Anna Zasova

[Nicolas Gavoille @GavoilleNiiico]

Don't miss the submission deadline, and come to visit us in Riga!

[Konstantin Sonin @k_sonin]

"Patriot", a memoir by @navalny, the leader of the Russian opposition, was published today. Navalny himself was killed in jail on Putin's orders last February.

Alexey started his book after he survived the first assassination attempt on his life in August 2020. Then, he was poisoned by FSB agents - and the scale of operation that involved dozens of high-ranked officers makes it clear that it was on a Putin's direct order. Thanks to brave doctors who defied their superiors and the international outcry, he survived, though barely. The opening chapters describe the grim story of assassination and survival - and then the book turns to Alexey's life story, both ordinary and remarkable.

The investigation of the 2020 attempt is not a part of the book - though this would be perhaps a fascinating read. Alexey himself led the investigation - it was like studying the work of a sausage-making factory with all the greasly details, he told me back then. Not only his team uncovered the work of the FSB assasins with their names, home addresses, resumes, and itineraries. Alexey called one of the actual assassins, tricked him into believing that he was his FSB superior, and made him report all the "sausage-making" details of the poisoning.

In February 2021, barely recovering from the assassination attempt and half-through his memoir, Alexey returned to Russia to lead his massive following - into what? He was arrested on arrival and spent the rest of his life, in ever-worsening conditions, tortured and humiliated, in prison. Initially, the orders were to make him sick and miserable, break his spirits and stop talkin via social media posts slipped from jai to millions who listened. With the war lasting into the third year and domestic situation deteriorating, Putin ordered him to be transferred to a desolate village in far North, his lawyers arrested to block communication, and then had him killed in February 2024.

Some commentators explained Putin's hatred of Navalny - he was unable to even pronounce his name in public - by personal traits. Navalny was everything that Putin was not - tall, strong, smart, brave, articulate. Putin, a physical coward, barely educated, and humorles, felt diminished with the rise of Navalny. I think there was nothing personal - Navalny was a political genius, a generational talent able to speak far beyond traditional Russian liberals. With his subtle embrace of the Russia's imperial glory blended with his vision of peaceful, happy, and better Russia, he was popular among police officers, army sergeants, and low-ranked bureaucrats, he was a genuine threat to Putin's power. Putin did worse than killing individual opponents to stay in power, and I do not think he had many qualms ordering the assassination.

The memoir is, thankfully, light on Putin. The prison part is composed from notes that Alexey slipped from prison despite all attempts to silence him. From the prison cells and appeals court rooms, he spoke forcefully against the criminal invasion of Ukraine, the war that Putin started in February 2022, against political repressions that turned Russia into a police state, in defense of his many followers who were imprisoned, harassed, or exiled. And, despite all of that, the harsh conditions, the imposed isolation, the misery of his friends, you could see that Alexey was a beam of light, a ray of hope, a happy warrior all along - in every word of his memoir.

[Nicolas Gavoille @GavoilleNiiico]

Come to visit us in Riga for the next @theEPCS annual meeting!

[Konstantin Sonin @k_sonin]

The Central Bank of Russia issued an official recommendation to provide a relief to mortgage borrowers in Kursk and Belgorod regions whose homes were damaged or destroyed as a result of what happened there. A quiz! Does anybody have an idea what did happen there?

Answer: in Russia, it's a crime to use the word "war" describing the war against Ukraine and occupation of Ukrainian lands. One must use the words "special military operation". However, this cannot be applied to the war that is now is waged, in part, on the Russian territory. So, it is "what happened there".

[Konstantin Sonin @k_sonin]

Donate to the Ohmatdyt Hospital in Kyiv, one of the largest children hospitals in Europe, which was hit by Russian missiles today: https://t.co/w2JVMnL8YC. (The word Ohmatdyt is simply an acronym for Protection of Motherhood and Childhood in Ukrainian.)

[Amina Ebrahim @aminae]

🚀 SOUTHMOD @UNUWIDER has launched a FREE online training course on tax-benefit microsimulation for the Global South🌍 Enhance your policy analysis skills & enrol now! https://t.co/qFWCkNNhms Great work @JesseLastunen & team 👏

[@rodrigooliveira.bsky.social @rod_coliveira]

🚨Research Grant Opportunity🚨

@UNUWIDER Inequality team launched
a call for research proposals. 2 types: (1) up to USD 10k; and (2) between USD 10-20k. Focus on LMICs, causal identification, and data.

Please write to me if you have any questions

https://t.co/QkrALg4sVJ

[BICEPS.org @BICEPSorg]

📢 UPDATE: The BICEPS/SSER seminar by Monika Oczkowska scheduled for today is POSTPONED to March 28, 17:00. We apologize for any inconvenience and look forward to seeing you in two weeks!

[Journal of Public Economics @JPubEcon]

Recently published paper in the @JPubEcon :

"What we pay in the shadows: Labor tax evasion, minimum wage hike and employment"
Vol 228 (Dec 2023)

by Nicolas Gavoille (@GavoilleNiiico ) & Anna Zasova (@AnnaZasova )

https://t.co/ijE6qaJMnE

[BICEPS.org @BICEPSorg]

📢SEMINAR. Join us for a BICEPS/@SSE_Riga research seminar by Monika Oczkowska (CenEA, Poland) "Income and well-being in old age: the role of local contextual factors". Thursday, March 14th, at 17:00. Learn more 👉 https://t.co/Xjz3DtFqH3

[BICEPS.org @BICEPSorg]

📢 Call for Papers! 📝Baltic Journal of Economics invites contributions to a special issue “The Shadow Economy, Tax Evasion and Public Finances”. Submission deadline: January 31. Details 👉 https://t.co/92TYdhQmfu @SSE_Riga @TallinnTech

[VoxEU @voxeu]

#MinimumWage policy and labour #TaxEvasion
@GavoilleNiiico @SSE_Riga, @AnnaZasova @BICEPSorg
https://t.co/js4mbj4AY7

[BICEPS.org @BICEPSorg]

Increasing the minimum wage has a positive effect on tax rules enforcement. However, this comes at the cost of negatively affecting employment in tax-compliant firms. Read the VoxEU column by @GavoilleNiiico and @AnnaZasova https://t.co/HNgxZ61RRv # via @cepr_org

[BICEPS.org @BICEPSorg]

📢SEMINAR. Join us for a BICEPS/@SSE_Riga research seminar by Amaresh Kumar Tiwari @unitartu "Automation in an Open, Catching-Up Economy: Aggregate and Microeconometric Evidence". Thursday, November 30th, at 17:00. Learn more: https://t.co/VYI9rvflUY

[BICEPS.org @BICEPSorg]

📢 Call for Papers! Baltic Journal of Economics invites contributions to a special issue “The Shadow Economy, Tax Evasion and Public Finances”. Details 👉 https://t.co/92TYdhQmfu @SSE_Riga @TallinnTech

[BICEPS.org @BICEPSorg]

What was the role of envelope wages in firms' adjustments to the Covid-19 shock? Read the latest FREE policy brief @FREEnetworkorg by Jānis Bērziņš, @GavoilleNiiico, and @AnnaZasova https://t.co/Bl353pilnH #FREENetwork

[Anna Zasova @AnnaZasova]

Rakstām ar @GavoilleNiiico par minimālās algas palielināšanas sekām https://t.co/lFNkR8QQZ1

[Baltic Economic Association @BalticEconomic]

The deadline to submit your paper to the 5th Baltic Economic Conference is TOMORROW! Join us in Riga June 19-20! Organized by @SSE_Riga & @LatvijasBanka Keynote @BJavorcik, https://t.co/ImhL7bzrmM @VU_LT @TallinnTech @Lietuvosbankas @EestiPank @ktuspace @ISM_University @unitartu

[Baltic Economic Association @BalticEconomic]

Only one week to submit your paper to the 5th Baltic Economic Conference! Riga June 19-20 2023 organized by @SSE_Riga & @LatvijasBanka Keynote @BJavorcik, https://t.co/ImhL7bzrmM
@VU_LT @TallinnTech @Lietuvosbankas @EestiPank @ktuspace @ISM_University @unitartu

[Karlis Vilerts @kvilerts]

We are pleased to invite paper submissions for the 5th Baltic Economic Conference that will take place on June 19-20, 2023 at the Stockholm School ofEconomics (@SSE_Riga) in Riga, Latvia @LatvijasBanka @BalticEconomic
https://t.co/s0UopxRXoS