World Bank2013-02-152013-02-152012-04https://hdl.handle.net/10986/12379Half a year ago, Russia's economic prospects looked uncertain. The global economy was losing momentum, the expansion in the euro area was grinding to a halt and commodity prices were beginning to fall. Yet, while output growth is slowing this year in line with weaker growth in Europe and elsewhere, Russia's latest economy performance has been solid, though aided by favorable oil prices. The economy returned to the pre-crisis peak towards the end of last year, supported by strong consumption, as growth held steady at the same rate as in 2010. In 2011, measured in current dollars, Russia's economy was the ninth biggest in the world, compared to the eleventh biggest in 2007. This year, Russia's output might exceed US$2 trillion. Equalizing for prices difference with purchasing power parity, Russia's economy is already the sixth biggest today. The current account looks strong thanks to a large surplus in the trade balance, and the Central Bank of Russia added again in 2011 to its stock of foreign reserves. Employment returned to pre-crisis levels even earlier than output, and wages grew at a solid pace. Inflation reached its lowest level in two decades. Inequality declined and consumption levels of low-income households improved. The fiscal balance returned to a surplus. And while average public debt levels in advanced economies exceeded 100 percent of growth domestic product (GDP) in 2011, Russia's public debt was no more than 10 percent of GDP. Economic policies can help to shore up Russia's resilience in a volatile economic environment, diversify its economy, and strengthen its growth potential. First, fiscal policy should be used to rebuild fiscal buffers while oil prices are high. This will not only help to prepare for the next crisis, but also make sure that fiscal policy does not become procyclical as the output gap closes. Furthermore, monetary policy should continue to focus on low inflation, and financial policies on strengthening oversight. Finally, removing structural barriers to growth can help to bolster investment and productivity. Improving the business environment will go a long way to make the most of the economic benefits of Russia's World Trade Organization accession in summer 2012.en-USCC BY 3.0 IGOADVANCED ECONOMIESAGRICULTUREASSET POSITIONBALANCE OF PAYMENTSBALANCE SHEETSBANK LENDINGBANK LIQUIDITYBANKING SECTORBANKING SUPERVISIONBARRIERS TO ENTRYBARRIERS TO GROWTHBASIS POINTSBONDBOND SETTLEMENTBUDGET DEFICITBUDGET SURPLUSBUSINESS ENVIRONMENTCAPACITY CONSTRAINTSCAPITAL ACCOUNTCAPITAL ACCUMULATIONCAPITAL FLOWSCAPITAL INFLOWSCAPITAL INVESTMENTCAPITAL OUTFLOWSCDSCENTRAL BANKCOLLATERALCOMMODITYCOMMODITY PRICESCOMPETITIVE ADVANTAGECONFIDENCE INDEXCONSUMERSCONSUMPTION LEVELSCORPORATE BORROWERSCPICREDIT DEFAULTCREDIT DEFAULT SWAPSCREDIT EXPANSIONCREDIT GROWTHCURRENCYCURRENT ACCOUNT BALANCECURRENT ACCOUNT DEFICITCURRENT ACCOUNT SURPLUSCURRENT ACCOUNT SURPLUSESDEBT CRISISDEBT LEVELSDEBT REPAYMENTSDEBT SERVICEDEFICITSDEPOSITDEPOSIT RATEDEPOSIT RATESDEPOSITSDEVELOPING COUNTRIESDEVELOPING COUNTRYDISBURSEMENTSDISPOSABLE INCOMEDOLLAR VALUEDOMESTIC DEBTECONOMIC ACTIVITYECONOMIC CRISISECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTSECONOMIC EXPANSIONECONOMIC GROWTHECONOMIC OUTLOOKECONOMIC PERFORMANCEECONOMIC POLICIESECONOMIC SITUATIONELASTICITYEMERGING ECONOMIESEMERGING MARKETSENERGY EXPORTSEQUIPMENTEXCHANGE RATEEXPENDITUREEXPENDITURESEXPORT SECTOREXPORTSEXPOSUREEXTERNAL DEBTEXTERNAL FINANCINGFEDERAL BUDGETFINANCIAL MARKETSFINANCIAL SECTORFINANCIAL SERVICESFISCAL CONSOLIDATIONFISCAL DEFICITFISCAL POLICYFIXED CAPITALFIXED INCOMEFIXED INCOME SECURITIESFIXED INVESTMENTFIXED RATEFLEXIBLE EXCHANGE RATEFOOD PRICEFOREIGN ASSETFOREIGN ASSET POSITIONFOREIGN ASSETSFOREIGN CURRENCYFOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENTFOREIGN EXCHANGEFOREIGN EXCHANGE RESERVESFORESTRYGDPGDP PER CAPITAGLOBAL CAPITALGLOBAL ECONOMYGLOBAL MARKETGLOBAL RISKGLOBAL TRADEGOVERNMENT BONDSGOVERNMENT DEFICITGROUP LENDINGGROWTH POTENTIALGROWTH PROJECTIONSGROWTH RATEGROWTH RATESHOUSEHOLD INCOMEINCOME GROWTHINCOME LEVELINCOME LEVELSINCOMESINDEXATIONINFLATIONINFLATION RATEINFLATION TARGETINGINTERGENERATIONAL EQUITYINTERNATIONAL STANDARDSINVENTORIESINVENTORYINVESTINGINVESTMENT CLIMATEINVESTMENT FLOWSINVESTMENT INCOMELABOR FORCELABOR MARKETLABOR MARKETSLABOR PRODUCTIVITYLINES OF CREDITLIQUID ASSETSLIQUIDITYLIVING STANDARDSLOANLOANS TO INDIVIDUALSLOCAL GOVERNMENTSM2MACROECONOMIC DATAMACROECONOMIC STABILITYMANUFACTURING INDUSTRIESMARKET CONDITIONSMARKET DEVELOPMENTSMARKET LIBERALIZATIONMARKET RISKMINIMUM CAPITAL REQUIREMENTSMONETARY POLICYMONEY SUPPLYMORTGAGEMORTGAGE LENDINGMORTGAGESNATURAL RESOURCESNET CAPITALNET EXPORTSNOMINAL INTEREST RATENON-PERFORMING LOANSNONPERFORMING LOANSOILOIL PRICEOIL PRICESOPECOUTPUTOUTPUT GAPPENSIONPENSION FUNDPENSIONSPER CAPITA INCOMEPOLICY MAKERSPOLITICAL UNCERTAINTYPORTFOLIOPOST-CRISIS PERIODPOWER PARITYPRICE FLOORPRICE INCREASESPRICE STABILITYPRICE VOLATILITYPRIVATE CONSUMPTIONPRIVATE CREDITPRODUCERSPRODUCTIVITY GROWTHPROFIT MARGINSPUBLIC DEBTPUBLIC FINANCESPUBLIC SPENDINGPURCHASING POWERQUOTASREAL ESTATEREAL EXCHANGE RATEREAL INCOMEREAL INTERESTREAL INTEREST RATEREAL INTEREST RATESREAL WAGESREGULATORSREMITTANCESREPLACEMENT RATESREPORESERVERESERVE FUNDRESERVE FUNDSRESERVESRETURNSRISK AVERSIONRISK FACTORSHARE PRICESHARE PRICESSHORT-TERM DEBTSOCIAL PROTECTIONSOVEREIGN DEBTSOVEREIGN DEBT MARKETSSTOCK MARKETSTOCKSTAXTAX RATESTOTAL DEBTTRADE BALANCETRADINGTREASURIESTROUGHTURNOVERUNEMPLOYMENTUNEMPLOYMENT RATEUNEMPLOYMENT RATESWAGE GROWTHWAGESWAREHOUSEWORLD ECONOMYWORLD TRADEWORLD TRADE ORGANIZATIONWTOWorld Bank10.1596/12379