In the economy

All in the center

November 8, 2005 Evgeny Yasin

Starting next year, the federal government intends to introduce the bar of the maximum permissible growth of tariffs in the field of housing and communal services. The Minister of Economic Development, German Gref, promised to prepare proposals for tariff limits until November 20, and by December 15 they should already go through the Duma and become law.

This is another measure designed to help in the fight against so much that has recently bothering President Putin by inflation. A similar approach demonstrates that the government today is dominated by supporters of the point of view that the current Russian inflation is cost inflation. Therefore, it is necessary to restrain those prices that are growing especially quickly. The tariffs increased this year by an average of 30% - they decided to take up for them.

Cost inflation is a myth. It can take place due to the monopoly position of individual companies. However, with normal monetary policy, with normal relations between the authorities and the business, the serious increase in prices, as a rule, is compensated by the less significant increase in others. Today, tariff growth, as well as the increase in prices in general, is due to a combination of an flow of oil money and strengthening the ruble exchange rate and a decrease in business activity. All this has a depressive influence on the economy. If you do not treat these diseases and at the same time try to try to fulfill the president’s order related to the retention of inflation, you can even try to freeze all prices and see what will come of it.

At the same time, the economic bloc of the government has nowhere to go. The population really painfully perceives tariff growth. The only alternative to the artificial deterrence of housing and communal services tariffs from Moscow could be the real reform of the housing and communal services, associated with the reform of the electric power industry and the gas industry, with an increase in population revenues and budget reform. This is a large complex that needs to be mastered sooner or later. However, there is a feeling that the government is not ready for any large -scale projects. Of all the possible options, only those that do not entail any political risks are always selected, regardless of whether the chosen measures are solved by solving the problem and entail institutional improvements or, on the contrary, institutional traps. And instead of the once declared reform, we proceed to the establishment of tariffs at the federal and regional levels. The process of transferring financial powers to municipalities is recognized as erroneous and turned back.

Today, no one talks about the creation of a competitive environment in the industry, the release of peculiar “natural monopolies” supplying water, gas, heat and sewage services. In parallel, the consumer market should be created: to distribute the so -called partnerships of homeowners, to introduce the institution of management companies. This reform, which suggests precisely at the municipal level, would be aimed at developing local self -government, the successful existence of those municipalities where there are initiative people and enterprises that are ready to provide services in conditions of competition.

This whole range of measures requires very difficult and long -term work. The government chose to replace it with one simple solution, which at best for some time will smooth out the sharpness of the problem. However, the idea that prices can be restrained by regulating tariffs is an illusion. Practice indicates the opposite: the tougher the regulation, the faster the tariffs grow.

The current decision to limit the growth of housing and communal services to federal law illustrates another trend in recent years - pulling out the maximum possible number of functions and powers to Moscow. This leads to excessive centralization. Is this the beginning of movement on the path of return to the time of the State Planning Commission? Evgeny Yasin

---

All rights to materials located on the EJ.ru website are protected in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation, including copyright and related rights. With any use of the site and satellite projects, hyperlink (Hyperlink) on EJ.ru is required.