Search

The article reveals the results of the economic evaluation of the performance of regional timber industry complex of the NorthWestern Federal District based on the calculation of the structural indicator. The position and the role of forestry in the economy are shown. A comparative assessment of the characteristics of the regional forestry: volume of shipped products, industrial structure, product diversification, deep processing of wood is carried out. Structural economic performance timber for each subject Northwestern Federal District is designed the following factors that determine the high effectiveness of the system: the scale pulp and paper, wood diversification, export products are identified. The important methodological significance is the fact that the use of structural indicators will determine not only the effectiveness of forestry regions North-West in general, but their industries: forestry, woodworking, pulp and paper production, and the level of labor productivity and capital productivity. The presented results are of high practical and methodological value to determine the current state of forestry.

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.

Land degradation is a widely discussed and pressing global issue, as highlighted in the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Understanding the extent of land degradation and its impact on agriculture requires precise research and an interdisciplinary approach due to the complexity of factors and indicators that characterize the issue. This paper focuses on one of Russia’s key agricultural regions, Samara Oblast, to examine how land degradation of agricultural soils affects crop production at the farm level. The dataset used in the study includes farm inputs (costs, land, and labour) and land quality variables, such as organic content (humus), levels of land degradation and soil erosion, as well as climate indicators, at the municipal level. To analyse the relationship between land degradation and agricultural output, the stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) was employed. This method not only estimates the parameters of a classic production function but also accounts for errors in the model by evaluating parameters related to risk and technical inefficiency. The results indicate that the proportion of degraded land in a district of the given region moderately reduces the maximum potential for crop production. In contrast, most inputs—such as production costs, cropland area, and labour—contribute positively to output. The study suggests that both the method and the estimates could be refined if data on land degradation, alongside other economic and environmental indicators, were collected and published annually.

An increase in fixed capital investments is necessary for accelerating the growth of the Russian regions and the economy as a whole and requires increased financial resources. The paper considers the possibility of increasing financial resources of regional companies by attracting additional debt financing. The proposed methodology determines the potential demand for debt financing, considering the performance requirements ensuring financial stability. The paper analyses how an increase in debt financing influences credit rating of a company as well as the cost of debt financing attraction. Unlike other works, this paper considers the debt capital structure of companies. Additionally, the study proposes a methodology for identifying changes in the coefficient of interest coverage (that affects credit rating of companies) depending on various debt financing structures. The application of the developed methodology allowed determining the potential increase in debt financing, which is necessary for the investment of regional companies. Debt financing can increase by 1.7 times (43.5 trillion roubles) in Russia in general, 1.4 times in the Sverdlovsk region, 2 times in the Tyumen region, and 1.6 times in the Chelyabinsk region. There are no opportunities to increase debt financing in the Kurgan region. A reduction in interest rates on loans to non-financial companies allows expanding debt financing of the Russian economy without lowering the credit rating. The study results can be used to determine the potential demand for debt financing from companies, industries, regions and the economy as a whole. Further research may consider the validity of the policy of high interest rates on loans to non-financial companies for achieving high economic growth.

This paper attempts to explore economic performance in countries of the former Soviet Union since their transition to a market system based on the World Bank data for the period from 1993 to 2016. The first part of the study is related to estimating proximate sources of economic growth within the standard growth accounting framework. Results indicate that under the period of study capital accumulation was the primary engine for growth in the post-Soviet region. Total factor productivity (TFP) growth rates were modest ranging from 1.15 % for Uzbekistan and 0.77 % for Belarus to −1.83 % for Turkmenistan and −1.20 % for Latvia accordingly. In the second part of the paper we analyse productivity level across all former Soviet republics by decomposing differences in output per worker into differences in capital intensity and productivity for the year 2016. Compared to Russia, a frontier for the analysis, nearly all former Soviet republics demonstrated a lower level of productivity. Some countries of the region such as Georgia, Kyrgyz Republic and Turkmenistan have extremely high capital intensity. Productivity in Russia was about 14 times higher than productivity in Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan. Despite the fact that more than two decades passed since the transition to a market system the Soviet legacy of aggregate production did not experience notable changes.

In Russia, increasing amounts of municipal solid waste (MSW) accompanied by environmental degradation have recently led to changes in legislation. Their main goal is to reduce landfilling, to increase utilisation, to introduce the principle of extended producer responsibility (EPR). These are first steps towards a circular economy. The main purpose of the paper is to study how to improve the efficiency of Russian MSW management using circular economy criteria. The study relies on methods such as systemic analysis and synthesis, comparison and generalisation, stakeholder analysis. The detailed analysis of current MSW management system in Russia showed contradictions between its participants regarding the distribution of material waste streams and financing, which leads to difficulties in EPR principle implementation and to possible problems in achieving the goals of the entire MSW management system. According to its current design, recycling receives maximum government support, opposite to reuse and prevention of waste: companies involved in these activities are still outside the scope of MSW management system, and the authors recommend considering their legislative inclusion in it. The critical analysis of Russia’s EPR design compared with EU experience showed problems such as low environmental fees, low utilisation standards and the lack of households’ involvement, which makes EPR design inefficient. The current regulations may help divert some waste from landfills to utilisation and recycling, but beyond that the incentives do not yet correspond to those required for implementing the EPR principle and a circular economy. Consequently, the paper provides recommendations for amending this, which can be used by decision makers at the federal level to improve MSW management system and increase its efficiency.

Implementing the Strategy of Spatial Development of the Russian Federation involves various regional policy measures and requires choosing the most appropriate tools. The issue gains importance in case of combining the search for additional sources of growth with an integrated system for assessing the efficiency of the existing measures. Admittedly, such system in the Russian Federation is still in its formation. Therefore, in order to implement public policy, it is crucial to critically analyse the most significant aspects of the methodology for assessing the efficiency. The concept of «efficiency», apart from efficiency itself, includes he performance, impact, and usability of the tool. The assessment of the efficiency varies in different countries, as it is not a single practice that can be applied regardless of geographical and historical context. The paper substantiates the idea that the assessment of the efficienc y includes th e examinatio n o f social , cultura l an d politica l elements . The assessment is a flexi ble management tool, not just an instrument demonstrating the reduction of regional differences. Drawing on the principles of spatial hierarchy, the paper suggests assessing the efficiency of regional policy tools at the macro-, meso- and micro-regional levels. The assessment focuses on solving four large classes of applied problems: provision of public goods, forms of the spatial organisation of the economy, implementation of regional and macro-regional programs, and the development of large projects. The characteristics of the assessment of the efficiency depend on the choice of either endogenous or exogenous growth theory. Additionally, the assessment of the efficiency of a variety of programs (multi-criteria evaluation) specifically differs from the assessment of individual programs of spatial development. It is advisable to consider the practice of assessment in a broader context, not just as a task of financial and management control. The research findings can be used for creating an integrated system that provides feedback, organises the consequences of regional policies and the effects of achieving national development goals.

The business environment is one of the factors that affect the performance and growth of firms. The business environment is a set of conditions that affect the state of the economy. This paper examines how improvement of the business environment influences strengthening of the economy in the selected countries of western Asia (23 countries) by using panel data method for the period from 2010 to 2017. In other words, we hypothesise that the business environment positively and significantly affects strengthening of the economy in these countries. The paper aims to examine the explanatory variables of strengthening of the economy. The dependent variable is the sum of budget deficit and the facilities of financial and credit institutions to the state budget minus the tax revenue to the state budget. The independent variables are business index, good governance index, economic misery index, foreign direct investment, gross fixed capital formation, government expenditures and population growth. The research findings indicate that the business environment has a positive and significant impact on strengthening of the economy. Thus, in order to strengthen the economy in the considered countries, we suggest using some approaches facilitating the business environment, particularly for productive sectors of the economy, focused on generating productive employment.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are not sufficiently developed in Russia, which is largely due to significant gap between the wages of SMEs employees and the wages of workers from other enterprises. Thus, it is essential to examine factors that influence the wages of SMEs workers. The study assesses the influence of various regional socio-economic factors on the wages of employees in small and medium-sized enterprises. The considered factors include the unemployment rate, income of inhabitants, and regional budget expenditures. The paper investigates the relationship between the average monthly wage of SMEs employees and subsistence level in each region. The model uses the official statistics for 82 Russian regions obtained in 2015. The assessed three-factor power regression model describes the dependence of the average monthly wage on specific indicators of the unemployment rate of economically active population, average monthly income, budget expenditures per inhabitant in each region. The density function of normal distribution was used to analyse the ratio of wages of SMEs employees to the regional subsistence level. The article demonstrates a link between wages of SMEs employees and the three studied factors, proving that wages increase with a decrease in unemployment rate and growth of inhabitants’ income and budget expenditures. This fact indicates the high quality of the corresponding regression model. The conducted analysis shows that the wages of SMEs workers significantly differ in various regions of the Russian Federation. The paper proposes tools for assessing wages in SMEs and identifying low-wage regions, which eventually can ensure enterprise development. Further research aims to consider wages in small and medium-sized enterprises belonging to different economic sectors.

Nowadays, the technological factor plays an increasingly important role in the development of the global labour market. The widespread introduction of automation in the production of goods and services decreases the demand for labour and increases structural unemployment. Undoubtedly, such trends will affect the demand for labour in the Russian labour market. The paper measures the demand of the Russian economy for foreign labour force in the context of innovations, increase in the technological factor, and transition to the digital society. The Russian Federation is a world leader in terms of the total number of foreign workers in the labour market. However, in terms of labour productivity in the national economy, Russia lags far behind developed countries. In this regard, it is necessary to consider how further technological development and growth of labour productivity will influence the demand for external labour force. The statistical analysis of time-series, extrapolation and modelling allowed forecasting the dynamics of gross domestic product (GDP) and the growth of labour productivity until 2030, as well as determining the supply and demand balance in the Russian labour market. The paper demonstrates two prognostic models assuming that the average annual growth rate of the Russian GDP will either remain 2.6 % (the first model) or gradually increase from 2.5 % to 3.5 % (the second model). The research results show that, in the next decade, the demand for foreign labour will significantly decrease. Th e obtaine d findin gs can be used f or creati ng vario us scenari os f or the developme nt of regional labour markets, as well as transformation of regional social and migration policies.

The transition to digital economy based on new technologies becomes one of the main tools of innovative technological development in Russia. This research examines the means for implementing digital technologies that effectively enable rapid innovative development of the Russian economy. I hypothesise it is necessary to develop a methodological system of techniques and algorithms of artificial intelligence filling neural networks of digital technologies for managing finance in the conditions of uncertainty and risk. A wide variety of methods was used in the study, including dialectic and integrated approaches, fundamental economic laws, deductive and inductive methods, statistical comparisons, descriptive methods of analysis. Moreover, I apply such methodologies as the theory of constraints (TOC), methods of lean manufacturing, Kanban-methods as a tool of IT-management, scrum methodology for software development, and other. The statistical and empirical data confirm the validity of the conclusions and results. The paper considers how to create capital in the form of innovative products and technologies in the digital environment. As a result, the study has revealed relations between digital technologies and engineering account, economic analysis, material production, highly skilled creative work, environmental protection, and sustainable development. The article explains how to include automated information and analytical functions for the compensation and generation of missing information into digital technologies. The transition from the database to the knowledge base, which fills neural networks with the artificial intelligence, provides the generation of management decisions and sustainable innovative development in the conditions of uncertainty and risk. The paper recommends currencies for digital payments. I conclude that applying the suggested recommendations is necessary for providing digital technologies with the algorithms of extraction and implementation of knowledge from the data asset, as well as for compensating for the missing information, generating information flows, and making decisions in the conditions of uncertainty and risk. The research can be of use for PhD students, doctoral students, scholars and practitioners in the field of economy.

The study aims to systematise the existing methodological approaches to assessing the development of smart cities, elaborated by a number of international institutions (organizations). Moreover, it identifies characteristics of the assessment and possibilities of its application in the Russian context. We considered the fundamentals of a smart city’s development as our research object. Methodological approaches to assessing the development of smart cities are our research subject. We analysed scientific research, published in the periodical press, as well as the results of the authors’ study on the digitization processes of socio-economic systems, the principles of the urban environment’s digitization, and the urban development’s fundamentals based on the smart city’s concept. The research method is a logical analysis of modern approaches to assessing the development of smart cities. The paper identifies and analyses the main characteristics and conditions for the effective functioning of smart cities. We consider a model of the development levels of a smart city. Furthermore, we demonstrate the importance of cooperation among stakeholders in the field of the urban environment’s development, as it creates new opportunities and ensures the long-term viability of smart cities’ projects. We note that one of the most important factors in the development of smart cities is the increment in human capital of their inhabitants. Lifelong learning and advanced training are becoming a condition for the development of modern socio-economic systems. The dominant role of highly-skilled creative work becomes the determining factor for the development of a new type of society and its inherent economy. In the paper, we have described and systemized the main approaches to assessing the development of smart cities. We have formulated a number of principles for constructing a methodology for assessing smart cities. The study has theoretical relevance due to the development of approaches to assessing the development of smart cities. The practical significance of the research lies in shaping possible future studies of rational economic management in the context of the digital society.

Models of governance of higher education in large and heterogeneous countries with numerous universities significantly differ from approaches to coordinating universities in unitary states. The research literature still lacks in-depth analysis of these differences. At the same time, achievement of national goals for the higher education’s development in federal countries requires an effective model for the distribution of responsibilities between government’s federal and regional levels. The paper studies the structure of a model of federal-regional relations in higher education in the Russian Federation. For this purpose, I consider the history and preconditions for shaping the model of federalism in higher education. Additionally, I examine the present balance of federal and regional powers in governance of higher education. The article analyses the structure of federalism in higher education in the Russian Federation in comparison with eight countries characterised by heterogeneous regional higher education systems. The study’s results have shown that Russian model of federalism in higher education remains one of the most centralised among comparable countries. Budget and tax policies are the prerogatives of the federal government, as the regions have limited opportunities to influence the development of universities, including restrictions on co-financing the federal universities. The model of governance of higher education in Russia is based on the principle of “pragmatic” federalism. This principle implies that the balance of federal-regional relations should solve specific problems facing the country in general, not individual regions. Based on the analysis, the paper suggests directions for changing the balance of federal-regional relations in higher education. They involve the expansion of the principle of subsidiarity between levels of government, with the preservation of the majority of powers at the federal level. Governance of regional higher education systems should enable concentration of federal and regional resources on certain university programs and development projects.

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.

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.

Vietnam is building the market economy while still determining development plans as important tools for managing and operating the economy. In response to the challenges posed by economic globalization, the Vietnamese government has established the necessity to promote the macro economic analysis and forecasting for ensuring the government’s policy-making and socio-economic development planning. A macro-econometric model for medium-term socio-economic development planning in Vietnam was built and called the Vietnam’s model. This paper answers the following questions: which key applications can be implemented using the model? What is the model’s quality of forecasts? The paper briefly presents how to forecast using the model. Then, I demonstrate how to synthesise, validate, balance and combine the model’s forecasts implemented by the ministries and provincial authorities, and with application of judgemental methods. I establish the ways to build baseline and target forecast scenarios. The paper shows how the model can evaluate shocks and economic policies. Additionally, I demonstrate how to adjust planned target indicators in the process of implementing the medium-term socio-economic development plan. The article also evaluates the accuracy of the model’s ex-ante forecasts. Finally, I apply the model’s ex-ante forecasts for producing the official forecasts for building the Socio-Economic Development Plan (SEDP) at national scope for the period from 2016 to 2020.

The article examines the development trends and influence of the big business on the world and Russian economies. The paper describes the dynamics of the main indicators of big business development via indicators of the total revenue, capitalization, foreign economic activity. In this research, I determine the contribution of the various components to the formation of gross domestic product (GDP) in different world regions, particularly in the USA, China and Russia. The dynamics of the indicators reflecting big business’ development, and positive and negative sides of the business’ monopolization is analysed. Special attention is paid to explore the emerging centres of scientific, technological, and economic power (primarily in South-East Asia). Furthermore, the paper analyses the newly formed mechanisms and toolset for stimulating the big business’ development such as tax and amortization benefits and privileges that lead to reducing the business’ tax burden. The research shows the internal and external factors, including political ones, which either stimulate or hinder the development of big business in various world regions. The analysis of the business activity of the 500 largest world and American corporations and 400 largest Russian companies illustrates the dynamics of the big business’ development in the leading regions of the world including the USA, China and Russia through. This analysis has revealed how much big business affects the development of the world economic relations. The obtained results can be used for developing the scenarios of the advancement of the Russian economy. Additionally, they can be applied for assessing the potential and real opportunities for the big business to increase the main development indicators and discover the possibilities for stimulating the country’s economic growth.

The research is aimed at developing and testing a methodology for analyzing demographic potential of Russian regions. The initial data are the regional official Russian statistics indicators. We proposed an approach for assessing the demographic potential based on a differentiated analysis of its quantitative and qualitative components. The paper presents the developed methodology for estimating the demographic potential, combining multidimensional data classification (fuzzy clustering) and expert assessments. Application of the proposed methodology revealed five specific models in the demographic space of Russia. The first model combines a low level of quantitative components of the demographic potential with a high level of its quality. The second model is characterized by average levels of both components. In the third model, an average level of the quantitative component is accompanied by a rather low level of the demographic potential’s quality. The fourth model combines a high level of quantitative component of the demographic potential with an imbalance of its quality indicators, and the fifth — a high level of both components. We have obtained estimates for the quantitative and qualitative components of the demographic potential for each region and rated them. This has allowed identifying “anchor”-regions and “driver-regions, as well as regions with the most and least balanced assessments of the two components. The paper shows the potential application of the developed methodology. In particular, this methodology allows identifying groups of regions, which need the implementation of specific measures for increasing the quantity and improving the quality of the demographic potential. The most significant limitation of the developed methodology is the lack of a complete set of indicators in the official Russian statistics for assessing the demographic potential. Future research will be aimed at applying fuzzy clustering methods to various demographic phenomena, since this approach takes into account the natural uncertainty, which is typical for such processes and, therefore, makes the results of demographic analysis more formalized and valid.

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.

The purpose of the study is to systematize the challenges of the public economic security in the context of the development of global digitalization. The paper shows that the priority task of economic security, particularly notable in the rapidly changing conditions of today’s globalized world, is to predict the challenges and threats of general digitalization. We have highlighted the features of the digital economy development, which include the intellectual assets, the increase of the relevance of data, network management, wide Internet penetration as well as global data exchange. In the conditions of the digital economy, we have grouped the issues of economic security on system, structural and sectoral problems, as well as the problems of enterprises and individuals. The main problems of economic security are the issues of «digital inequality», a lack of own element base, changes in the labour market, industrial intelligence, personal data manipulation, etc. We have found tools for solving the issues of digital society. These tools include digital platforms for the development of «shared economy», as well as cloud technologies and methods for processing large databases. The Network Readiness Index is a tool for monitoring the development of network digital society. We have formulated the principles for constructing systems for the development of skills, which allow solving the problems of the public economic security in the conditions of digitalization. These principles include the rational use of resources combining short-term and long-term development goals, lifelong learning, consistency, unified approach to management at different levels as well as involvement stakeholders in the process of digitalization. The results of this paper can be useful to public authorities for the development of the principles of digital economy management, as well as to the representatives of scientific community for the study of the economic security issues in the conditions of digital society development.

The research of the factors of emigration from Russia taking into account regional features is a relevant topic for modern Russia. Despite essential emigration decrease of Russians, in comparison with the 1990th, a problem remains critical. Along with general tendencies, in the regions of Russia, a wide range of factors determining the scales and directions of emigration from Russia has emerged. The identification of a role and quantitative assessment of the effect of these factors will promote the creation of more effective mechanisms for the modern migration policy of the Russian Federation. We consider the scale, dynamics and specific features of the emigration of Russians in the post-Soviet period. The paper indicates the shortcomings of statistical accounting of emigrants from the Russian Federation. Several waves of emigration have been singled out, which differ significantly in their qualitative and quantitative characteristics. Based on the analysis of the constructed indicators characterizing the emigration activity of Russians, we have revealed the peculiarities of emigration in the regions of Russia. We used the regression analysis to quantify the factors responsible for the emigration activity of the population. As initial information for the analysis, we used the official data of Federal State Statistics Service on the number of the Russian citizens who have gone abroad for 2014 considering a region as well as a number of the socio-economic indexes characterizing the level and quality of life of the population. Russians from the border regions are more likely to travel to a permanent place of residence abroad than residents of other regions of the Russian Federation. In the course of time, there was a significant expansion of the directions and channels of emigration, and the socio-demographic portrait of the emigrant has also changed. Emigration from Russia has become “younger”. To a greater extent, women are involved in emigration mainly through the marriage channel. The emigration activity of Russians is significantly influenced by several factors in the regions of current residence. Among these factors, indicators that characterize tensions in regional labour markets and those that play the role of “pushing out” are particularly noted. At the same time, the restraining factor is the proportion of the population with incomes below the subsistence level. The paper also analyses the socio-demographic and economic consequences of emigration. The results of the study can be used to improve the migration policy of the Russian Federation.

The research is focused on the evaluation of regional differences by the level of deposit risk. Deposit risk is connected with resources sustainability of regions and can constrain the transformation of attracted deposits into credit and investment resources. The literature review shows that previous works were primarily focused on deposit risks at the micro level, that is, at the level of a bank. The Bank of Russia uses the same inductive approach to assess the financial sustainability and development prospects of credit institutions at the regional and national levels. However, the execution of prudential regulations by banks, in particular, liquidity ratios, does not allow to make a precise estimation of the differences among regions in terms of deposit risk. The presence of imbalances in the territorial concentration of credit institutions can affect the volatility and cost of deposit resources. The purpose of this paper is to improve the scientific and methodological approaches for assessing deposit risk. For this purpose, we propose to use cluster methods for classifying the regions based on the revealed internal links between deposit risk indicators. In contrast to previous scientific works, we offer to use semi-dispersion for calculating the volatility of deposits. The volatility of deposits can be interpreted as a measure of adverse downside risk. Furthermore, we propose the nominal scale to distinguish the different level of deposit risk. The research results confirm that there is a nonlinear linkage between the territorial concentration of credit organizations, level of provision of regions with banking services as well as volatility of deposits at the level of regions. We have revealed that the concentration of banking business in all regions is more closely connected with the sustainability of bank resources. The scientific approach to deposit risk evaluation presented in the paper expands the system of indicators for the development of the economy of regions. This approach can be used for both the monitoring of the financial and economic development of the regions of the Russian Federation and the macroeconomic forecasting.

The regions of the Russian North occupy 70 % of the territory of the country. These areas considerably differ in the level of socio-economic development. Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug (KhMAO) — Yugra is the most developed industrial region of the Russian North. KhMAO is also the main supplier of oil and gas resources. Thus, KhMAO is the focus of the research. The purpose of the paper is to evaluate how the traditional natural resource management transforms on the developing territories and to assess its impact on the lifehoods of the Small Indigenous Peoples of the North (SIPN). The study is based on the hypothesis of the negative impact of industrial development on the territory of the traditional residence of SIPN and, accordingly, on their social and economic development and the quality of life. We have found certain intraregional distinctions of this territorial subject of the Federation. These differences are caused by the features of natural and resource potential, transport security and geographical location. It is true for both the separate municipal entities and larger territorial and administrative sub-regions. We have identified the most acute problems in the development of traditional natural resource management on the territories of active industrial and transport development. The main industries there are reindeer breeding and fishery. We also identified the problem of the northern legislation set up to protect the rights of SIPN. The paper considers the evolutionary changes in the formation of the institution of ancestral domains and the territories of traditional natural resource management, as well as the practice of coordinating the interests of subsoil users and SIPN’s representatives with the help of economic agreements. We have demonstrated the problem associated with the difficulties of social adaptation of SIPN. We have analyzed the ecological situation and current state of traditional environmental management to compare the conditions of municipal entities of the region. Using ethnic social and ecosystem approach, we have evaluated the lifehoods of SIPN in the developed and poorly developed regions of KhMAO. The results of the assessment support the hypothesis of the research. The findings of the research can be used when working out on the roadmap of the development of traditional industries and SIPN in the municipal districts of various development level.

An impact of foreign trade on national inequality levels is one of the most discussed topics both by public, politicians and academics. This paper contributes to this discussion by focusing on the role of foreign trade in the Russian Federation during its rapid economic transformation in 1990–2010. During this period, the trade-led growth model has helped to raise country-average levels of income. But simultaneously, it seemingly triggered greater inequality in income appropriation between different social groups. Looking into causality between foreign trade and this observed income disparity from the regional perspective will help us to understand the poverty problem associated with income inequality better and enhance the effectiveness of policies of the Russian government targeting income re-distribution. In particular, this research aims to answer a question whether during 1990’s–2000’s increasing openness to foreign trade was pro-poor on the regional level or not. Another point of interest is whether the distributional impact of growing foreign trade on incomes in Russian regions had been positive or negative. Several hypotheses for the Russian Federation are tested in the paper. First, higher openness to foreign trade improved income distribution in the Russian regions. Second, globalization of regions as a result of a more active foreign trade benefited individuals in the middle-income decile. This follows an idea that trade liberalization cuts living costs and raises living standards. Third, regions with larger rural population will tend to have more uneven income distribution. This follows from the neo-classical assumption that in rural areas a poverty burden tends to be larger. Active involvement in the trade of agricultural products might improve income distribution in such regions. Additionally, the share of dependent population among households must affect poverty headcount or the depth of poverty as previous studies on poverty determinants naturally suggested.

This paper tests the hypothesis on the presence of common factors in the dynamics of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) countries’ macroeconomic indicators. As the most important factor, the common dynamics of commodity prices in world markets was chosen. We identified key channels of the transmission of commodity price shocks for EAEU economies. These transmission channels include both direct transmission channels, connected with the terms of trade, and indirect channels. The latter ones include labour migration between EAEU countries, money transactions by migrants, high trade linkages between EAEU countries, and preferential pricing for energy resources. The empirical part of the paper studies the influence of commodity prices on EAEU countries’ macroeconomic indicators. We have proposed a factor autoregressive model. Based on this model, we have identified the first principal component price movements in oil, natural gas, aluminum, copper, steel, gold and wheat. The first principal component explains 75 % of oil and gas price growth rate variation, 45 % of the copper price growth rate variation, and more than 25 % of the variation of other series. Further, we used VAR model to estimate the influence of the first principal component on the EAEU countries’ GDP, consumption and investment dynamics. The results showed the significant positive effect of commodity prices growth in all EAEU members. We also revealed a number of shock transmission features. For example, price shock affected Russian economy through the income effect, while the same shock affected Armenian economy through the direct output stimulation. Our results may be useful for the coordination of the economic policy and business cycles stabilization amongst EAEU countries.

According to the Government of the Amur region, tax collection from the implementation of investment projects was tightly controlled from 2016, because of the region’s high debt load. This situation requires assessing the acceptability of the level of regional tax burden for business entities. The purpose of this paper is to develop a model for assessing the level of regional tax burden, taking into account the implementation of the largest investment projects in the territory. The main hypothesis of this paper consists, firstly, in the existence of tax burden, which is acceptable for regional economic entities. Secondly, this level of tax burden ensures the growth of fiscal revenues for the budget. We proposed to assess the level of tax burden on the basis of a three-factor linear heterogeneous production function, taking into account certain economic indicators of the largest investment project — “Construction of the Vostochny Сosmodrome”. The concept of the Laffer curve serves as a research methodology. According to our calculations, since 2011, the tax burden in the Amur region has a clear tendency to increase. At the same time, from 2007 to the present time, the tax burden exceeds its maximum permissible value and constrains economic growth in the region. If this trend continues, by 2018 tax revenues from the territory of the region will be on the verge of reduction. The obtained results show that the tax burden in the Amur region in 2017 is 16.81 %. To stimulate the activities of economic entities in the region, and as a consequence, to increase the GRP of the region, it is necessary to reduce the level of taxation by 4.77 percentage points (to 12.04 %), Thus, the current economic situation requires to change the course of regional taxation policy to a more liberal attitude towards taxpayers. Otherwise, soon the budget of the Amur region may fail to receive a part of revenues, as the region’s economic entities will not be able to meet their tax obligations in full and on time. The results of this study can be applied by the authorities of the Russian Federation and the Amur region for the development and adjustment of the main settings of tax policy.

To properly justify the priorities for the Russian Arctic Zone sustainable development is methodologically challenging for two reasons. Firstly, this challenge is due to fast changes of external and internal conditions for the development of the Arctic Zone of the Russian Federation (AZRF). Secondly, the interpretation of the concept of “sustainability” is too wide inconsistent. As the concepts of “sustainability” as well as the concept of “sustainable growth” in this wide sense are frequently used to characterize economic, social and other processes and systems, these key categories are difficult to apply as development’ targets and evaluation criteria practice of public administration in Russia. Using the case of Arctic macro-region, the paper substantiates the concept of spatial systems’ sustainability as their ability to maintain functionality under destabilizing impact of exogenous and endogenous factors. Such an ability is particularly important because of variations in structure and intensity of these negative impacts, including from climate change. Within this methodological framework, we have specified the indicators of sustainability relating to the practice of public management in the AZRF development. The paper has discussed the existing and emerging exogenous and endogenous impacts on the AZRF development sustainability. We set two priorities among the goals and objectives for ensuring the AZRF sustainable functioning under the conditions of climate. In social (socio-economic) sphere, it is necessary to maintain and improve the public health. In economic sphere, the most needed are strengthening of coherency and reliability of the transportation system, energy supplies to distant consumers, and stimulating of investment and industrial activities of the large industrial corporations.

Drastic and inclusive technology progress is changing the economy of Russia and foreign countries. This progress significantly impacts production forces. . This paper analyzes theoretical and applied approaches to the investigation of production forces development. I reveal the role and importance of innovations in science and technology as well as their impact on various segments of the economy. I analyze the conceptual framework used for technological shifts. The paper describes the indicators showing the level of scientific and technological potential development in various countries and regions including the Urals. I define growth areas in technology and assess their contribution to gross domestic product (GDP) growth. The administrations and authorities at federal and regional levels impact the development of science, innovations, technologies and breakthrough areas. The development of these spheres leads to the increase in productivity of social activities, production and business activity. The paper reveals the impact of the technological breakthrough in such latest fields as the alternative energy sources, drones, electric car industry, storage and delivery of energy. This fields transform the economy and society. Furthermore, they change theoretical concepts of functional and institutional social structure. The development paradigm is to be modified from fuel and raw model to the innovative and technological one. The economic development and scientific and technological potential are interrelated. I discuss the reason of close attention to the development of science, technologies, innovations in the developed countries. as well as the measures to stimulate their development. The article studies the mechanism and tools of science and education funding in various regions of the world. The results of the research may be used for updating the strategy of scientific and technological development of Russia and its regions in the current situation as well as for choosing necessary conceptual approaches to the development of the economy.

The paper presents the background analysis of the formation of human model in economics. in the conditions of the constantly performing development of the economic science until the neoclassic paradigm and its modifications. Among them is behavioural finance, which presents a special interest for modern researchers. The evolution of the model of making economically significant decisions in inter-temporal and essential dimensions is the subject matter of the research. We have shown that the concept of the economic human model itself is the multidimensional one. In parallel with the processes of economical, social and political changes and economic science development, the economic human model was becoming more complex and relevant for each period of time. In this regard, we followed the stages of defining the concept of “subject rationality”. The study determines the significant traits implemented by researchers to create a full and consistent human model. We demonstrate the gradual development of economists’ idea of different types of the motivation of economic agents. Along with the financial factors of motivation, the scientists begin to take into account non-financial ones. This approach can help researchers get more “humanistic” view at the economic human. The modern concept of the economic human with attention to its implicit restrictions is formed through the complication of requirements to the rationality and its components crystallization. In the paper, we characterize contribution of the domestic scientists to the development of new directions of economic theory. The research describes the role of different regional economic scientific schools in the process of the formation of the Russian behavioural finance school

A bunch of papers has been published by foreign and Russian researchers on climate change impact on the environment and regional socioeconomic development. The bulk of them is focused on analyzing drivers and impact assessments for the Arctic region characterized by the most intensive climate change worldwide. The paper puts to the fore a nontrivial issue of considering the climate change impact factor within the methodology and practice of the strategic process of the Russian Arctic redevelopment. The issue above is complicated by the imperative of ranking of the salience of the climate change socioeconomic implications as priorities of the governance and public administration of the comprehensive development of the macro-region under consideration. The lack of the effective tools for consolidation of the needed resources further exacerbates it. The summary of the findings of the national and international researchers in the area of climate change impact on environment, settlements and economic activity in the Arctic Zone of the Russian Federation (AZRF) is introduced to substantiate the policy decisions made. We have specified the methodological issues related to peculiarities and role of the climate change factor plays in policy decisions within the context of contemporary knowledge on patterns of spatial systems transformation, their capabilities of selforganization and adaptation to externalities. The authors have revealed the general regularities and specificity of the AZRF transformation as a spatial system and the impact of climate change produced on this process. We have particularly emphasized the issues of adaptation to climate change of the AZRF indigenous population whose health and economic activities experience increased risks associated with high intensiveness of the climatic fluctuations. Recommendations for using scenario (variation) approach to redesigning strategies and programs of AZRF development are substantiated

The article reveals the issues of the global character of precarization and substantiates the criteria of precarious employment taking into account its special aspects in Russian Federation. The existing variability of approaches to the definition of precarious employment and the necessity to elaborate its optimal criteria in view of features of national labour have conditioned the relevance of the research. The paper involves international and Russian research on precarity and significantly uses the results of expert survey conducted by the authors in autumn 2016. The experts have considered groups of criteria based on: labour contract term, nature of labour relations, precarious terms of work. The experts also were asked to evaluate different forms of employment in which precarity may exert. As a result of the conducted research, we have elaborated the generalized criteria, which identify various forms of instability in labour market. The authors put forward a hypothesis that the criteria of the International Labour Organization (ILO) need to be adapted to the Russian realities when determining unstable employment, and the phenomenon of precarious employment has to be defined from the point of view of the probabilistic nature of its various manifestations. Based on the results of the research, the authors have qualified the relevance of International Labour Organization’s (ILO) criteria in the Russian context. We also have substantiated the probable character of precarious employment and defined probability of precarity exertion in the flexible forms of employment. The set of precarious employment criteria is specified in accordance with Russian context: we have clarified and complemented them, and defined the probability of precarity exertion in different forms of employment. The main result of the research is the structure of criterial standards, which identifies precarious employment.The conceptual issues and findings of the paper can be used as a theoretical and methodological basis to identify the scale of precarious employment in Russia as well as to evaluate precarity exertion in individual workplace.

The article is devoted to the national economy transformations of the GCC States (Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf countries). This paper analyzes the dynamics of socio-economic development of the Gulf Group countries for the last 10 years, compares and systematizes the traditional and unique statistical data in order to prove the hypothesis that the positive dynamics was not only due to the high hydrocarbon prices on the global market but also to the successful structural transformation. The growth of the regional economy in the conditions of an almost threefold drop in world oil prices over the past three years is shown. We use systemic approach, comparative and statistical analysis. As the analysis of economic situation and development in the GCC countries at the current stage shows, all of them need to change the structure of the national economy and diversify it in order to reduce the dependence from mining industries, world prices fluctuations. This paper proposes a number of practical considerations and appropriate measures for the formation of more rational structure of the national economies, including the diversification of the sources of budget revenues through expanding industrialization; accelerating development of solid minerals and the creation of new industries using them. As Gulf States belong to the group of emerging countries and the structure of their national economies is similar with the Russian economy, the factors of the positive changes of the national economies will be useful for Russian and foreign researchers.

This paper explores the regional economic impact of mineral resource endowment and offers specific inputs to the debate on the local content requirement (LCR) policy, gaining urgency in modern economic and political environment. The paper considers the intricacies related to greenfield investment projects in Russian oil and gas industry. Focusing on the experience of the Krasnoyarsk region, the paper examines the way national companies operate in the newly developing oil and gas provinces of Russia. The analysis of key economic indices shows that the existing approach does not allow having significant benefits from resource endowment in the region. The main idea is that the establishment of completely new industry has to affect regional economic development, budget revenues dynamics and employment to influence the related industries and services in the region. The conducted analysis let to form possible scenarios and evaluate the dynamics of regional economic development depending on the scale of LCR policy. The developed approach based on statistical modeling allows assessing both direct and indirect effects of LCR policy. The obtained results allow to conclude that the implementation of LCR policy leads to the growth of real income per capita and the job creation in the region. The development of equipment and services suppliers for oil and gas industry by ripple effects can boost socio-economic development and diversify regional economy. The paper also dwells on some pitfalls and risks accompanying LCR policy and considers crucial points of introducing this kind of policy for local and federal government.

The purpose of the article is to characterize the development and specific features of inflation in Russia on the basis of its theoretical justification and practical analysis. The article discusses the monetarist and Keynesian approaches to the characterization of inflation. The paper shows that the equation of exchange from the quantity theory of money, which is the basis of the monetarist theory of inflation, does not allow to make an unambiguous conclusion about the direct relationship between money supply and price level in the economy. The authors give the theoretical substantiation of cost-push inflation from the position of microeconomic theory, which is denied by the representatives of the monetarist school. We characterize the specific features of inflation in the period of market transformations in Russia. The article shows the considerable role of the cost factors of cost-push inflation: the monopolization of the economy, rise in the prices of energy and raw materials. There is an absence of the direct relationship between inflation and money supply growth in large part of the period of the 2000. The authors determine the dependence between the exchange rate and inflation in the Russian economy, which is most evident during periods of significant devaluation of the national currency, as a rule, associated with a significant increase in world oil prices. The paper notes that the significant decline in aggregate demand that occurred in Russia in recent years have reduced the level of inflation in 2016. Despite this, the reduction of inflation and its transformation to slow cost-push inflation was combined with negative consequences for the economy: the decrease of investments and production development, reduction of the living standards of the population. The authors conducted the analysis of inflation on the level of the subjects of the Russian Federation, which has confirmed the significant role of causes of cost-push inflation in the economy. The research has led to the conclusion about the appropriateness of measures on the stimulation of aggregate demand and the development of the national economy by reducing interest rates, increasing investment activity, developing competition and efficiency of antitrust regulation

The article gives a comparative analysis of the innovation and technological development in Russia and foreign countries. The paper shows that in the innovation sector, Russia lags behind most of the developed and developing countries: Russia has almost left the market of high technologies; main costs for innovations are implemented in the sectors of low and medium technology industries. Self-sufficiency of Russian economy for a number of the major types of production equipment is significantly below than the threshold marks determined by the requirements of national security. The article demonstrated the differentiation in the innovative development of the Russian regions. The study of the Russian innovation space has shown that in the periphery, there are sufficiently intense processes of the attenuation of science, which creates serious problems for the growth of innovative impulses across the country. The authors present the methodology for integrated assessment of regional innovative security. The appropriate calculations for regions of the Ural Federal District are performed. The article identifies the most critical factors for innovative sustainability of these regions. The authors have made a forecast as well as built the projected trajectories of the innovative security level of the Ural Federal District using the modernized method of Hurst. We have formulated the main barriers to the innovative development of the Russian regions. The article presents the methodological approaches to the substantiation of the priorities for the formation of the innovative system of regions including the specific features of their science and industry. The authors propose the methodology for the formal evaluation of the creation of a regional innovation activity centers aimed at supporting the competitiveness of the enterprises of different technological level. The paper presents calculation results for the priority of the formation of the centers of innovation activity aimed at supporting the development of industries of different technological level on the example of the regions of the Ural Federal District which is one of the leading Russian regions in the innovative and productive potentials.

The article emphasizes the importance of the concept of «technical and economic paradigm», which characterizes the certain stage of the world economy development associated with the corresponding technological revolution. The paper reveals the feature of the modern technical and economic paradigm development connected with new concepts determining a priority of general values. The author states the hypothesis that in the conditions of the emergence of the fourth industrial revolution elements (so-called 4.0 industry), it is fair to consider the innovation paradigm of development as the foundation of the new industrialization which preceds this revolution. The author considers new industrialization as the process contributing to the global technological parity of Russia and the countries-technological leaders. The most significant statements from this post of view are allocated: consideration of new industrialization as a process of continuous innovations and distribution of breakthrough technologies, computerization of production, robotization, cross-disciplinary nature of high technologies, the ecology of technologies, intellectualization of the potential of all persons occupied in industrial production, etc. The author analyses strategic documents connected with the development of innovative activities in Russia. The paper emphasizes that the indicators characterizing these activities do not allow to rank Russia as a country having the developed innovative economy. The article reveals the possibilities of the activation of innovative activities in Russia connected to the development of the approved private priorities in the main spheres of activity with the state priorities of social development; with construction of integrated strategy of a scientific and technological, institutional and industrial development of the country; with creation of the system of scientific monitoring allowing to adjust the necessary corrective actions in time. The article emphasizes a dominant nature of the institutional environment predetermining a success of socio-economic and innovative development of national economy. New integrated world economic way is forming in the conditions of the increasing importance of an innovation paradigm. The successfulness of its implementation is determined by a ratio of the inclusive (involving) and extractive (taking out) economic and political institutes.

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.

The paper is devoted to the development of methods for point and interval forecasting of the integral index of regional competitiveness. We stick to one of the most commonly used approaches to assessing the level of competitiveness based on its advantages over the others. As a result of this approach, the integral competitiveness index appears to be bounded, i.e. has a lower and upper limit. Due to this particular feature, it is proposed to carry out the forecasting of competitiveness index using multivariate logistic regression. The parameters of such model are determined using OLS through an inverse logarithmic transformation of the dependent variable. To calculate interval forecasts for the model, we proposed a new probability distribution for the errors of the nonlinear regression equation in the class of logistic curves. According to the proposed method, we calculated and forecasted the regional competitiveness level for the Russian Federation until 2020. The analysis of the data revealed some features of the regions distribution in terms of competitiveness level and indicated regional development trends. The paper has been prepared within the research project №1675: "Methodological and analytical tools for solving problems of spatial development of Russian economy under conditions of modern reforms" in terms of the basic part of the state order in the field of scientific activity of Russian Ministry of Education.

This article’s objective is to develop conceptual approach to the study of key decision-making factors of cross-industry spatially localized innovation networks regularities by the application of quantitative and qualitative data of St. Petersburg Innovation and Technology Cluster of Machinery Manufacturing and Metalworking. The paper is based on the previous research findings which conclude that such networks have a set of opportunities and constraints for innovation. The hypothesis is that in the clusters, representing a special type of these networks, the spatial proximity partly offsets the negative impact of industrial distance. The authors propose a structural and logical model of strategic decision-making to analyze these effects on innovation. They specify network’s influences on performance: cognitive diversity; knowledge and expertise; structural autonomy and equivalence. The model is applied to spatially localized cross-industry cluster and then improved in accordance with the obtained results for accounting resource flows. It allowed to take into account the dynamics of innovation activity and to develop the practical implications in the particular business context. The analysis identified the peculiarities of spatially localized crossindustry innovation cooperation in perspective of the combinations of tangible resources, information and other intangible resources for the renewal of mature industries. The research results can be used in business as well as in industrial and regional economic policy. In the conclusion, the article outlines future research directions: a comprehensive empirical study with the analysis of data on the factors of cross-industry cooperation which were identified in this paper with testing of causal relations; the developing an approach to the study of spatially localized networks based on the exchange of primary resources in the economic system stability framework.

The relation between regional and macroeconomic growth in Russia for the period of 1990 — 2013 are considered in the paper. The purpose is to estimate this ratio depending on the phase (stage) of development. The hypothesis is that the increase in regional disparities within the post-Soviet period picked up by standard measures and noted in the literature, is not associated with the systemic removal of regional indicators from each other. The specific forms of convergence-divergence are typical for the Russian regional space and they have to be identified. The dynamics of regional space configuration in Russia is considered from a new perspective — as a mass distribution of the gross domestic product of regions by the value of growth rates. The estimation and forecast of the structural characteristics of the gross regional product (GRP) mass distribution are made on the basis of the “distribution dynamics” approach up to 2025. The average annual growth in 2025 is expected at around 104.5 %, while growth differentiation significantly increases. The phase of macroeconomic growth for the last 15 years is reflected in its regional components. The GRP growth in Russia in general, both before and after the crisis of 2009, forms a more dense distribution than in 2009. The general trend of the 2000th and subsequent years is characterized by a certain decline in per capita GRP differentiation in relation to the main regional space (74 regions). The results of this paper may be useful for regional regulation policy purposes. A set of the Russian regions in the years of 2009–2013, against to the dominant tendency, provides a dynamics, that can be compared to the number of countries with a developed market. There is an urgent need to create a special research project to study this phenomenon

The subject of this paper is a critique of the selective theoretical modelings of economic realities, which are monistic (quasi-neoliberal) and mathematical-statistical in nature. In this sense, the theme named Contemporary Substitutes of the Political Economy is defined. The aim of this research is that the above-mentioned modeling of economic reality would be described as a deliberate motion from the analysis and explanation of fundamental economic problems towards secondary issues. Therefore, we characterize them as unfair and programmed ways of fogging the essence of economic problems and crisis. We start from the hypothesis that these modelings replaced and virtually eliminated the former synthesized and useful political-economic analysis. In this paper, we have used a descriptive, comparative methods, panel sample and a schematic logic modeling. The results of our research show that the substitution of political economy by neoclassical and neoliberal economics is performed over a longer period, and through prioritizing the mathematical and statistical econometric analysis. As a proof, we present our selective research panel using a sample of 39 issues from five international journals, which can be found in databases SSCI and Scopus. This research is limited by the unavailability of most journals on the Internet and in printed publications. The application area of the research results is an economic theory. In conclusion, we ascertain the need for greater affirmation of political economy, which in combination with new institutional theory, enables a more realistic view of social and economic reality.

At present, the tourist industry is one of the fastest growing economic branches of the global economy. For many countries, it brings a significant portion of revenues to their national economies. In the article, the identification and assessment of the secondary data of the World Economic Forum published in The Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report are carried out. In the Report, the strengths and weaknesses of some countries in the international tourist market are specified in detail. The plan of the analysis is in a more precise specification of competitiveness indices, which consist of compound indices: I — legal framework; II — business environment and infrastructure; III — human, cultural and natural resources for the Russian Federation and some states of Post-Soviet geopolitical space. The goals of the paper are the evaluation of the 14 factors that affect destination competitiveness and the comparison of the competitiveness levels in the Russian Federation. The paper also aimed to provide an understanding of the Russian position in the international tourism market and provide suggestions in order to improve weaknesses of the country. The competitiveness ranking 2015 for the tourism infrastructure, prioritization of travel and tourism, and national tourism perceptions suggest that Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Russia rank the top, relative to other former Soviet Union countries in the sample. Since these countries outperform in a tourism infrastructure, it is likely that they continuously try to improve their physical and financial infrastructure for tourists in the country. Therefore, it is a great challenge for Russia to constantly monitoring new trends and occurrences in the international tourism market, which are more diverse needs and demands of the tourist clientele. The findings of this study also shed light on the competitiveness of the Russian Federation operating in the international tourism market. As understood from the findings, there still exists a large gap between the Russian Federation and especially the top ten leaders in terms of tourism competitiveness

The article is devoted to the variable and disproportionate funding of science in the Russian economy. The paper is focused on the analysis of the Russian financial flows into scientific research and development. The paper explains the dynamics of the main investment flows trends into research and development, highlights the causes of financial flows variable dynamics directed to the high-tech industry. In the work, the investment situation in the Russian market was compared with the foreign experience. The genesis of the optimal financial distribution problems showed the need to develop a dynamic model with the built-in differential equations to forecast the behavioral dynamics of investment flows. We selected the statistical indicators, which have a significant impact on the dynamics of investment flows directed into science. To assess the dynamics of investment flows, we have developed a methodology, which provides a cumulative assessment of the territory investment attractiveness. The multifactor integral estimation allows to describe a data array, reflecting the accumulation of investment attractiveness over time depending on the dynamics of the resultant socio-economic proportional indexes. Due to the accumulation of a data array over time using a differential equation, it is possible to obtain a forecast of the volume of the territory investment attractiveness. The amount of the projected investment flows depends directly on the amount of the investment attractiveness accumulated for the previous step of model’s time. The integrated assessment of the investment attractiveness of the scientific sector in the region allows to reveal the investors preference of the regions with a high concentration of research institutions and higher education institutes.

The main purpose of the article is to validate the mathematical models describing the innovative response in the industrial regions. The article gives a deep analysis of trends in the development of the Russian industrial regions, puts forward and tests the following hypotheses: the hypothesis of uneven economic development of different types of industrial regions (regions, strengthening its industrial status, new industrial regions and regions of deindustrialization), the hypothesis of the development identity of certain types of industrial regions, the hypothesis of the catalytic role of the state in the dynamics of innovation, the hypothesis of the existence of the resonance innovation in the economic system. The authors propose the innovative resonance methodology, show the conditions for the resonance in the economic system, describe the types of resonant response. The main methods used are: resonance effects, reproductive techniques and methods of economic-mathematical modelling. In the paper, the authors propose a mathematical formalization of the innovative resonance mechanism in the regional industrial system, which includes: a) the development model of investment by industry and reproductive sectors; b) the dynamic diversified (multi-sectoral) model of reproduction; c) the model of the adaptive management of the innovative self-development of regional industrial system; d) the model of the stability of innovation dynamics and extended reproduction. The authors study the innovative response in the industrial regions of Russia. In the context of innovation resonance, the authors examined the functional industrial policies of a typical industrial region and the resonant responses associated with its implementation. The results of the study presented in the paper can be used in the justification of the mechanisms of the regional industrial policy, as well as for the assessment of the regulatory impact of the existing legal acts.

This paper will identify and analyze the basic institutional characteristics of the region of South East Europe (SEE6), because the building of institutions is one of the main conditions for sustainable development. Basic theoretical and practical barriers, that crucially influenced the current unfavorable transitional institutional characteristics in SEE6, will be researched in a selective way. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate the essential institutional differences of this region in comparison with developed countries, particularly in terms of real institutional change, the application of institutional pluralism and the main institutional barriers. The paper starts from the hypothesis that ignoring the institutional pluralism and domination of alternative institutions in SEE6 led to dysfunctionality of institutional change, which had a negative impact on all indicators of economic development in the surveyed countries. The emphasis is on the factors of monistic anti-institutional action, from which the alternative institutions stand out for their destructive significance. It points to devastating and anti-developmental consequences of their actions, and their theoretical support of neoliberal type, which is in practice vulgarized and converted into a quasi-neoliberalism. It identifies the real and concrete causes of reproduced institutional vacuum. The findings from the study suggest that countries of the SEE6 region should apply civilization-proven development models of institutional pluralism type. This indicates the importance of taking real institutional changes and urgent overcoming the quasi-institutional forms in order to successfully valorize the economic resources in the countries of SEE6.

The paper considers anti-crisis solutions for the electricity sector that fall into the category of strategic ones. Their primary purpose is to ensure the flexibility and adaptability of the system and prevent emergencies in the future. The authors explain the need for a holistic approach to taking anti-crisis decisions in power engineering and propose ways to improve the economic mechanism of cost reduction based upon international practice and placed in the Russian context. The benefits of demand-side management in ensuring the reliability of power supplies amid crisis are shown. The paper looks at various implementation modalities for demandside management programmes and explores development prospects for distributed generation in Russia and stand-alone power supply options for manufacturing companies. Factors are assessed that affect the cost effectiveness of going off the grid. A general scheme of cost management aimed at reaching the strategic goals of the regional electricity sector is presented. The authors reveal possible applications and advantages of using predictive analytics for effective cost management. Ways of improving asset management are considered as well as the possibility of their employment in the Russian context. The key barriers to their implementations and ways of overcoming them are identified

In the article, the essential and formalized definition of the potential of the territory is proved; its innovative part in the “subjectprocess-object” approach to its essential content and impact assessment is determined. The system of mechanisms and institutes of building the regional and territorial innovative potential is elaborated, the most productive directions of its using in the interests of spatial socio-economic development are allocated. Problems of high priority and requiring solutions that are able to increase the effectiveness of territory functioning are identified. The mentioned problems found their reflection and possible solutions at the Gaidar International Economic Forum in Moscow (2015) and at the representative XII Krasnoyarsk Economic Forum, as reflected by the analyses of some forum’s speeches presented in the paper. The shift of priorities in innovative global development during the second part of the 20th century and at the beginning of the 21st century is shown. The results of research and practice of utilizing innovative solutions for the development of some collectives and territories, the spatial structure of regions and the Russian Federation as a whole are investigated and generalized in this paper. The development of the territory and its potential depends on different factors, but the growth of knowledge, intellectual resource and involvement of the population into management process by development and realization of different programs and projects plays the increasing role in current conditions. In the article, the positive sides of the business-project as the main mechanism of the program and project implementation with utilizing market institutes of the public-private partnership (PPP) are analyzed. The role of collectives and the population in the increase of innovative activity and system territory development is assessed.