Статьи журнала - Economic and Social Changes: Facts, Trends, Forecast
Все статьи: 1587
“Intellectual feebleness” of the ruling elites and the “deep people” of the “long state”
Статья научная
In 2018, Russian society faced a contradiction, caused by the discrepancy between the official political rhetoric and the real actions of the Government. Instead of the priorities stated in the President's Address to the Federal Assembly and in the “May decree” (reducing poverty twofold, Russia's joining the top five economies of the world, etc.), the society was faced with the need to take a “bitter medicine” in the form of raising the retirement age. Moreover, the news about the changes in pension legislation reached the general public just after the inauguration of the President (the inauguration took place on May 7, 2018, and the draft law on the pension reform was submitted to the State Duma on June 16). The initial reaction to the pension reform was adamantly negative: according to the surveys conducted by the Public Opinion Foundation, almost 80% of Russians were against the reform. Over the following months, a wave of protests swept across the country and stopped only after Vladimir Putin made an official appeal to the Russian people on August 29 and explained that the pension system has to be reformed; he proposed some adjustments that would soften some conditions of the reform for certain population groups. However, despite the fact that the visible signs of public discontent (protests, critical articles, etc.) are gradually fading, the level of people's support for the authorities, including the President of the Russian Federation, continued to decline; fundamental changes began to take place in the public consciousness, and such changes are of a long-term nature. This fact proves that the pension reform only triggered a more profound internal discontent that has been accumulating over the last years. Thus, at the beginning of 2019, the fundamental question concerning the legitimacy of power in Russia became one of the most pressing and urgent for society and authorities with regard to actual implementation of the tasks set out in the “May Decree”, qualitative growth of the standard of living and, by and large, preservation of the Russian statehood. A deep and ideologically saturated article of V. Putin's personal adviser V. Surkov, which was published in February 2019, addresses this very issue (as some experts think), and it has caused a wide resonance in the academic, political and social environment. The following materials present our views on Surkov's article and on a significant set of issues raised in it. The conclusions we come to are supported not only by the results of our own studies of the long-term dynamics of public opinion, but also by expert assessments, which largely reflect the real situation in the country.
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“Knowledge workers” and modernization in the region
Статья научная
Professional education is the main part of personnel training and it serves as the driver of modernization process. “Knowledge workers” are carriers of knowledge provided by the professional training system. Professional activity of “knowledge workers” is strategically important in the economy under transformation. The paper reviews domestic and foreign experience and defines criteria for identifying people as “knowledge workers”: educational level, employment in “intellectually demanding” industries. The study identifies specific characteristics of “knowledge workers”, represents their typological classification depending on their employment affiliation (professional managers, new workers, certified technicians, scientists, innovator specialists). The paper focuses on determining the level of implementation of employment potential of qualified specialists in the context of economic modernization. The authors define the dependence of the level of regions' modernization on the employment of workers that have vocational education...
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“Live and learn”: conceptual discourse on people's financial literacy
Статья научная
In modern social reality, well-being of individuals, including their financial well-being, is increasingly becoming a zone of personal responsibility. At the same time, in the Russian context, the majority of people remain almost entirely dependent on wages as the only source of income. This fact, along with a low level of financial literacy, is an actual risk for individuals and the financial system of the country. Consequently, the importance of adequate financial knowledge, skills and actions within the financial education and training system is increasing. This brings to the fore the task of revealing “weak spots” in financial literacy and identifying vulnerable population groups so as to develop effective management decisions; this can be done with the help of well-elaborated tools used to study financial literacy. The goal of our paper is to carry out critical analysis of available theoretical and methodological approaches to the study of people's financial literacy...
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Статья научная
The purpose for the research is to analyze the key features of local identities based on the theoretical approach of multiple identity and analysis of large volumes of empirical information. The article is based on the hypothesis that the spread of global communications as widespread practices gradually brings citizens outside the local circle, providing socio-economic and socio-cultural integration. Methods of analysis: calculation of indices of strata proximity, regression models, analysis of variance. The research novelty lies in the substantiation of the necessity of introducing the contextual meaning of the term “place identity” which is associated with the socio-economic criteria of support for network communications by content features and is due to the mechanisms for distinguishing levels of strata proximity. The authors empirically verify the concept on sociological databases; identify new effects and performance of identities in Russia. The main results include: theoretical study and empirical estimation of the regional identity based on comparative analysis of performance of seven regions and Russia as a whole by a common methodology during 2002-2016; the author's model of structuring “place identity” as a symbolic resource and a criteria of support for network communications; the differences of strata proximity levels and main factors for their reproduction...
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Статья научная
December 12, 2018 marked the 25th anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution of the Russian Federation. The paper provides our own assessment of the implementation of one of the main provisions of the Constitution of the Russian Federation: “The Russian Federation is a social State whose policy is aimed at creating conditions for a worthy life and a free development of man” (Article 7). We define and substantiate the criteria of efficiency of implementation of this provision; we also provide the data of foreign, Russian and regional sociological studies that reflect a subjective assessment of the dynamics of living standards and quality of life by Russians. We pay special attention to public administration efficiency in overcoming social inequality and achieving social justice. Ultimately, we raise the questions whether Russia is a social state, how far it has advanced in this direction over the past 25 years, and what its prospects can be in the near future.
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“Smart” benchmarking as a basis for strategic planning in regional development
Статья научная
Addressing the problem of scientific substantiation of the region’s development priorities is an urgent issue for both regional researchers and territorial managers. At the same time, when determining the areas of development, the emphasis is often put on successful experience of the leading territories. This method of transplantation of best practices in order to improve the performance of the object under analysis is called benchmarking. In classical understanding, the key stages of regional benchmarking are: selection of the leading region for comparison, identifying the differences between the leading region and the region under analysis, analysis of key success factors of the leading region, and implementing successful experience in the economic practice of the research area. At the same time, the absence of preliminary analysis of reasons and prerequisites for achieving leadership by best regions, comparison of territories with objectively different characteristics of socio-economic development, leads to non-compliance with the most important principle of regional development planning - the principle of goal-setting...
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