Economic and Social Changes: Facts, Trends, Forecast @volnc-esc-en
Статьи журнала - Economic and Social Changes: Facts, Trends, Forecast
Все статьи: 1659
The problems of financing of higher education in modern Russia
Статья научная
The article deals with the financing of higher education in the current conditions on the materials of state universities in the Russian Federation. The author proves that education in general, including higher education, cannot be considered as a commercial service sector and universities as commercial organizations. He believes that it is a sphere of intellectual and spiritual activities that creates public goods, which must be provided by the state on a par with other public goods (ensuring of the state and social security, social security of the population, environmental security, etc.). This article presents the problems in the improvement of education expenditure planning and financing according to the objectives of modernizing the country at the new stage of its development.
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Статья научная
The article introduces the readers to the most important studies of the Vologda Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences, which celebrated its thirtieth anniversary this year. The subject of the Center’s scientific research was formed during a rather difficult period of the country’s development. In the early 1990s, the Russian Federation embarked on a path of market transformation. The adopted liberal concept of the country’s transition to the market proclaimed the incompatibility of the plan and the market. Planned management methods were rejected everywhere. The management paradigm adopted was based exclusively on market mechanisms for regulating socio-economic processes at all levels of government. This resulted not only in the increase of negative trends in the economy and social sphere, but in Russia’s descent into the abyss. The situation required finding ways out of the crisis and the country’s transition to a model of sustainable development. Scientific and methodological support for solving this problem at the regional level has become the core in determining the subject of the scientific studies of the Vologda Research Center of RAS. The purpose of the work is to make a review of the research carried out by the Vologda Research Center of RAS on the problems of sustainable development and strategic planning as one of the most appropriate tools for solving this issue.
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The quality of labor potential outside large cities
Статья научная
Sustainable development of rural areas in the context of reducing labor force caused by the natural loss of population and migration outflow to major cities is possible to ensure only through economic modernization, enhancement of the quality of labor potential and improvement of its efficiency. The goal of the research presented in the paper is to assess labor potential quality in the territories outside major cities. The information base of the work is the data of the monitoring of the qualitative state of labor potential of the Vologda Oblast population, an unprecedented longitudinal sociological research carried out by Vologda Research Center of RAS since 1997. The questionnaire survey takes place in eight districts of the Oblast and in the cities of Vologda and Cherepovets. The sample size is 1,500 people of working age. The assessment technique is based on the concept of qualitative characteristics of the population developed at RAS Institute of Socio-Economic Studies of Population and allows us to evaluate in index form (from zero to one) eight basic qualities of labor potential: physical health, mental health, cognitive potential, creativity, sociability, cultural and moral levels, achievement need...
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Статья научная
The article presents the analysis of long-term tourism development programs of the Volga Region. Great attention is given to the sector's financing measures set out in development programs. Domestic and foreign tourist potential assessment methods are analyzed. Tourist potential dynamics of the Volga Region is studied based on expert opinion. Using econometric approach the authors study the correlation between tourism investments and incomes of the Volga Region for the past six years - from 2009 to 2014. The analysis was carried out using statistics provided by the Russian Tourism Association and the Federal State Statistics Service of the Russian Federation by category of profitability from paid tourist services and from hospitality and catering services. The conducted analysis helped construct the figures showing the differentiation of the Volga regions by tourism investment efficiency and tourist potential realization. It is shown that tourist potential of the territories and its realization are highly differentiated...
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The regional aspects of food security
Статья научная
The essential questions of food security, the main factors of regional food security by example of the Komi Republic, the conceptual frameworks of food provision and the development lines of the regional agrarian sector are considered in the article.
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The role and place of the public chambers in the context of civil society and social capital
Статья научная
The article provides an overview of the conceptual foundations of civil society and social capital theories. It reflects the views of R. Putnam, one of the most reputable theorists of modern civil society. The hypothesis of a possible positive influence of the state over the development of civil society through special facilitative procedures is put forward in the article. The activity of the Public Chamber in the Vologda Oblast is considered as an example of establishing a special practice - cooperative confrontation that is used both for implementing the interests of developing civil society in coordination with the authorities and forming the constructive civic culture.
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The role of conventional and alternative energy in the regions of the North
Статья научная
The article considers the specifics of energy supply in the Northern regions of Russia, the advantages and disadvantages of conventional and alternative energy. It is shown that large power plants will focus on conventional sources of energy for a long time. Alternative energy can play an important role in supplying power to small decentralized consumers. The development of alternative energy is also necessary to test new power generation technologies.
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The role of economics in the evolution of public conscience
Статья научная
The article considers the place of economics in the evolution of social consciousness. It substantiates that the implementation of conceptual provisions of economic theories prevailing at the present time in the Russian practice does not provide the solution of national development problems. In the author's opinion, the economic science should contribute to the formation of public consciousness in which the primacy belongs to the function of creation.
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Статья научная
Entrepreneurship belongs to the category of initial distribution of income. The article raises questions whether entrepreneurship plays a positive role in the process of achieving the overall welfare of Chinese farmers, whether it contributes to increasing the level of their relative income and whether it can increase their subjective happiness. A theoretical hypothetical model “farmer entrepreneurship - relative income level - happiness” is constructed, and empirical analysis is carried out based on the data of the “Thousand Villages Survey” project, implemented by Shanghai University of Finance and Economics. First, we consider the impact of entrepreneurship on raising the level of relative income of Chinese farmers; then we analyze the impact of entrepreneurship on their sense of happiness. Finally, we use the mediator effect model to test the role of relative income level as a mediator in the process of influence of entrepreneurship on farmers’ sense of happiness. The study has found that across China entrepreneurship does indeed contribute to the increase in the level of farmers’ relative income, demonstrating the “enrichment effect”; it also contributes to the increase in their level of subjective sense of happiness, demonstrating the “happiness effect”; and the level of relative income plays a partial mediating role in this process. Thus, the sense of happiness of farmers engaged in entrepreneurship arises due to an increase in the level of their relative income and also due to the process of entrepreneurial activity itself. On this basis, it is recommended that state authorities and relevant structures actively promote the concept of “mass entrepreneurship and innovation” in rural areas, create a favorable environment for rural entrepreneurship, encourage farmers to become entrepreneurs, and promote the concept of “mass entrepreneurship and innovations” for rural entrepreneurship, encourage farmers to do business in order to increase their relative income and enhance their sense of happiness, thereby contributing to the overall financial and spiritual well-being of rural residents.
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The role of individual responsibility in territorial development
Статья научная
Within regional science, there has always been a great deal of emphasis on examining territorial differences. When defining development directions, it is important that territorial levels can be identified individually. One of the characteristics of settlements is a lively social life. This will provide an opportunity for the population to live their individual social and cultural life. In settlements where the population is active, people usually love to live, and their inhabitants want to improve their physical and cultural life. They work like a great family, they form a community. In some of cases, settlement leaders place great emphasis on community development. The leaders of the settlement formally try to ensure the development of the settlement with local regulations, however they also have informal tools that they can use for the benefit of their community. In addition to executives, the individual has an important role in community building. The active behavior of individuals in community building can greatly contribute to a successful settlement. The study examines several local communities with qualitative and quantitative modifiers, and presents success factors within each community. The purpose of the study is to approach communities from a new perspective. Previous research has generally examined communities on the basis of their characteristics, ethnicity (minorities), spatial concentration (school communities). This study attempts to highlight the relationship between territorial development and individual responsibility, taking into account all aspects of communities. It is important to note that the purpose of this study is not to present complete research findings (correlation studies on individual factors: age, educational attainment, income, and their impact on communities), partly because of the scale and partly because of future research plans. The research results confirm that the level of development and development potential of the regions are largely determined by the composition of the human factor living in the given space. Decisions made by decision-makers taking these principles into account can really contribute to the development of areas. Scientific study of such development results coud be a goal for future research.
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The role of industrial production localization in the import substitution policy
Статья научная
The article is devoted to defining the role of localization of industrial production in the implementation of the import substitution policy. The methodological framework of the research consists of the system approach, methods of structural, object, functional, and statistical analysis, as well as the method of expert estimations. The article reviews the concept of “import substitution” and “localization”; it is concluded that the implementation of the import substitution policy is inextricably linked with the localization. It provides examples of successful localization policy in individual industries (automotive, pharmaceutical and railway engineering), proves its effectiveness in creating high-tech industries for industrial output. The mechanism of localization in the railway engineering sector, whose competitiveness is currently provided largely by imported technology, is discussed in the case of locomotive engineering and rolling stock manufacturing for high-speed operation...
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Статья научная
The article deals with the issue of significance of institutional and regulatory components in the socio-cultural modernization of regions. The authors draw attention to the special role of institution of higher education as a factor affecting the level of social support for the actions of government authorities and mechanisms to ensure a high level of solidarity of the Russian society in addressing the issues of socio-cultural modernization. The purpose for the research is to scientifically substantiate and develop the procedures for identifying the degree of social support for the policy of the government and its separate units by social groups with higher education. In the context of implementation of Project on diagnostic study of the status and prospects of modernization in regions, a special research objective is to assess the correlation between the concentration of people with higher education in regional structures and types of modernization, the equilibrium in the process of regional modernization...
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The role of local communities in the development of small territories
Статья научная
The paper studies the participation of local communities in the development of small territories and the conditions that increase public involvement in the processes of spatial development at the local level. We apply a socio-spatial approach to study local communities combined with an action-activist concept to spatial development. In the theoretical part, we consider the main approaches to the study of local communities and their role in the territories’ development. We define the basic characteristics of the local community: social community; a common space, place; common interests, living conditions; ties, interaction. We provide the mechanisms of local community’s participation in the development of territories. The empirical part of the study is based on data from the opinion poll, conducted in two large cities and five small ones of the Vologda Oblast in 2021 (N=1550). We consider the average values for large and small cities and compare the indicators of the local community’s participation in the development of territories to reveal the features of this process. According to subjective estimates, we find that the main actors of territorial changes are the governing bodies and the local community, while business is practically not responsible for the development of the territories in which it operates. In small cities, compared to large cities, the local community is more focused on the development of territories and is aware of its responsibility. The local community shows a higher potential and level of participation in initiatives. In almost all practices, the share of participants in small cities is higher than in large cities. We determine that a lack of teamwork experience hinders community engagement in spatial development issues. As promising areas, we consider institutionalized mechanisms of local community participation in territories’ development, such as participatory budgeting and project activities as part of the work of non-profit organizations.
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The role of the elites in the evolutionary process: conceptual framework and modern interpretations
Статья научная
The article considers the influence of the elites on the evolutionary process and the current global upheavals that have evolved into a confrontation between two megacivilizations (West and NonWest), which threatens humanity with extinction. The aim of the study is to try and answer the questions whether these processes were to be expected; whether they correspond to the general principles of social development or are a coincidence. The research on the elites in the context of a civilizational approach and combining it with the concept of democracy allowed D. Zolo to build an elite model of civilization development, linking three components: stages of civilization development, type of elite, and form of government. It has been established that as civilization develops (from its inception to its demise), the elite moves from power forces to its supranational form, and this movement is accompanied by the transformation of forms ofgovernment from anarchy to tyranny. It is shown that the period of the heyday of a civilization coincides with the period of the rule of national elites; as soon as the elite loses the quality of national power and becomes supranational, the civilization starts declining. The source of the evolutionary development of a civilization is the creative potential of the elite, the vital energy of which is found in the passionarity of the ethnic group, “triggered” by the action of the hypercompensation mechanism based on A. Toynbee’s “Chahenge-and-Response” principle, which may not work in the case of the rule of the supranational elite. An assessment of the current state of the Western elite has shown its supranational nature and the worsening process of degradation accompanying the decline of Western civilization. This corresponds to the paradox of lagging behind, according to which a civilization that is more advanced in terms of technological development finds itself in a state of spiritual crisis and disintegration earlier. From this point of view, the unfolding confrontation is a clash between the supranational elite and its national opponents, who defend the traditional values and interests of their own countries. The novelty of the research lies in the construction of an elite model of the development of civilization, and in the consideration of a structural model of an evolutionary leap in the case of the rule of supranational elites.
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The role of the fuel sector of subarctic regions in the Komi Republic economy
Статья научная
The article considers the approach towards the improvement of the management of regional development, which is based on determining the character and direction of the influence of a number of factors on regional development by applying the method of principal components. The approbation of the suggested approach to the statistical data of Russian regions for 2000-2010 in terms of the region’s major subsystems indicated the absence of progressive development tendencies, as well as made it possible to determine the character and the direction of the influence of the investigated factors, which in the regional management practice permit taking the regions to the sustainable development pathway, to be determined.
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The role of the sport industry in the development of today's economy
Статья научная
Historically, all the sport projects related to the sector of recreation and entertainment, so they were rather unimportant. However, the situation has radically changed recently: the sport industry is reaching a new developmental level and becoming a full-fledged economic sector. It is indicated by the huge investments in the development of sport clubs and related infrastructure, as well as the special attention of the Government.
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The scale of inequality and the specifics of its perception in modern Russia
Статья научная
Inequality is a key socio-economic development challenge for the world as a whole and for individual countries. In Russia, the problem of inequality is particularly acute, since the scale and depth of differences in the population’s income greatly exceed the “conditional levels” of normal inequality. In this regard, it is important to prevent the development of negative socio-political processes and the deterioration of public sentiments. The article’s purpose is to determine the peculiarities of the Russian population’s perception of the existing inequality and its manifestations in the country. Using the data from Rosstat and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, we prove that inequality in Russia is large in scale and persists throughout the post-reform period of the country’s development without a clear focus on reducing the depth of polarization of the extreme income groups. We use the data of a cross-country representative study under the program ISSP, conducted in 2019, to examine the perception of inequality by the population of Russia and some foreign countries, specifically the subjective assessment of the depth of inequality, its fairness, the role of the state in reducing income disparities, the features of the redistribution system (role of taxes), accessibility of health and education services, the degree of conflict (dislike) between the poor and the rich. We show that the perception of inequality by Russians differs from the perception of other countries’ residents with a more expressed critical assessment of the depth, injustice, social conflict and ineffectiveness of government actions to reduce income disparities. We find that the population does not show tolerance to non-monetary dimensions of inequality, considering unfair the opportunity of rich people to purchase high quality medical and educational services. We reveal that there are no significant differences in the perception of inequality in different socio-demographic and socio-economic groups of the population. Attention is drawn to the fact that the subjective perception of inequality lies to a greater extent in the field of ideas about a fair social order than it is unambiguously determined by the level of income.
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The special military operation reveals new features of civil society
Статья научная
Eight months have passed since the RF President announced the launch of a special military operation on the territory of Ukraine (February 24, 2022); thus, currently Russia is facing a global political situation that has become more turbulent. Difficulties on the front line, frequent terrorist attacks, military aid to the Kiev regime from NATO countries all this urged the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the RF Armed Forces to make tough but necessary decisions that could not but affect the majority of Russian society. The paper analyzes key events related to the special military operation, as well as the decisions promptly taken by the President in accordance with the requirements of the time and the situation on the front line. We focus on some of the President’s decisions, such as the announcement of partial military mobilization (September 21, 2022); amendments to the RF Criminal Code aimed to strengthen discipline in the army and society during martial law and wartime (September 24, 2022); accession of new territories to Russia - the Donetsk People’s Republic, the Lugansk People’s Republic, the Kherson and Zaporozhye oblasts (October 5, 2022); large-scale precision missile strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure, military communications and command posts (October 10, 2022); introduction of martial law in the new constituent entities of the Russian Federation and the establishment of special measures to ensure security of all regions of the Russian Federation (19 October 2022). We analyze public opinion trends and the results of the Single Voting Day (September 11, 2022), which are considered as indicators of public sentiment in the hard times that our country is facing. On the whole, our research has shown that the alarming political situation on the global arena, as well as the tough decisions adopted by the head of state in recent months, revealed new features in Russian civil society, provoked changes in the people’s internal awareness of the scale of threats to national security. This, in particular, was expressed in the following: many Russians are participating in the special military operation as volunteers; volunteer aid is increasing; in society, there is strong condemnation of those who left Russia after the start of the special operation; all the social strata are consolidating around the RF President; the above trends are observed in the dynamics of public opinion assessments. All these factors can play an important role in Russia’s crossing its internal Rubicon in the form of the reorientation of broad strata of Russian society, and above all its elite groups, from the Western development dogmas imposed during the 30th anniversary of the market transformation toward nationally oriented goals and values.
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