The New Economic School of Moscow (NES), the Economics Education and Research Consortium (EERC) and the Center for Economic and Financial Research (CEFIR) address issues of economic transition in Russia and the CIS through cooperation and collaboration in graduate education, policy-relevant research, seminars, conferences and outreach. Designated as "centers of excellence" and resource centers for public and private sector economists in the region, NES, EERC, and CEFIR are committed to helping Russia and the CIS to develop all aspects of modern economics – academic education and research, policy analysis, and the training of professionals – and to reversing the "brain drain" characteristic of the transition period.

The New Economic School (NES) was established in 1992 as the first non-State graduate school in modern economics in Russia. NES’ main goal is to prepare a new generation of world-class academic and professional economists through its high-quality Master of Arts program taught by leading Western and Russian economists. NES also aims to contribute to the development of economics education in Russia and to the development of economics as a science to serve the growing needs of the academic, public, and private sectors. More than 250 students have been awarded MA degrees from NES. Half of these graduates have remained in Russia and assumed positions as professional economists; the remaining half are continuing their studies in leading PhD programs abroad (e.g., Harvard, MIT, Yale, Chicago, Stanford, LSE, etc.). This group is an invaluable resource for Russia, and every effort should be made to bring them back. Recently, NES appointed three tenure-track faculty members, two from among its graduates with PhDs from the West, taking the first step towards the creation of an indigenous Russian faculty. The research center at NES provides students, Russian academic staff, and visiting professors from the West and regions outside Moscow with the opportunity to collaborate on research projects related to transition economies. Additionally, NES sponsors and organizes bi-annual conferences and regular public seminars. The outreach center provides weeklong seminars on topics in economics to faculty from various regions outside of Moscow. NES also cooperates with the faculties of three regional universities with the goal of improving the level of their academic and research programs and capabilities. NES, with its highly trained teachers and researchers, rich library and internet capabilities, and through cooperation and collaboration with EERC and CEFIR, is a leading resource center for modern economics in Russia.

The Economics Education and Research Consortium (EERC) belongs to a small corps of centers of excellence in economics in the former Soviet Union committed to building local capacity in economics education and research. In Russia, EERC has created a coast-to-coast network of young economists who participate in twice-yearly research workshops, an annual conference, a series of advanced training seminars, and a research grant program. In Ukraine, the EERC has established an international-caliber English-language master’s program in economics, and will create a parallel research and outreach center this year. Currently, with funding from the World Bank’s Global Development Network, EERC is expanding its research network to include other CIS countries. In Russia, EERC offers advanced training through a series of "technical" seminars; individual grants for original policy-oriented research; smaller-scale professional development grants; and, dissemination grants to support policy outreach for the best research projects. EERC collaborates with NES and CEFIR in organizing semi-annual research workshops, featuring an intensive peer review process for original research projects, an annual research conference focusing on key economic transition issues, and policy roundtable meetings which bring together Russian policymakers and network members. EERC’s working paper series disseminate the work of network members among more than 2000 subscribers in Russia, CIS and CEE. Together with NES and CEFIR, EERC strives to firmly establish the credibility of Russian economics within the Russian policy community, and retain the best and the brightest among the new generation of scholars, while integrating them into the international community.

The Center for Economic and Financial Research (CEFIR) is well-known and respected within the Russian and international economics community for its high-quality research, and as an independent think tank which provides economic policy advice to the Russian government. The CEFIR research group was initially brought together through support from the European Union, under the RECEP project managed by the Stockholm Institute of Transition Economics (SITE, Stockholm School of Economics). Faculty members are among the first Western trained PhDs (from Harvard, MIT, and Manchester) that have returned to Russia, and include top graduates from NES. Through its international network, which includes the Centre for Economic Policy Research, the William Davidson Institute, and SITE, CEFIR is developing a program for continued training. All staff members are afforded the opportunity to regularly visit leading Western institutions and participate in special courses arranged by EERC. Faculty members share the ambition and desire of NES and EERC to disseminate research findings, and publish their work in leading Western and Russian economics journals. Faculty members at NES are also affiliated with CEFIR and vice versa. Realizing the importance of translating research into policy-related action, CEFIR members worked with the Putin Administration’s new economic program formulated by the group led by the Minister for Economic Development and Trade, German Gref, and interacts most closely with Advisor to the Minister, Arkady Dvorkovich, a NES graduate. The new Monitoring the Russian Economy (forthcoming in 2001) will fill an important niche in combining dissemination of high-quality research through short summary articles and monitoring of economic activity at both micro and macro levels.

Together, NES, EERC, and CEFIR represent the foundation of The Russian House of Economics. We welcome your support of our efforts to create a critical mass of modern economic knowledge – and knowledgeable economists -- to improve policymaking at all levels of Russian government.