The Bank of Russia launches a website dedicated to economic and financial research
The website Econs.online will host research reviews, opinion pieces, interviews with Russian and foreign economists, and other materials related to central banking, macroeconomics, financial market development, financial technology. The website’s contributors will include experts from the Bank of Russia and other research and scientific institutions, along with bank and corporate analysts.
Bank of Russia First Deputy Governor Ksenia Yudaeva, who is responsible for the Bank of Russia’s research activity, explains the rationale behind Econs.online:
“To be successful, central banks’ policies should be research-informed. At the same time, central banks’ work often provides a stimulus for academic progress and forms the basis for future research. As such, central banks play an active role in academic debate, actively contributing to its development. The Bank of Russia too promotes lively academic debate. We have already re-launched our academic journal, The Russian Journal of Money and Finance, which will continue to evolve; but we need to broaden the discussion to include not only university researchers, but also analysts and experts. That is why we are launching Econs.online. The Bank of Russia’s staff will make regular contributions to the materials published on Econs.online, but our voice will not be the only one heard on the website, and nor will it dominate there.”
Some of Econs.online’s materials will be translated into English. These translated materials will largely concern the Russian economy, or else will present Russian viewpoints on the common global agenda of central banks and financial regulators.
The website was created and is managed by an editorial team, which largely consists of journalists with a background in business media. Heading up the team is Olga Kuvshinova, former economic observer at the newspaper Vedomosti.
The creation of Econs.online is in line with the Bank of Russia’s communication policy, which prioritises openness and improved communication with society. 2017 saw the launch of the Bank’s Financial Culture website, which targets the general public, aiming to provide financial education. In 2018, the Bank of Russia’s academic journal, the Russian Journal of Money and Finance, changed its format. The online version of the journal will also be published on a dedicated website within the Econs.online domain. Econs.online’s audience are economists, journalists at financial and economic media outlets, bank and corporate analysts, state officials, and anyone who takes an interest in the way the economy and financial markets are organized and function.
