An economics, investment, trading and policy blog with a focus on Modern Monetary Theory (MMT). We seek the truth, avoid the mainstream and are virulently anti-neoliberalism.
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Tuesday, April 26, 2016
Rusvesna — Putin: Russia must not seek total Import Substitution
Russia is large in terms of land and resources but small in terms of population with only 150m people. Putin understands that they could never produce a sufficient variety of goods and advanced technologies on their own. Reading the rhetoric in some of the Kremlin rags, some of the people appeared to think they were going to aim for self sufficiency in all industries, even where they had no chance of producing competitive products because of large low value labor inputs, lacking technology or even cultural items, like regional European foods that are difficult to produce in Russia but can be imported cheaply.
What I like about Putin is that he is surrounded by Kremlin hard-liners on one-side and Euro liberals on the other but he keeps his wits about himself and balances interests even when surrounded by dinosaurs mired in their ideological tar pits on all sides.
Perhaps we in the UK will have to import more curry :)
ReplyDeletehttp://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/third-of-curry-houses-could-close-as-tough-immigration-rules-block-chefs-coming-to-uk-a6997831.html
Lax controls in mean strict controls out of the EU.
Ah, there's nothing like a centrally-planned economy to get all excited about.
ReplyDeleteWhat's the best way to short this?
Russia is large in terms of land and resources but small in terms of population with only 150m people. Putin understands that they could never produce a sufficient variety of goods and advanced technologies on their own. Reading the rhetoric in some of the Kremlin rags, some of the people appeared to think they were going to aim for self sufficiency in all industries, even where they had no chance of producing competitive products because of large low value labor inputs, lacking technology or even cultural items, like regional European foods that are difficult to produce in Russia but can be imported cheaply.
ReplyDeleteWhat I like about Putin is that he is surrounded by Kremlin hard-liners on one-side and Euro liberals on the other but he keeps his wits about himself and balances interests even when surrounded by dinosaurs mired in their ideological tar pits on all sides.