Macroeconomic production function of Russia and estimation of the marginal rate of technical substitution in the unprecedented socio-economic realities of 2020–2022

Abstract

In the period 2020-2022 the Russian economy has been facing the new, unprecedented challenges of coronavirus and sanctions. In order to analyze the current state of affairs, we are offering an econometric study of Russia's macroeconomic production function for 1990-2022 and an estimation of the marginal rate of technical substitution under internal and external restrictions associated with the spread of the Wuhan coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) and the conduct of Russia's special military operation in Ukraine, accompanied by increased sanctions pressure on the Russian economy. We have obtained several significant results. In the years 1991-1996 the marginal rate of technical substitution was increasing, and in 1997-2020 it was decreasing except for 2008-2009 and 2015. In the context of the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic, the main reasons for the Russian economy's decline in 2020 and growth in 2021 were, first of all, fluctuations in the world crude oil price, and not the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic as such. We did not find any evidence that the decline in the world crude oil price in 2020 was caused by a decrease in demand from China, since Russian oil exports to China increased. Contrary to many negative forecasts, the results of our forecasting of Russia's GDP for 2022 show that under sharply increased sanctions pressure, with the world price of Urals oil at $60 per barrel, the average growth rate will be 0%, while at $70 it will be 4%, and at $80 it will be 7%. Under the reduced demand for Russian gas and the shutdown of the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline, the forecast volumes of gross natural gas production by Gazprom (excluding Gazprom Neft) in the Tyumen Region for 2022, based on the exponential production function studied by econometric methods, range from 364 to 392 billion cubic meters. Using the example of Great Britain, where in 2021 the average actual export prices for Russian oil and gas were the lowest compared to other Western European countries, we discuss the economic inexpediency of setting marginal prices for Russian energy products by Western consumers. © 2022 The authors.