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In the current social conditions, the problems of inequality associated with the uneven distribution of income in society is an important research problem. Thus, it is necessary to investigate the level of regional differences in income distribution in developing countries like Kazakhstan. The study aims to assess the influence of income, social expenditures, and inequality in the distribution of education and education costs between different regions of Kazakhstan. Unlike previous scientific papers in this area, this paper uses panel data on the distribution of human capital and income in 17 regions of Kazakhstan. The methodological framework of the research is represented by methods of statistical assessment of economic inequality, such as the indicator of differentiation, reflecting the degree of social and economic inequality. Based on the proposed methodology, we analysed the disparity in the level of education and obtained data on the standard deviations of the distribution of education for the population of the regions of Kazakhstan. According to these data, inequality changes over time and affects the distribution of education and education costs between different areas. Income inequality is slightly higher in Karaganda and East-Kazakhstan regions; other areas have a more equitable income distribution by about 0.05 Gini coefficients. The regression specification shows that large megacities like Shymkent, Almaty, and Astana have a more significant influence, while Mangystau and North-Kazakhstan regions have minor power. The obtained results emphasise the importance ensuring access to education for reducing regional disparities and achieving stability in income distribution.

The spread of anti-globalisation trends against various forms of economic internationalisation requires the adjustment of the system of economic management in general and industrial policy in particular. Using new institutional approaches, the paper examines industrial policy along with the market subsystem and non-market regulated sectors. All these subsystems interact through the intersection of conventions between economic agents. Industrial convention is characterised by continuous production, technology demands compliance, and standards as an information source (as opposed to the market convention that relies on prices). The research shows that the circulation of production means cannot function only based on universal norms of market behaviour, as it happens in the movement of high liquidity consumer goods. Circulation of production means can be determined by long-term agreements, engineering performance specifications and set prices. The paper demonstrates that the inefficient use of market instruments in the innovation sector may lead to state intervention in the circulation of production means. Therefore, by choosing a coordinated, associative management approach, industrial policy can focus on the creation and implementation of relevant strategic documents, as well as on the adjustment of interactions between economic agents and authorities. The presented findings can be used as a methodology for developing regional and national industrial policies.

Nigeria as a nation is endowed with both human and natural resources. These resources are enough to solve multifarious challenges such as poverty and unemployment. The present paper reviews literature that investigated palm tree plantation as a remedy to endemic or abject poverty and unemployment in the country. The methodology of content analysis of relevant literature was applied. The research results indicated that there are potentials to be tapped in palm tree plantation as a solution to the prevalent poverty and unemployment in the South-western part of the country. The findings reiterated that palm tree plantation can make an essential contribution to the development of infrastructure such as roads, schools, and telecommunications among others. The paper revealed that there is a relationship between palm tree plantation and poverty and unemployment reduction in the South-Western Nigeria. However, the study also identifies the effect of palm cultivation, especially its impact on tropical rainforests. It is thereby suggested that palm tree plantation should be included as part of social intervention programmes. In addition, the government should constitute the Nigerian Palm Oil Board (NPOB) and initiate the Nigerian Palm Plantation Development Act (NPPA) in order to expand the agricultural investment in the country. It is further suggested that palm tree plantation should be used for infrastructural development, such as roads, schools, telecommunications etc. Lastly, Land Protect Act (LPA) should be effectively formulated and executed for safeguarding the socio-environment degradation emanating from palm tree plantation.

Public Employment Services provide support for firms and individuals in finding new employment opportunities. They are important actors at the labour market, since well-functioning services reduce costs of search friction and increase matching efficiency. In this paper we adopt the regional classification scheme to identify similarities of regions and their PES on the basis of regional labour market-oriented characteristics. The purpose of the scientific search is the theoretical justification and empirical confirmation of Russian regions’ similarity in terms of employment level and the formulation of areas for increasing the efficiency of public employment services. The tasks were solved using expert analytical methods, analysis of statistical rows, clustering and cartography. The clustering is based on Ward’s hierarchical method, clusters are plotted on weighted standardised data. The official information from the Federal State Statistics Service of the Russian Federation (Rosstat) are analysed. We identified 7 clusters, in which PES have rather similar conditions. The heterogeneity of conditions is higher between clusters. PES within a cluster are valid for comparison and the adoption of new services and best practice examples. We show that the classification of the Russian Economic Zones does not necessarily cover similarities at local labour markets. The practical significance of the results is due to the possibility of using them to develop decisions for long – and short-term support for employment and the formation of an optimal labour market structure both at the state level and at the level of constituent entities of the Federation.

In order to сover a more wide thematic audience of the journal Economy of Regiona, the authors Okrepilov V. V., Makarov V. L., Bakhtizin A. R., Kuzmina S. N. of the paper Application of Supercomputer Technologies for Simulation Of Socio-Economic Systems, published in the 2nd Issue, 2015 used the materials of previously published paper “Supercomputer Technologies Application in Social Sciences”, Economics and Mathematical Methods, Vol. 49 (4), 2013 and “Supercomputer Technologies Application in Social Sciences”, UPRAVLENIE / MANAGEMENT (Russia), Issue 2, 2014 (DOI 10.12737/4167). The works used the same methods developed by the authors, but different results were obtained. A link to a previously published articles is included in the electronic version of the article Okrepilov V. V., Makarov V. L., Bakhtizin A. R., Kuzmina S. N. (2015). Application of Supercomputer Technologies for Simulation Of Socio-Economic Systems. Economy of Region [Economy of region], 2, 301–313.

When investigating healthcare efficiency at the regional level, the problem of interactions between neighbouring locations arises. The health of the population in a given region is related to the healthcare in other areas through a medical tourism, a limited number of highly specialised institutions, competition between institutions, etc. Ignoring these inter-regional links may result in a systematic bias in the efficiency analysis. Similar issues may hinder any regional studies. Hence, the main purpose of this paper is to introduce a new approach to measuring efficiency in regional studies through spatial data envelopment analysis (SDEA). The paper offers a proper mathematical formulation of the new methodology and highlights differences between classic data envelopment analysis (DEA) and the newly developed method. The motivation for seeking a new solution to the problem of spatially adequate assessment of regional efficiency is derived from the literature review and a discussion of the presented theoretical examples. The classic DEA allows for multidimensional analysis of the performance of homogenous independent decision-making units. However, in regional studies, an area where DEA has gained popularity, the assumption of the isolation of decision-making units seems to be unfounded. In the SDEA approach, the region-specific spatial context is incorporated into the analysis via the W matrix and spatial interactions are reflected in the model through spatially weighted inputs and outputs. Therefore, in our paper, we verify the hypothesis that spatial interactions are an indispensable factor of regional efficiency analysis. A study of healthcare efficiency in European regions is presented as an illustration of the utility of the new methodology. Furthermore, we compare the results of the classic DEA approach with those of the SDEA, which is augmented with the spatial equivalents of inputs and outputs. Our results suggest that classic DEA undervalues regional healthcare efficiency by underestimating the region-specific spatial context.2 Researchers may find the introduced SDEA method useful in all space related fields when investigated phenomenon exhibits spatial autocorrelation. In particular, the new approach may deepen the regional efficiency analysis of innovation, development, logistics, tourism, etc.

The desire to assess the value of natural resources led to the emergence of the evaluation theory in environmental economics. However, the lack of a systematic approach to the natural resources evaluation, as well as undefined assessment boundaries hinder the development of the such a theory, including the concepts of ecosystem services and total economic value. Based on the review of relevant scientific publications, the paper aims to analyse the evolution of the evaluation theory in environmental economics, as well as to reveal its general trends and phenomena. The methods of systematisation and content analysis were applied along with evolutionary and regional approaches. The example of the natural resources development in the northern regions was used to trace the evolution of the evaluation theory in Russia. A number of basic trends and phenomena in the development of the examined theory were identified. An axiological (subjective) value has been converging with an objective value of natural resources due to the integration of various assessment factors: 1) utilitarian (early 19th — mid-20th centuries); 2) utilitarian and social, utilitarian and ecological (mid-20th century — the turn of the 20th-21st centuries); 3) utilitarian, social and ecological in aggregate (early 21st century — present day). The evaluation object (territorial aspect) has also been expanded from local assessment to the assessment of the natural resource potential of regions and the world. The paper demonstrates that the evaluation theory in environmental economics, which now considers utilitarian, social and ecological aspects, will continue to develop by creating new paradigms, approaches, methods and techniques for assessing the value of nature resources in order to converge the axiological and objective values.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) has been crucial in transitioning Central and Eastern European countries from planned to market economies, facilitating technological modernisation, job creation, export performance, and regional competitiveness. However, FDI alone cannot solve economic development challenges; effective policies are essential for leveraging FDI as a catalyst for economic catch-up. This paper aims to derive economic policy lessons for emerging economies through a critical assessment of the Bulgarian experience in attracting FDI. It employs a methodological approach that combines quantitative analysis of key FDI indicators with qualitative evaluation of the policy landscape. Since the end of the 1990s, Bulgaria has secured macroeconomic and political stability as an important precondition for FDI, applying an open-door policy for foreign investors without strategic targeting. The country's accession to the European Union in 2007 further enhanced its investment appeal. Nevertheless, the passive policy of reliance on a low tax regime and low labour costs without a strategic focus has led to unbalanced regional and unfavourable sectoral distribution with foreign investors crowding into the metropolitan area and sectors like non-tradable services and low-end manufacturing. Thereby, the Bulgarian experience, where the quantity of incoming FDI overshadowed the quality, demonstrates the insufficiency of a laissez-faire FDI strategy for maximising the benefits of FDI. The study underscores the necessity for proactive state policies in emerging economies that not only attract FDI but also ensure it fosters technological transfer and stimulates the economic potential of underdeveloped regions.

Unemployment has been a macroeconomic problem of every economy for decades, requiring a detailed analysis. The paper focuses on the sources of unemployment in the Euro Area during 2000-2021. The article aims to identify the essential cause as well as sources of unemployment during the two decades of the 21st century and whether it should be sought in the financial crisis during 2008-2014, in the short period of recovery until 2018, or during the COVID-19 period from 2019 to 2021. The analysis of unemployment in the countries of the Eurozone is conducted using the fundamental macroeconomic indicators of balance in the economy: gross domestic product (GDP), inflation, and unemployment. The methodological concept is based on usual macroeconomic relationships, and panel regression model estimates are presented in the STATA software package. The analysis results indicate the nonlinearity of the Phillips curve and Okun’s law during the analysed period. Deviations from theoretical concepts are significantly expressed in some sub-periods. External effects distort market mechanisms, causing large and significant differences between individual countries of the Eurozone. However, common to all sub-periods is a deflationary output gap. The gap between the current and the optimal output deepened the unemployment problems. The long-term deflationary output gap hurt the inflation rate, showing the gap between those economic theory developers and policy makers. These results can be the basis for further analysis by including more macroeconomic determinants of the economy.

Hotel industry, as a very dynamic activity within the tourism industry, applies innovations in business and develops voluntary eco-business standards for developing sustainable tourism. The paper aims to assess business excellence of hotels that are holders of the international eco-certificate Green Key in Serbia, a country in the Western Balkan region, by using the BEX model. The study reviews and presents the current situation when it comes to implementation and valorisation of eco-principles and standards in hotel business in Serbia, while examining their business excellence, as well as the opportunities for better positioning in the international tourism market. The research results show that the examined companies do not have poor ranks of business excellence. It is recommended for these hotels to continue with the current business while implementing innovations in sustainable business in order to improve business results. By monitoring the value of the BEX index, it is possible to avoid business risks, while expanding eco-awareness and implementing sustainable business policies, which would help hotel companies improve their business.

While agglomeration effects are an essential element of the economic environment determining the decision-making on the capacity allocation and implementation of infrastructure projects, their impact in the East of Russia is questioned. Development conditions of Novosibirsk oblast can have a contradictory effect on agglomeration forces. The paper aims to obtain quantitative estimates of the impact of agglomeration effects on enterprise performance by analysing the SPARK-Interfax database for 2019. To this end, the visualisation of the spatial distribution of the sample data, average output and profit characteristics was performed. Additionally, the econometric analysis of the influence of agglomeration factors on enterprise performance was conducted. As a result, the microeconomic analysis showed a statistically significant impact of agglomeration effects on the productivity of firms in Novosibirsk oblast. A two-fold increase in the distance to the regional capital leads to a reduction in output and profitability of enterprises by 3.5 %. This finding supports the development and implementation of private and public infrastructure projects. The analysis demonstrated a higher differentiation of profit indicators in cities, as well as a significant drop in performance and efficiency of companies located in the immediate neighbourhood of the regional capital. The revealed patterns characterising the heterogeneous functioning of Novosibirsk economy can be considered by regional and local authorities when making decisions to support and develop business.

Place branding became a part of regional development processes; therefore, regional conditions could affect the place branding success. Nevertheless, studies on place branding success are mostly focused on management issues, and the role of regional conditions is yet to be revealed. In this regard, the paper aims to explore how regional economic (including social and spatial) conditions affect the results of place branding activity. We assumed that regional conditions have a certain impact on place branding activities, yielding better or worse place brands survival, which we treated as the fact of observable place brand attributes continuing to exist. To test this hypothesis, a survival analysis on brands of 15 Russian regions was performed for the period from 2010 to 2021. Using the Kaplan-Meier method, we examined the impact of seven variables on place brands survival. The obtained findings confirm the positive impact on brands survival of such variables as gross regional product (GRP) per capita, regional investment, and migration attractiveness. The following variables have a negative impact: unemployment rate, the adjacency to regions already having place brands. Additionally, place brands of regions with administrative centres in smaller cities have a better survival rate than the ones with bigger cities. Finally, the impact of change of the federal subject’s head on survival was not confirmed. Thus, the present article contributes to place branding studies by unveiling the influence of regional conditions on place branding outputs and extends the methods of place branding research by using the survival analysis.

Analysis of statistics at the micro-level shows that the development trends of a large number of resident entrepreneurial structures of industrial parks are characterised by adverse dynamics. Accordingly, assessment of the performance of entrepreneurial structures and improvement of their management models in the general system of industrial parks become more relevant. This paper presents a methodological approach to the construction of a spatial-rating assessment of the performance of entrepreneurial structures in the system of industrial parks functioning. As a result, two groups of Russian regions were identified, among which a potential resident, when making a decision on the placement of production facilities, can choose a region taking into account its investment attractiveness and industrial activity. Two discriminant groups of industrial parks were determined, the condition of which can be defined as economically inefficient and efficient, by evaluating parks with low and high values of the park rating level in terms of attractiveness for external investors and resident entrepreneurial structures. The proposed methodological approach can be applied to improve the quality of decisions on the formation of differentiated strategies for sustainable development of both individual entrepreneurial structures in the system of industrial parks and their clusters, and regions as a whole. It is recommended for both enterprises and industrial parks when making decisions on the formation of strategies and development scenarios, as well as for federal and regional authorities when designing documents for the territorial development on the strategic and tactical level.

For years, income inequality and its sources have remained the focus of attention of many researchers. The present article aims to expand and update the knowledge concerning the dimensions of household income inequality in European countries. The paper focuses on the association between the educational attainment and income inequality. It is hypothesised that the different level of income inequality observed in different countries can depend on the educational attainment of the society. Therefore, the main research objective of the article is to explain how the education level of the head of household affects income inequality in fourteen West-EU countries. The analysis also has two empirical aims: to assess the divergence in the mean incomes of the distinguished subgroups of households and to measure how much of the overall inequality can be attributed to the distance between these subgroups rather than to inequalities within them. To this end, the Generalised Entropy measures were applied, using the representative microdata derived from the EU Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC). The obtained results indicate that the education level has a significant impact on the income variability between households, with some differences between countries. The study also revealed that the higher proportion of people with the lowest level of education, the higher inter-group income differentiation. Moreover, the study demonstrates that most countries with a high proportion of well-educated people also show low levels of inequality at the bottom of the distribution. This suggests that income inequality could be controlled through the development of education.

The importance of human capital for economic growth is now widely recognised and has been studied extensively. However, the influence of human capital on economic growth of Kazakhstan has not yet been studied fully enough. In particular, to the best of the knowledge, there are no studies that use various approximations of human capital and utilise both direct and indirect approaches. Using educational and health indicators, this paper tests empirically how human capital influences economic growth of Kazakh regions over the period 1994-2019 both as a production function and through total factor productivity (TFP). The analysis revealed that human capital is insignificant as a production factor but has significant indirect effect on the TFP growth rate. The latter is realised through the ability to imitate and introduce new technologies from outside rather than through the domestic innovation. The scientific novelty of this research is as follows. Firstly, it uses both educational and health approximations of human capital. Secondly, it studies how human capital influences economic growth of the Kazakh regions both directly as a production factor and indirectly through TFP. Thirdly, it checks for the presence of spatial dependence in data across Kazakhstan regions. Fourthly, it constructs average years of schooling data across the regions of the country. The results of the study are important for designing policies to increase economic growth of the country and its regions. As a further development of this work, it seems interesting to use other approximations of human capital.

Urbanisation led to the establishment of infrastructure-complex territories (ICTs). The growing interaction between critical infrastructures in such territories, combined with an increase in the frequency and scale of natural disasters, caused a surge in intersystem accidents (ISA). ISAs are characterised by cascading processes and catastrophic consequences for regional socio-economic development, since they affect both the critical infrastructure and environment. The paper aims to classify intersystem accidents in infrastructure-complex territories, as well as to assess the adaptive resilience of these areas to external influences. An examination of available statistics on domestic and foreign intersystem accidents demonstrated the importance of the issue and allowed us to identify common features of ISAs. The research analysed various approaches to the classification of territories and their adaptive resilience to external influences, showing that the existing classifications mostly do not consider infrastructure-complex territories and the possibility of intersystem accidents. Based on the analysis of statistical data and simulation of cascade failures and emergencies, the article proposes a new approach to the classification of intersystem accidents in infrastructure-complex territories. The scale of economic and social consequences, location of the accident, structure of the development of emergency processes, and other classification features were used. The proposed classification will help simulate emergencies, develop methods for assessing the consequences and resistance of infrastructure-complex territories to external influences, and, subsequently, increase adaptive resilience and economic efficiency of regional development. Further research will be aimed at predicting the development of ISAs and assessing the resulting damage in accordance with the proposed classification.

The reform of the Polish education system (both lower and higher education) that was carried out in recent years has shown the need to improve the efficiency of schools. Therefore, it is reasonable to analyse and evaluate the efficiency of educational centres before implementing reforms. Educational units influence the development of human capital, which should translate into an increase in the wealth of a given region. To our knowledge, there is a lack of research on the technical efficiency of the primary, secondary and tertiary education systems in particular Polish voivodeships. Therefore, the aim of this paper was to present the results of studies on the efficiency of the three levels of the Polish education sector in 2016. The non-radial Slack-Based Directional Distance Function (SBDDF) model, which belongs to the nonparametric Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) method, was used to test the efficiency. The number of teachers employed in particular voivodeships, as well as the number of schools and universities were assumed as inputs. The number of pupils and students was assumed as outputs. We hypothesise that there is a positive correlation between the efficiency of the education system and the labour market economic indicators in the province. The hypothesis was verified positively as the findings showed that the higher the education system efficiency indicator in a given voivodeship, the greater the number of the SME sector companies per 10,000 inhabitants, the higher the gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita and the lower the percentage of the unemployed in the region. The study results may be of use to various groups of stakeholders, in particular, employees of ministries responsible for the functioning of primary, secondary and tertiary education.

Currently, digitalisation of public life is one of the most important external challenges that requires active adaptation of the population to new realities. Russia has been quite successfully implementing digital technologies, ranking in the middle of various world ratings. However, Russian regions significantly differ in terms of the population adaptation to digital technologies. We hypothesise that adaptation speed depends on demographic characteristics of the regional population. In this regard, the paper aims to develop a methodology and tools for assessing the adaptation of the population of Russian regions to digital technologies. The study employs data of a sample observation on the state of the information society in 2014–2020 obtained from the Federal State Statistics Service. Methods of statistical, cartographic, factor and regression analysis, as well as the econometric estimates conducted in the R software environment were used. Constructed econometric models show that gender and place of residence (urban or rural settlement) are the most important adaptation factors in Russian regions. In particular, urban women more actively use the Internet for shopping, while urban women and rural men use it to receive public services. Active acquisition of digital competencies by the population reduces the importance of some barrier factors (restrictions), such as the cost of connection (Internet connection becomes a basic need) and the lack of skills. While the identified effects differ in magnitude, they are significant for almost all Russian regions. The developed research methodology can be applied in future studies to analyse other aspects of social and economic adaptation of the regional population to current challenges. The findings can be used for justifying and implementing the public policy measures, in particular, the national project “Digital Economy”.

The present paper reviews the scientific research on key global demographic megatrends such as population ageing and migration that have a significant long-term impact on social and economic development. However, attitudes towards these demographic trends and their consequences range from seeing them as security threats to development opportunities. This review systematises demographic studies and identifies the most promising scientific areas to explain a wide range of consequences and propose relevant recommendations. Thus, a research algorithm was constructed in order to complete the following three tasks: (1) to analyse and classify the consequences of the described demographic trends for social and economic development; (2) to conduct a comparative analysis of such sources of filling the labour shortage in Russian regions as stimulating labour participation of pensioners and facilitating the access of foreigners to the labour market; (3) to identify literature gaps that require further attention. To create a database, keywords «population ageing» and «population migration» were searched in the main collections of Web of Science, Scopus and Russian Index Science Citation (RISC). The survey showed that ageing and migration do not hinder economic growth and well-being of the population. However, these demographic processes require effective policy development to comprehensively solve economic and social issues, as well as the problems of the elderly population and migrants. Therefore, ageing and migration should rather be seen as opportunities for territorial development, while poor adaptability of existing institutions to these processes is what threatens economic security. The conducted study shows that the problem of institutions’ adaptation to modern demographic trends is not fully examined in scientific literature and requires further investigation.

Nowadays, the influence of negative factors on the fiscal system has been strengthening at both the country and regional levels. In particular, income differentiation and fiscal capacity are increasing, inflation rate exceeds the target, negative trends of growing household debt and enterprise unprofitability are observed. Such factors are not fully considered by existing diagnostic methodologies for analysing fiscal and economic security indicators and threats. Thus, in order to adjust stabilisation decisions and implement relevant fiscal policies, it is necessary to update these approaches, especially in regions. The paper examines key definitions of threats and risks to regional fiscal security and presents the author’s classification of threats according to the incidence. Based on the analysed approaches to threat assessment and a proposed diagnostic mechanism, the research developed a method for diagnosing threats to regional fiscal security by bringing the actual values of indicators to standardised points. In addition, to determine the danger level of threats, indicator values were distributed by security zones. The suggested methodology, which includes 12 indicators, was used to analyse the fiscal security of the Komi Republic. As a result, significant threats to the regional fiscal security were identified in the economic, budget, tax, investment, innovation, price, banking, corporate and social spheres. Baseline data were obtained from Federal State Statistics Service, Federal Customs Service of Russia, Federal Taxation Service of Russia and the Bank of Russia. The proposed methodology is an effective diagnostic tool for analysing threats to fiscal security on the basis of important regional indicators. Federal and local authorities can use this particular method for monitoring regional fiscal systems.

There are numerous studies on different aspects of the impact of hydrocarbon production on Russian economy. Nevertheless, direct and indirect effects of reserve reproduction on social and economic development of oil-producing regions have been insufficiently assessed, even though it differs due to various macroeconomic processes and existing state mechanisms of subsoil use. The present paper examines the upstream sector of the petroleum industry comprising hydrocarbon exploration and production. The research hypothesis states that an imbalance in subsoil use results in growing inequality of socio-economic development of Russian regions, while the expansion of geological exploration work will reduce this effect. The study analyses the influence of geological exploration, leading to an increase in oil reserves and oil production, on gross regional product (GRP) per capita and personal income. For that purpose, the analysis was performed based on statistical data on five regions of the Russian Federation using the Cobb-Douglas production functions. According to the results obtained for blocks of the proposed regression model, Russian regions were divided into clusters in terms of the input effect on expected results. Overall, the influence of oil production on GRP per capita and average income is more significant compared to an increase in oil reserves. Moreover, the impact of the upstream sector in Tomsk oblast is stronger than in other constituent entities of the Russian Federation. The existing regional imbalance in social-economic development depends on not only available natural capital and tax relief system in subsoil management, but also differences in economic development and the role of petroleum industry in the analysed regions. In the context of recession, the expansion of geological exploration is required to increase natural capital that would provide the income many times higher than investments at the upswing of the cycle. The study results can be used for petroleum industry management in the field of geological exploration to justify the use of financial and fiscal incentives.

Satisfaction with working time gains increasing importance in the context of changing sphere of work, spread-out of flexible forms of employment, digitalisation and telework in the recent times of the Covid-19 pandemic. The paper focuses on the factors associated with satisfaction with working time in European countries before the pandemic based on data from the European Quality of Life Survey (2016). The study serves as a basis for further comparison of the trend in working time satisfaction in the pre-pandemic period across Europe and the recent period of increasing flexibilisation of work, digitalisation and spread-out of distant employment. For this purpose, descriptive statistical analyses and two-level random intercept model for binary responses are applied. The results show that women report higher satisfaction with working time compared to men. Satisfaction significantly increases after the age of 40. The number of children and the presence of children below the age of 6 in the household are negatively associated with satisfaction with working time. Satisfaction is positively associated with income and education. Structural conditions, such as economic development measured by gross domestic product (GDP), influence Europeans’ working time satisfaction. In the Balkan countries, satisfaction with working time is the lowest, while in the North-Western societies the highest percentage of workers are satisfied with working time before the Covid-19 pandemic.

Recent inclusion of the issue of economy decarbonization in the global agenda has been affecting social and political priorities. To lower greenhouse gas emissions, Russian economy has to reduce anthropogenic emissions and maximise the carbon sequestration potential of national forests. The paper demonstrates that Russian forest ecosystems compensate for more than a quarter (almost 27 %) of anthropogenic emissions. However, due to the absence of a reliable, time-tested forest inventory system in Russia, as opposed to leading countries, it is difficult to ensure the sustainable use of forest resources and full accounting of greenhouse gas absorption by forests. The research analyses systemic measures to improve the absorptive capacity of Russian forests as a key element of the mechanism for compensating industrial greenhouse gas emissions, since the global expert community should recognise the contribution of these forests to the global climate change mitigation. Potential economic benefits of increasing the carbon-absorbing capacity of forests are assessed at the regional level. The example of Irkutsk oblast shows that the calculated effect of the analysed measures can amount to 6–7 dollars/ha at the current price of carbon credits; full implementation of these measures in the region can bring up to 480 million US dollars annually, net of expenses. The research proposes to ensure the necessary quality and completeness of data of the State Forest Registry by integrating remote and ground-based field measurements. It is also suggested to enhance institutional and investment support to state forest conservation initiatives, including in the framework of the National Project “Ecology” and forest-climate projects based on public-private partnerships. These measures should be included in the reform of public policy in the field of forest management.

Global climate change threatens the continued existence of mankind. The rate of warming in Russia, which is 2.5 times higher than the rate of growth of the global average temperature, can lead to huge environmental and financial losses. Thus, it is increasingly necessary to modernise and develop methods and tools for adaptive regulation of national climate policy to increase its efficiency at the regional and federal levels. To this end, the methods of content analysis, grouping, modelling, comparative and correlation analysis, as well as an information asymmetry approach were used in the research. The paper substantiates the necessity of a transition from autarky and directionality to the integration of regions and the federation based on adaptation and preventive measures. The periodic assessment of climate change and relevant contributing factors should be replaced by the continuous management and regional monitoring of climate risks. Stressing the importance of transparency and comparability of information on climate risks, the research distinguished anthropogenic risks, risks of reducing the quality of life and moral climate risks. In order to promote climate preservation, an organisational and economic mechanism for the implementation of climate policy was developed, whose main function is the regional environmental management. Assessment of the decoupling effect and ranking of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation in terms of the relationship between energy intensity and climate intensity proved the feasibility of using the proposed indicators to increase the efficiency of the organisational and economic mechanism. Regulatory and financial support for the mechanism can be provided by introducing a quota market, green certificates and bonds, insurance and risk hedging strategies based on a scenario approach and online-management models. The research results can be used for the digitalisation of national climate policy, as well as for the development of regional and municipal climate strategies, programmes, projects.

Sustainable development was chosen by the United Nations as the key concept of the future in the 21st century, which led to the emergence of other economic concepts, such as green and blue economy, seen as contributing to the achievement of sustainable development goals (SDGs). In Russia, despite the ongoing processes of green transformation in some economic sectors and certain improvements in the green legislation and green finance, not all businesses and regions are ready to embrace sustainable development. This paper discusses two interconnected aspects of regional economic systems — their economic efficiency and environmental impact. The analysis focuses on the regions of the Ural Federal District and explores these regions’ transition to sustainable development by looking at their eco-intensity. Methodologically, the study relies on the methods of analysis and synthesis, statistical, comparative and causal analysis. Conceptually, we use the theoretical framework of sustainable development as a point of departure for our discussion. The results have shown, on the one hand, a decrease in the industrial pressure on the natural environment, related primarily to the enhanced resource efficiency of certain industries. On the other hand, less effort is now invested into minimising the negative impact on the environment in Ural regions. We have also identified those areas of sustainable development that hold most promise in the Russian context. Our findings can serve as a basis for the strategies of regional sustainable development and may be used for further research on socio-environmental and economic sustainability.