‘You Are Lucky to Live in Russia‘

On April 6th - 8th the 11th International Academic Conference on Economic and Social Development took place at the HSE. Some guest speakers at the Conference shared their impressions on the event.

 

Dominic Barton

Dominic Barton, McKinsey and Co, Global Managing Director

- What is the most interesting topic for you at this conference?

- I am particularly interested in hearing the government speakers talk. The most interesting topiс for me is modernization. But I expect to hear a great many things here;the size and scale of the conference is very impressive. I am interested in the financial crisis, everyone needs to think about this today:both countries and companies. I think its impact on Russia was more than on other G8 countries, especially if we take into consideration the fall in GDP. I think Russia is a very important country in the world today.

-Why is Russia important?

- Obviously it is a major exporter of resources. But also technology is also very important for this country and it is also an important market. Russia is developing quickly and every time I visit it, the situation seems more and more robust.

-Were your presentation yesterday and your report today at the plenary session successful?

-Yes, the audience was very good.

 

Wong Poh Kam

Wong Poh Kam, Professor, Business School, National University of Singapore (NUS) and Director of the Entrepreneurship Centre at NUS

- Is this your first time in Moscow?

- Yes, this is my first time. From what I read it is one of the most important economic conferences in Russia, so I anticipate meeting some of Russia's most prominent researchers here. My own presentation is on entrepreneurship and I am interested in meeting other specialists in this field. At the plenary sessions, I had the opportunity to listen to economists I had read and heard about before. .

- What other areas are interesting for you?

- Some sections on modernization are also very interesting. I think you are lucky to live in Russia because there is a lot of market liberalisation and interesting reforms taking place here at the moment.

- Have you managed to see anything of Moscow?

- I had the opportunity to visit Red Square and a few other historic places, and I wasn't disappointed;I was extremely impressed. I am very grateful to the HSE for its hospitality. I've been really lucky, the HSE has assigned a student to help me, and to show me around. Yesterday I visited the university and had a meeting with Prof. Frumin.

 

Luigi Guiso

Luigi Guiso, Professor of Economics, the European University Institute

- What are your views on the organization of the conference?

- This conference is comparable to the American Economic Association meeting. I think that everybody is looking for this conference to provide a clearer outlook for the whole world and especially for Russia, of how countries like Russia will fit into the recovery of the world economy following the current financial crisis. Yesterday I spoke on trust and the economy, about the importance of trust for the recovery of the economy and the audience were great.

- What are your impressions of the plenary session?

- I was very interested in Dominic Barton's report;he spoke about developing countries such as China and the opportunities they provide for the rest of the world.

- Is this your first visit to Moscow?

- This is my first visit to Moscow. I am pleased to see that it is doing relatively well. It looks like a very important city here in Russia.

 

 

Ekaterina Rylko, HSE News Service.