Federation and at the level a single subject of Federation (the Smolensk region). The significant alterations in legislation are emphasized related to means of prevention, diagnostic and chemotherapy of tuberculosis in modern conditions. The necessity of systematic monitoring of epidemiological situation with tuberculosis is demonstrated not only a national scale but also on the level of every region to provide a successful straggle with disease. The health care institutions fill in reporting forms of Federal statistical monitoring and forms of sectoral statistical accounting regulated by the Ministry of health of the Russian Federation. The main directions of state policy are determined concerning pharmaceutical support of particular groups of population, including state guarantee of medical care support of patients with tuberculosis. The economic aspects are considered related first of all to supporting of accessibility of pharmaceuticals purchasing by health care institutions and buying in directly by population. This is implemented by means of organization of financing of pharmaceutical support and state regulation of prices of pharmaceuticals included into list of vitally needed and most important pharmaceuticals that, according decree of the Government of the Russian Federation includes anti-tuberculosis medications. The analysis of characteristics of financing of ant-tuberculosis activities, including at the level of a single region, permitted to establish a number of problems during purchase of anti-tuberculosis medications encountered by subjects due to budget limitations. In particular, a significant financial load was established in particular regions related to purchasing anti-tuberculosis medications needed for treatment of tuberculosis with drug resistance of agent. The projects and programs regulated by legislative base implementing within the framework of struggle with tuberculosis in the Russian Federation and on the level of single subjects of Federation.

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