Abstract:

The article discusses the impact of external shocks on the volume of Russian household savings in foreign currency as an alternative to Bank deposits method of savings for the period from 2002 to 2014. We use data on the purchase volume and sale of Euro by Central Bank of the Russian Federation to estimate Euro nest egg amount by the population of the regions. We then empirically investigate the relevance of the region's border position on the volume of purchases of Euros by the population. We made a comparative analysis of the dynamics Euro purchase and sale by groups of regions with similar spatial effects during external shocks (the global financial crisis and the beginning of western sanctions against Russia). Our results confirm the existence of a direct relationship between the volume of purchase of Euro and the income of the population. We show (i) that the border with the EU is relevant for determining the volume of Euro purchases by the population (ii) the purchase and sale of Euros in the internal and border regions differ depending on the nature of the external shock.