RECEP

   Economic research on Russian industrial firms has identified specific conglomerates of enterprises usually referred to as 'industrial groups', 'financial-industrial groups', 'clearing chains' or 'networks of firms'. The issue of agglomeration is particularly topical now due to a recent trend, which has seen Russian exporters taking shares in manufacturing companies. However, more work needs to be done to understand the economic nature of these agglomerates, and to answer the questions: does agglomeration helps or hinder development of money and market relationships between enterprises, and is it beneficial for development of a market economy in general?

   Industry organisation, concentration and, more recently, networks of firms are well-analysed phenomena in market economies. Many theories and analytical tools have been produced to understand these processes and help policy and law makers to prevent competition distortions, reduce tax evasion and protect property rights. More recently research on industry networks has looked at these phenomena in the context of new market frontiers and new competitive resources, which are appearing in Western countries. Current research is particularly oriented towards the impact of the 'new economy' or NTIC (new technologies of information and communication) and changing service relationships on industry organisation and networks, and even on the definition of the market.

   To what extent could these tools help in understanding Russian realities and advising policy makers? What distinctions need to be made between universal phenomena and phenomena, which are specific to Russia? What new analytical tools are necessary for capturing Russian realities and promoting market relations?
   In order to set up an efficient and cooperative research programme for 2001-2002, a first workshop is being organised, at which Western specialists will present 'state of the art' research into agglomeration issues and Russian specialists will present the realities and behaviour patterns they encounter and the tools they use for understanding them.