Economic and Social Changes: Facts, Trends, Forecast @volnc-esc-en
Статьи журнала - Economic and Social Changes: Facts, Trends, Forecast
Все статьи: 1692
Electronic education and innovative economy development in Russia
Статья научная
Demand for education for human potential development in the innovation economy, demographic problems of Russian society and reforming the education system force to think about the development and introduction of new forms of learning. One of them is E-Learning. The concept of e-learning meets the new paradigm of “education through life”, and also it is the most effective tool for the development of information society and innovation-based economy.
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Elite economics and political instability
Статья научная
The article puts forward a new version of elite theory based on the use of a macroeconomic production function depending on the number of the elites and the masses. At the same time, the production function of the elites is complemented with the distribution function, which determines the income structure of social groups and the level of inequality. Combining the two sides of the activity of the elites allows us to design a simple typology of political situations in the country and highlight the regime of revolutionary situation. A formal analysis of the model of production activity of the elites has shown that the phenomenon of over-accumulation of the ruling class has a noticeable destructive impact on economic growth only after a severe drop in its functioning effectiveness. The very deterioration of the quality of the political elite allows an unjustified increase in its size to manifest itself. We consider generalizations of elite model in relation to the case of the middle class and show the invariance of the previously obtained conclusions. We provide an interpretation of the macro-theory of the elites for the mega-level, when studying the world economic system as a combination of the center, periphery and semi-periphery. We consider four dimensions of the elite, with system paradigms being a new element within these dimensions. The influence of external historical events on the worldview of the elites and their actions is revealed using the examples of the transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire, the collapse of the USSR and the beginning of the fall of the U.S. hegemony. For the center - periphery system, we test the production model of the elites with the help of statistical data from the World Bank; we build econometric dependencies that show a decrease in the effectiveness of the United States in managing global production.
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Employee environmental responsibility: empirical analysis and typology
Статья научная
Environmental responsibility of employees is a key prerequisite for achieving environmental goals of an organization and improving its environmental performance at the managerial and executive levels. Forming environmental responsibility in employees requires an understanding of the mechanisms and drivers of individual environmental behavior that may differ considerably, depending on the environmentally significant professional and personal qualities that encourage their conscious manifestation at work. The purpose of our study is to provide theoretical and empirical substantiation of the types of employee environmental responsibility. Methodological basis for our work includes the concept of individual environmental responsibility and environmental behavior of employees. The empirical base of the study is formed by the data from a survey of employees at Russian pro-environmental enterprises of the oil and gas industry. According to the results of the cluster analysis of the data obtained, we reveal characteristics for the role models of environmental behavior and identify four types of employees: ecoconservatives, eco-pragmatists, eco-activists, eco-pro-activists, differing in the awareness and acceptance of the company’s environmental values, compliance with environmental requirements in work activities, interest in participating in additional environmental activities and initiative in addressing environmental issues. The results obtained can be used to study the nature of individual environmental behavior and environmental responsibility; they can be also useful for companies in developing and improving human resource management policies and practices aimed at employees’ environmental development. The main limitation is the fact that we have chosen major oil and gas industry enterprises as the object of research, and they have a highly developed environmental policy, environmental management and the practice of environmental development of personnel; this narrows the significance of the results obtained within one industry, not allowing us to draw generalized conclusions and give practical recommendations.
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Статья научная
The work investigates employment risks for households with children in the new conditions of Russia’s development amid the special military operation, unprecedented external sanctions pressure at the stage of transition to the country’s sovereign development. The study is based on the findings obtained during a specially organized expert survey in 2023, the data of which were supplemented by an analysis of the results of monitoring state and non-state surveys and other sources. The work reveals and ranks, taking into account their importance, groups of risks in the field of employment, identified from the point of view of the “contour” of their conditioning (internal risks, related to the ongoing special military operation, and external risks). We name specific risks in the field of employment that can lead to a decrease in the level and quality of employment (including a decrease in income) in households with children and, as a result, a decline in their standard of living; these risks are ranked in terms of relevance. The obtained research results may be in demand for the development of state policy in relation to families with children, employment policy, and improving the standard of living, including within the framework of the national project “Family” and other long-term program-targeted and integrated management tools. Directions for further research are related to supplementing the list of identified risks and in-depth studies of their “carriers” (socio-demographic and other features) in households with children, the impact of risks, taking into account the concentration of risks and the number of their “carriers” on the employment situation and standard of living in various types of households.
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Employment strategy of the Russians
Статья научная
During the crisis it is especially important to choose a correct employment strategy. Every employee uses an employment strategy, as he/she selects the direction of long-term employment consciously or intuitively. The choice of strategy is determined by a number of factors shaping the person's attitudes: health, character, upbringing, education, social environment, institutional environment. The employment strategies of the young people newly entering the labor market differ from lab our strategies of workers. Young people do not have such experience and can plan their life “from scratch”. The Soviet specialists, people who started their career in the planned economy, have their own features of employment strategies. The article describes employment strategies of the Russians.
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Energy efficient lighting as a transition from incandescent lamps to light-emitting diode solutions
Статья научная
Energy efficiency and energy saving are the national objectives set by the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry A. Medvedev. One of the lines of state policy is application of energy saving technologies to lighting. In this regard, the article analyzes the phased measures taken to replace incandescent lamps with energy efficient lamps, including the national development of the energy effective substitutes and the use of technical regulation mechanisms and quality control of the products delivered to the market.
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Energy-intensity factors in the Komi Republic's economy
Статья научная
In the article the analysis of energy efficiency of the regional economy are presented for a purpose to indentified quality characteristics its dynamics and factors of relatively low level. Application of comparative statistics and regression analysis methods made it possible to estimate the impact of the most important factors. Results shown that high level of energy intensity was due to “northern” economy and industry specialization. A main factor of energy-intensity dynamics was scale effect of economy production. Structural and technological trends of energy-saving were not found. Selection of energy efficiency index as indicators of quality regional development requires monitoring and analysis of energy-economic dependency, improving information basis.
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Enhancing the efficiency of dairy farming through improving the regional system of fodder production
Статья научная
Addressing the issue of increasing the efficiency of dairy cattle breeding, increasing the volume of milk and dairy products is closely linked to the strengthening and development of fodder supplies. The State program of agriculture development and regulation of markets of agricultural products, raw materials and food for 2013-2020 implemented in the Vologda Oblast, as well as other legal documents do not fully promote intensive fodder production. This results in poorly developed meadow and field fodder production, fodder crop breeding and fodder seed production, harvesting, storage, and use of fodder negatively affects the efficiency of dairy cattle breeding in general and determines the range of the existing system problems. In this regard, the purpose for the research is to develop and scientifically substantiate the ways of improving the system of fodder production to increase the efficiency of dairy cattle breeding in the region. In accordance with the intended purpose we have met a set of objectives...
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Entrepreneurial ability assessment of the population
Статья научная
The article describes able-bodied citizens’ qualitative adjectives which from the point of entrepreneurs and the whole population view are necessary to conduct business successful. Potential entrepreneurial ability index is offered on which basis entrepreneurial ability assessment of the Vologda region population is given. Groups with potentially high entrepreneurial ability are marked out in the article.
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Статья научная
The article describes the experience gained in Ji'an County (Ji'an Prefecture-Level City, Jiangxi Province) on the implementation of policies aimed to alleviate poverty through the implementation of the “Four-One” Industry Targeted Poverty Alleviation Project including 1) “Pomelo of One Mu for One Household”, 2) “Hengjiang Grape of One Mu for One Household”,3) “One Chicken Coop for One Household”, and 4) “One Post in the Park for One Household”. It is proved that households that implement such projects can get out of poverty. The goal of the study is to help people living in poverty get out of it, and to help the poor county become richer. The author relies on the idea that is developing in modern social science and that deals with the structural poverty typical of different historical eras and economic paradigms1. In this case, the following types of structural poverty are distinguished: pre-industrial, industrial and post-industrial poverty. The preindustrial type accompanies pre-capitalist development of society...
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Статья научная
The concept of sustainable development adopted in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 was a turning point in the understanding of the importance of “natural capital”, when emphasis on ecosystem services was marked. An important step in the development of the practical use of the concept of ecosystem services was the decision, which is based on three principles: recognition of the ecosystem value; carrying out its economic assessment and the development of mechanisms accounting for these benefits. The article presents the ecological and economic assessment of water regulating function of the northern region on the basis of methodology of Yu.V. Lebedev and I.A. Neklyudov based on the evaluation of average annual growth rate of groundwater flow of forested watersheds. The region is situated in the natural zones of tundra and taiga. As for taiga forests, their precipitation joins groundwater flow during the period of summer and autumn rains. The differentiation of the value of groundwater flow is determined by the topography, forest cover, wetlands and characteristics of timber stands...
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Environmental assessment of economic growth in the northern region
Статья научная
The analysis is based on P. Victor model of green growth. From the point of view of conceptual applicability (to diagnose environmental sustainability of economic development) and availability of tools, it is the simplest, most illustrative and universal in the range of indicators. The key parameters of the presented research model are relative indicators of negative impacts on natural systems per unit of economic result. The research novelty lies in taking into account economic and environmental indicators to assess the quality of life and the degree of environmental economic development of Northern regions. Assessment results in the Komi Republic reveal a generally low level of environmental quality of the region’s economic development for 2007-2016. Some progress towards “green” growth was observed in terms of discharge of contaminated wastewater into water surface bodies; stable economic situation in the “brown” growth zone is typical for atmospheric pollutant emissions, the features if “black” growth of economic results determined the volume of formation and disposal of toxic waste of industrial enterprises...
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Статья научная
The complex debate in the recent economic literature about environmental quality in economic growth, looking for a return to long-term sustainable growth in total factor productivity, recognizing the environmental aspect of development as an imperative confirm the relevance of the research topic. The aim of the study is to provide a theoretical substantiation of environmental investment as a key factor in ensuring long-term and sustainable economic growth, an “active start” to the radical transformation of the Russian economy in accordance with the requirements of the global Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance agenda; another aim is to conduct an experimental testing of the identified scientific idea. Environmental investment is characterized as a type of responsible and transformative investment capable of generating incremental total factor productivity growth by stimulating specific green innovations. The methodology of the study included methods of identification, analysis and verification of an econometric model in the form of a system of dynamic regressions by Sh. Almon with distributed lags. Experimentally (by constructing different regressions and testing Student’s hypotheses for them, determining estimates of t-statistics) as applied to the Russian economy, we evaluated long-term and short-term responses of economic growth indicators to the volume of environmental investment (specifically, its priority focus, such as waste-free and recycling resources). The econometric model has established a long-term positive effect of environmental investments. The effect consists in protecting the integrity of natural capital and improving the condition of ecosystems, which is fundamental to maintaining the potential for economic the long-term growth. Short- and medium-term effects include creating new high-tech jobs in low CO2 sectors and restoring total factor productivity growth through green technological innovation. The main barriers to environmental investment in Russia have been identified, and the minimum necessary economic instruments to stimulate it have been developed.
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Environmental threats as a factor promoting environmental consciousness
Статья научная
The article examines changes in environmental consciousness, which depend on how environmental threats are presented and perceived in public opinion and public discourse in Russia. Using the theory of socio-cultural risks and threats, we consider the formation of the so-called environmental paradigm, which interprets environmental consciousness as part of public consciousness. Analyzing the inclusion of the environmental agenda in the domestic public and political discourse, we show show that since the 1990s Russian legislation has been guided by international documents in this area, and the Russian Federation has actively participated in all significant international environmental forums. The attack on the non-profit sector initiated by the state authorities in the 2010s significantly reduced the number of non-governmental organizations in the environmental sphere and affected the content of public discourse. The low level of awareness of the progress and content of the national project “Ecology” indicates insufficient interaction of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of the Russian Federation with civil society institutions and representatives of local environmental initiatives. As a result, poor involvement of the population in environmental processes can potentially lead to the emergence of occasional environmental protests. The data of sociological studies show that public awareness of environmental threats is growing rather slowly and unevenly. In the overall rating of threats, environmental threats usually rank 3rd-4th, but this has a small effect on environmental behavior and on the formation of nature-saving social practices. We consider promoting environmental consciousness as a process of helping people to become more aware of anthropogenic risks and strive for a healthy ecological environment. The typological group of “responsible” individuals identified on the basis of this approach differs from the group of “indifferent” ones according to a number of socio-demographic and sociopolitical features and demonstrates weak positive dynamics.
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Essence and main components of innovation environment in higher education institutions
Статья научная
The article analyzes the studies and experience of creating innovation environment in the sphere of education, it reveals internal and external components of educational environment. It describes the present-day state of higher professional education institutions, proposes a number of conditions for the establishment of innovation educational environment in universities for the purpose of its successful development.
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Estimates of the middle class scale in the region
Статья научная
The objective to form the middle class is an acute problem in the period of social and economic modernization in Russia. Rapid growth of the middle class in the structure of society can speed up the solution of many social problems due to the high responsibility and civic awareness of its representatives. Therefore, research of the middle class scale is a priority in the studying of the social stratification of the population. In this paper the research of the middle class was based on the empirical estimates of the sociological survey of the population in the Vologda oblast which was conducted in 2010. During the work we gave a concept of “the middle class”, we represented a number of approaches which were notable for a set of criteria to estimate the middle class size. We determined an optimum set of criteria and estimated the middle class scale in the region in accordance with them and gave the social characteristics of its representatives.
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Статья научная
The global financial crisis influenced national economic systems to a variable extent. The same trends can be observed at the regional level in the Russian Federation. In this article there has been made an attempt of the analysis of the basic system-forming branches in the real sector of the Murmansk area economy in the phase of the increase of the crisis phenomena, the ways of their overcoming are also considered.
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Статья научная
The authors performed critical analysis of 26 strategic and program documents of federal and regional significance, governing the development of tourism, to allocate problems and targets of the development of tourism and risks of realization of the tourism development programs. The authors used scoring and expert evaluation methods to develop the technique, which estimates the elaboration of strategic and policy documents governing the development of tourism. The developed technique is used for evaluation of strategic and program documents of the northern regions of Russia. The guidelines for the establishment of regional tourism development programs are given.
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