Home – Home – Jornals – Region: Economics and Sociology 2020 number 2

Recent research gives preference to GDP as the most important economic indicator. Meanwhile, according to the Russian school of economic thought, the primary goal of production growth is final consumption by households. Indeed, comprehensive and proven-effective forecasting tools designed over time to predict the prospects for growth and location of production have designated it as the main criterion (objective function). We refer to the absolute level of household final consumption and the dynamics of its change as the key indicator of national economic efficiency. This development goal should not lose its social focus regardless of management arrangements chosen and business patterns employed, albeit related to them. The existing forecasting tools reflect the actual procedure for obtaining a tangible commodity bundle of input-output composition, services included. During financial computations, a summarizing factor often presented in the mass media, GDP, is predominant among the resultants. In terms of content, this indicator is gross and intermediate to the main one (household final consumption), so it differs from the latter in values and emerging dynamics. This circumstance requires greater emphasis on the final consumption indicator and its relation to the production indicators of aggregate economic forecasts. It is to be accounted for when estimating priorities in long-term industrial and regional calculations, as well as drafting both generalfit-for-purpose and managerial solutions that affect the local business climate for various participants, which is achievable with modern interregional economic forecasting tools.

Applied engineering of new development mechanisms for Russian regions is relevant due to the inefficiency of innovation strategies currently in force and the fact that science and technology (S&T) are detached from the sectoral capabilities of the territories. Russia’s new spatial development strategy, adopted in 2019, has led to a conflict between promising sectoral economic specializations and real problems in territories of different types. When coordinating sectoral and territorial approaches, one called “smart specialization" may play a dominant role. The article describes the differences between traditional and smart specializations. In the case of the latter, it is not separate branches that are chosen as “points", but a set of various economic activities in conjunction with regional competences is defined as a fuzzy core with blurred boundaries. Here we give characteristics to sectoral, patent, innovation and publication components as constituent parts of the methodological approach being elaborated. All components are linked through the priorities of the Science and Technology Development Strategy, which acts as a national research platform (program) reflecting the long-term economic and social priorities. A well-coordinated choice of regional development prospects solves the problem of isolated technological forecasts for territories. The developed matrix for selecting sectoral and S&T priorities for the territory can be viewed as a basis for regional investment projects selection. Thus, the federal executive authorities will be able to set a general outline for the most spatially desirable S&T objectives and take on venture risks with supporting technological startups and emerging industries.

The main purpose of the article is to offer recommendations aimed at improving the system for monitoring income inequality in Russian regions. For this, a comprehensive analysis of income inequality measurement procedures is carried out, with a particular focus on the comparison of income inequality indicators used in the official statistical data and alternative ones. As alternative measures, we consider inequality indicators used by international organizations, as well as those applied in various economic studies. The analysis is empirically based on microdata from the 2017 Sample Inquiry of Income and Participation in Social Programs. Based on the calculations of official and alternative indicators, we have selected a number of indicators in the research to identify regional features of income inequality. The study has also produced a list of regions requiring additional inequality indicators, where they are most relevant. Adopting additional factors of income differentiation may provide policymakers with important information and help develop effective measures for combating inequality.

The article considers a modified interregional input-output optimization model of rail transport (OMMM-RT), namely the one with an additional algorithm and module using the theory of dual problems by K.A. Bagrinovsky and A.G. Aganbegyan but as applied to large-scale capital investments in general. We calculate the final consumption fund in the initial OMMM-RT model; following this operation, based on the dual problem theory, the obtained value of the final consumption fund serves as a lower boundary. In our case, the dual problem consists in minimizing the amount of capital investment in large-scale railway projects. The article proves that the same conditions as in finding the maximum of a target function lead to a solution for the problem with lower capital investment.

The article substantiates the universal character of complaints as a non-market feedback signal. The complaints institution is actively used today in social states as legal civic protests. In Russia, the administrative complaints institution served to collect feedback throughout the entire history of the razdatok (“distributive ") economy. We show different stages of the evolution of institutional forms of complaints, from petitions to administrative complaints organically embedded in the hierarchical resource distribution system. The article demonstrates a mechanism for using complaints in decision-making at various management levels and compares Russian and western practices of including civil complaints in the public administration process. In the West, civil complaints are used in the public sector when providing services to citizens. We emphasize the transformation of administrative complaints into civil ones, including legal protest action.

Further vocational education (FVE) is an important subsystem of the social institution of education, whose dynamic development lies in the fact that, in this day and age, it is impossible to ensure the relevance of one’s knowledge for life. Economic globalization, accelerated technological advances, the rapid development of manufacturing processes and innovative technology, newly establishing information and knowledge societies, and increased competition in the labor market-every one of these factors contribute to the growing social need for further education, as well as create and improve an individual’s motivation to resume and continue their lifelong learning. Under the current socio-economic conditions, the FVE system requires fresh approaches. The present trend is to build an FVE system aimed at satisfying professional, educational, and personal needs expressed by the main consumers of these educational services (students of FVE programs and employers) to the fullest extent possible. Further vocational education is gaining in social importance and becoming a key area that provides an enabling environment for professional development, maintaining and improving competitiveness in the labor market, along with self-fulfillment, cultural growth, and personal empowerment. Moreover, FVE is a more mobile and flexible system than higher education, which makes it possible to rapidly and timely update the content or reorient FVE curricula to constantly changing societal and government demands. The article reviews the main stages of the institutional evolution of further vocational education in Russia, revealing its social functions at each stage; identifies factors contributing to the growing demand for FVE in present-day society; presents the results of a sociological study on social conditions affecting the work and development of FVE in the region (specifically Belgorod Oblast).

The article presents a detailed analysis of the financial behavior found in the population of Tuva and Kalmykia. The authors demonstrate poor knowledge of the designated object of study. Methodologically, the study is based on the provisions of the socio-cultural approach. Methodically, the analysis is based on a comparison of sociological and statistical indicators that allow characterizing the financial behavior of residents in the republics under discussion. The information base of the research has been formed by the following sources: 1) the results of the 2018 Financial Literacy Rating of Russian Regions, sociological research; 2) official Rosstat statistics; 3) information on funds placed and raised by the Central Bank of Russia. All indicators used for the analysis are publicly available on the official websites of the Ministry of Finance of Russia, Rosstat, and the Bank of Russia. Relying upon the indicator analysis, we draw a conclusion that the regions are facing a challenging socio-economic situation, accompanied by a decrease in real household income. At the same time, the situation in the Republic of Kalmykia is slightly better than that in the Republic of Tuva. According to the 2018 Financial Literacy Rating of the Regions of Russia, the regions are classified into different groups: Kalmykia has high financial literacy, whereas Tuva is defined by its low levels. A detailed analysis of the indicators underlying the final financial literacy index revealed three major differences in financial behavior among Kalmykia residents, which ensured the republic's high ranking, namely: being able to point out features of a financial pyramid, extensive use of bank cards, and online banking operations. Otherwise, the population demonstrates similar financial behavior, determined by the priority of credit practices over savings, high delinquency rate, and severe undersaving. In general, trends in the development of lending and savings processes in the republics coincide with the national ones (consistently growing financial performance with a sharp decline during the 2014-2015 economic crisis), although the ratio of loans to deposits is fundamentally different. An important peculiarity of financial behavior in Tuva and Kalmykia is high public trust in banks (higher than in the rest of Russia). Starting from 2014 in Tuva and from 2018 in Kalmykia, their authorities have been working on improving citizens' financial literacy and treating it as one of the strategic objectives. We conclude with a hypothesis for further research: the financial culture among the residents of Tuva and Kalmykia has Russia-specific sociocultural grounds, which need to be studied in order to devise effective measures for improving the population’s financial literacy in these regions.

In this paper, we evaluate the impact of monetary policy on investment in Siberian regions. At the first stage of the study, we have assessed the regional investment responses to changes in the interbank market rate using structural vector autoregression. At the second stage, regression equations have been calculated with accumulated impulse responses as dependent variables and assumed explanatory factors as independent ones. Regions with a larger share of manufacturing and small businesses and a higher ratio of exports to GRP are found to be more affected by rising monetary policy rates than regions with fewer small firms, more diversified industries, and a lower export component in GRP. It is also discovered that factors such as the share of small businesses in the regions and the ratio of exports to GRP explain the differences in the responses of regional investments to the shock of monetary policy better than the share of manufacturing in GRP. Furthermore, it is revealed that the higher the risk level at the local enterprises, the greater the decrease in investment with monetary tightening measures in place. Differences in the efficiency of monetary instruments application for Siberia’s regions should be considered when developing regional economic policy. For example, the losses in regions where monetary tightening leads to a greater decline in investment can be compensated through fiscal policies.

One of the most widely applicable indicators of sustainability of the economic development is the “genuine savings " indicator. To obtain more accurate estimates of the sustainability of the development of the Russian Far Eastern regions, the article uses a modification of the World Bank’s genuine savings assessment method considering the characteristics of the regions and the most detailed set of open statistics. According to the results of the study, we have identified “anti-sustainable" trends in the development of a few resource-type regions of the Russian Far East, which could be explained by the intensification of mining. The transition to sustainable development in the Far East as a whole will only be possible if all its regions are provided with sustainable development, i.e. the territories will not only be used as a resource-rich ground to replenish the federal budget and generate profits for companies involved in subsoil use but also as a truly strategic center for the country’s development, focused primarily on the accelerated growth of investment in human capital.

The article discusses approaches to improving the spatial development of the Russian Federation and increasing the performance of public regional, science and technology policies by enhancing cross-border cooperation in the East of Russia. We analyze the problems related to the “eastern vector" of the country’s spatial development and conclude that much of the reserves are being unused. This priority area of spatial development and cross-border interactions in Asian Russia does not yet receive sizeable research support, and major activities and projects take shape on the initiative of state corporations and vertically integrated companies. In this regard, the article shows the need to establish, within the structure of the Siberian Branch of the RAS, an International Research Center for Cross-border Interactions in North and North-East Asia, which would focus on creating and putting into practice the concept of a modernized eastern vector of Russia’s development and derived government policy on that basis. The emphasis for such a center should be on strengthening the role of Siberian and Far Eastern regions in economic and sci-tech intercountry relations in North-East Asia. The article ends up with the goals, objectives and main lines of research at the Center as a new-type network scientific and organizational structure functioning like analytical think tanks.

The paper presents a brief description of the state of power supply to the Baikal-Hovsgol cross-border territory covering the Tunka area of the Republic of Buryatia and the Hijvsgiol aymag of Mongolia. Power is supplied via an extended radial power line, which is characterized by poor reliability and low voltage levels for the consumer. The territory has a special status of nature management due to the recreational zones and large national parks of Russia and Mongolia adjacent to each other. We propose the use of renewable energy sources for the development of power supply systems as one of the strategic directions of the Russia-Mongolia energy cooperation. The paper provides a brief description of the state of renewable energy development in the Republic of Buryatia and Mongolia and normative acts aimed at its stimulation. We analyze available solar and wind energy resources in the territory and divide the Baikal-HUvsgol cross-border territory into zones in terms of solar radiation and average annual wind speed. Based on a comparison of the calculated performance indices of the photovoltaic (PV) module and wind turbine for the considered territory, the paper concludes that priority should be given to PV power stations.

This article provides a thorough review of a new textbook “Urban Studies. Urban Economics, Development and Governance" from a collective body led by Prof. and D.Sc. (Econ.) L.E. Limonov. We have analyzed in great detail all parts of this monumental work, identified the textbook’s strengths and suggested improvements for possible reprints. Such a critical review takes into account our academic position and experience, which is expressed in comments on present-day urbanization trends within the information society and digital economy. We conclude that there is great merit in this textbook, which is an organic combination of theory and practice of urban studies and economics, on the one hand, plus domestic and international experience, on the other. It is one of the few textbooks on urbanism that describes some of the activities related to urban development management in a fairly comprehensive manner. The textbook is based on the creative use of contemporary research and study materials on economics of Russian and foreign origin, detailed statistics, and author’s developments. It can be useful not only for students in higher education but also for state and municipal officials in their professional retraining. As remarks, we propose to enhance the sections about new urbanization trends against the challenges and threats of the XXI century. Thus, it is recommended to include the following new sections in the textbook: Digital Economy and Urban Development; Green Economy and Urban Development; Creative Cities as National Innovation and Communication Hubs; Cognitive Geoinformatics and Intellectual Geoinformatics Systems in Urban Development and Governance, etc. We also critically evaluate the sections dedicated to the current urban development planning and urbanization trends in Russia, which in our opinion are too “neutral" and do not fully cover complex problems pertaining to the development and management of Russian cities. Overall, “‘Urban Studies. Urban Economics, Development and Governance " receives an exceptionally high appraisal. The review shows that the textbook can be of great use to its main target audience (undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate students specializing in economics and economic geography; state and municipal officials) and that it holds the potential for regular ““updates " of the material constantly supplemented with novel information, best urban development practices, video lessons, news items, and others. This will provide an opportunity for a future reader to experience almost all aspects of urban studies, urban economics, social environment in modern cities, and municipal development management.