The paper discusses the contribution of 2011 Nobel laureates, Thomas Sargent and Christopher Sims, to economics. It is shown how these two economists proposed to analyze causal relationships in macroeconomics. The common idea of the two laureates is that one should not look for isolated empirical relationships; rather, one should seek theories, which are capable of explaining the observed regularities, and then subject the whole theories to empirical tests. However, the specific methods proposed by the two economists differ. Thus, Sargent proposed to test a specific model; Sims, on the other hand, introduced the method called structural autoregression, in which an econometric model is subjected to a minimal set of theoretical restrictions encompassing a large set of theoretical models. Then the paper discusses applications of this logic to different situations.

The article sketches how the field of industrial organization has evolved to its current state, in particular how the emphasis has shifted over time from attempts to relate aggregate measures across industries toward more focused studies of individual industries. The authors describe several active areas of inquiry, discuss some of the impacts of this research and specify topics where research efforts have been more or less successful. They also address some current debates about research emphasis in the field, and more broadly about empirical methods, and offer some ideas on where future research might go.

The article considers the life and creative achievements of the great Soviet scientist academician Leonid Kantorovich, the only Nobel Prize winner in economics in our country. Basic spheres of his scientific interests are noted, the contribution to the world science is assessed. The problems connected with the implementation of optimization methods of planning in the Soviet economy are shown.

Gustav Cassel (1866-1945) developed a number of original ideas in the field of international finance, which may prove to be relevant today. These ideas, however, were largely forgotten or remained unnoticed in the second half of the 20th century. To a large extent this is due to the fact that Cassels theoretical framework was fragmented, while one of the key elements of his argumentation - the purchasing power parity concept - was taken out of the context and misinterpreted. The papers aim is to restore and demonstrate Cassels vision of the goals and significance of the international coordination of financial and economic policy as an inherently normative perspective.

The main goal of the public procurement reform in Russia was to limit corruption. The government prohibited the most part of qualification criteria in the selection process and used open auctions as the main tool of contract placement. However simplification of procurement procedures led to opportunism on the side of suppliers. In this paper using the unique dataset of 2000 contracts executed in 2008-2010 for a large public customer we define the factors explaining the risk of suppliers non-performance. Econometric analysis showed that under current procurement regulation in Russia the risks of suppliers non-performance are higher for large contracts, contracts executed in October-December and contracts placed at open auctions. However contrary to anecdotal evidences, initial price decrease does not influence the performance of contractors.

The article considers the problem of correspondence between antitrust policy and intellectual property rights protection in terms of their goals, methods and mutual influence. This question provokes discussions: on the one hand, innovative development requires strong intellectual property rights protection to stimulate entrepreneurs, even if it leads to anti-competitive consequences. On the other hand, maintenance of market competition requires limiting property rights. The context of the problem changes significantly when emerging markets economies are concerned. Basing on the formal model, the authors analyze possible hostile effects of antitrust policies under the conditions of poor intellectual property rights protection, which is typical for some developing countries, and propose ways of overcoming the unfavorable situation. The research shows that antitrust policy needs careful consideration of the existing institutional environment.

The article analyzes the pre-revolutionary and the Soviet experience of the protectionist policies. Special attention is paid to the external economic policy during the times of NEP (New Economic Policy), socialist industrialization and the years of 1970-1980s. The results of the state monopoly on foreign trade and currency transactions in the Soviet Union are summarized; the economic integration in the frames of Comecon is assessed.

The article shows the opposite development trends of the agrarian economy in Russia, divided in paradoxical pairs. Among them: reduced reproductive capacity of agriculture and simultaneous increase of agricultural production efficiency; deterioration of the material and technical and natural base, combined with increase in agricultural production; degradation of the Russian countryside and rural social development, as well as several others. The reasons for these paradoxical phenomena are analyzed.

Origins and functions of money, its formative role for emergence and performance of market economy are considered. Money is interpreted as a socially accepted form of wealth which role is to neutralize the impact of differences in liquidity and maintenance costs among traded goods on pricing. This approach is compared to those of classical, neoclassical and institutional economics. Rival theories of money origins are used as a background to assess controversies over contemporary fractional reserve banking. The author discusses measures aimed at preserving value of money deposits, while keeping bank credits at a moderate level.

This is the review of the acclaimed monograph by the famous Norwegian economist Erik Reinert. It is shown that interest in the book is caused by a vivid opposition to the traditional approach of the classical economic theory of lessons of the real history of economic policy. These lessons show that rich countries have become rich due to a combination of targeted state policy, protectionism and strategic investment, rather than free trade, as the "classic" teaches. It was such a policy that guaranteed successful economic development of countries, beginning with the Renaissance and ending with the modern "tigers" of Southeast Asia.

The article discusses the problems of the functioning of the world monetary system, ensuring its stability and the potential for creating a world currency.