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TERRA ECONOMICUS

WESTERN AND NON-WESTERN ECONOMIC INSTITUTIONAL MODELS IN TIME AND GEOGRAPHICAL SPACE

TERRA ECONOMICUS, , Vol. 17 (no. 1),

Citation: Kirdina-Chandler, S. G. (2019). Western and non-Western economic institutional models in time and geographical space. Terra Economicus, 17(1), 8–23. DOI: 10.23683/2073-6606-2019-17-1-8-23

With growing doubts about the universality of Western institutional models, there is now more attention paid to the analysis of models that are developing beyond the “western world”. This paper is devoted to a comparative analysis of countries with either predominant Western or non-Western institutional models of the economy. An overview of studies in political economy, as well as the main more modern institutional theories about similar subjects, are presented. The paper focuses mainly on the approach developed in the author’s theory of X- and Y-institutional matrices (Kirdina, 2014 [2001; 2000]; Kirdina-Chandler, 2017). In this theory, Western institutional models are characterised by the predominance of a set of Y-matrix institutions, among them the institutions of a market economy, federal political structure, and individualistic ideology. Non-Western models are distinguished by the dominance of a set of X-matrix institutions, among them the institutions of a redistributive economy, unitary-centralised political structure, and communitarian ideology. The X-and-Y-institutional matrices theory was used as the methodological basis for two research projects carried out in 2014–2017, the results of which are presented in the paper. The first project was devoted to analysing the influence of geographic/climatic factors on the development of institutional models. A reliable statistical relationship between the extremes of geographic/climatic factors and the predominant institutional model – the western (less extreme) and the non-western (more extreme) – is identified and logically justified. The second project was to study the long-term dynamics (since 1820) of the coexistence of countries with Western and non-Western models. A cyclical process of changing world economic leadership, expressed in the share of GDP produced by each group of countries in the world GDP, was revealed. Prior to the spread of the industrial revolution, countries with non-Western institutional models dominated in the world GDP. Since the 1870’s the domination of Y-countries started, which began to produce more than half of the world GDP. The biggest gap between these two groups of countries was observed in 1950–1970 but following this period it began to decline. Since 2008/2010 X-countries began outperforming Y-countries by share of world GDP, and this advantage is gradually increasing. It is hypothesised that a change of dominance in the global economic configuration and the search for new coalitions are some of the main factors for the increase in radical sentiment in the world and international tension.

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IDEAS, NARRATIVES AND ECONOMIC CHANGE

TERRA ECONOMICUS, , Vol. 17 (no. 1),

Citation: Tambovtsev, V. L. (2019). Ideas, narratives and economic change. Terra Economicus, 17(1), 24–40. DOI: 10.23683/2073-6606-2019-17-1-24-40

The paper deals with the critical analysis of the narrative and ideational “turns” in economic research. Based on the research findings of information science, social psychology, decision-making theory, cognitive science, anthropology, and other fields of research, the author shows that perspectives on “the power of ideas” and its impact for economic policy are greatly exaggerated. First and foremost, the scholars ignore the fact that only ideas that respond to the concerns of economic and political actors are accepted by them and transform into their beliefs. Further, to put belief into action, the actor must have the appropriate resource capacity including sufficient level of selfefficacy, as well as the internal locus of control. Finally, the actor must have appropriate incentives for action: his expected benefits ought to exceed the expected costs. For all these reasons, neither the spread of a new idea is synonymous with its acceptance, (transformation into belief), nor it is identical to the implementation of the ideas. Narratives represent the meaningful unit of content. Being similar to the structure of a decision-making situation, the narrative structure mirrors causal connections between actions and their effects. Human brain is evolutionary wired for narratives, so narrative communication has high persuasion capacity regardless of is content. This does not mean that narrative research in economy is not an important field. Narratives are part of economic culture; thus, narrative research could help reveal wrong decisions regarding economic policies.

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DISBELIEF IN THE FUTURE AND NEGATIVE INVESTMENT IN HEALTH CAPITAL IN RUSSIA IN THE MID-2010S: SURVEY RESEARCH

TERRA ECONOMICUS, , Vol. 17 (no. 1),

Citation: Suvorova, O. V., and Rozmainsky, I. V. (2019). Disbelief in the future and negative investment in health capital in Russia in the mid-2010s: Survey research. Terra Economicus, 17(1), 41–63. DOI: 10.23683/2073-6606-2019-17-1-41-63

The key idea of this paper stems from the aspiration to explain the low life expectancy in Russia, especially among men. The authors suppose that negative investment in health capital, in particular, smoking, alcohol consumption and lack of physical exercise, are the root causes of this phenomenon. The article tests the hypothesis that the most important reason for negative investments in health capital is the mass unwillingness of people to calculate the long-term consequences of their decisions. This reluctance can be described by the concept of investor myopia. This term means exclusion from consideration of future results, starting from a certain threshold point in time. Investor myopia can be considered as the most important consequence of disbelief in the future, which, in turn, can be generated by pessimism, lack of confidence, or ingrained psychology of the “provisional ruler”. Thus, people who do not believe in the future are more prone to negative investments in health capital. Econometric analysis is based on the authors’ own data obtained from surveys in 2016 and 2017. The paper uses various proxies to measure disbelief in the future and applies probit and ordered probit models to confirm the hypothesis by empirical evidence. The authors conclude that the proposed hypothesis cannot be rejected.

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INVESTING IN HUMAN CAPITAL AND ASSIMILATION OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

TERRA ECONOMICUS, , Vol. 17 (no. 1),

Citation: Guliyeva, A., Chunikhina, N., Guliyeva, A., and Abdulova, A. (2019). Investing in human capital and assimilation of economic development. Terra Economicus, 17(1), 64–76. DOI: 10.23683/2073-6606-2019-17-1-64-76

Our paper focuses on the main directions of human economic development. We consider such questions as interrelation of the theory and concept of the human capital, concept of human development, its influence on economy, etc. It is noted that the economic growth and growth of a standard of living is possible only in those countries where the government protects interests of the citizens, makes and puts into practice social programs, carries out reforms in education and health care. New and extensive employment has been created in connection with the collection and analysis of information in the field of electronic technology, telecommunications, political, social and economic life. In other words, human capital has become a key factor in the development of information technologies and cannot imagine the modern information economy without them. Formation of personnel training system for the use of information technologies in all spheres has become a serious problem. Transition to the information economy requires the creation of a broad mass of the population to use information and telecommunication technologies, including high-speed Internet resources.

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INTERSYSTEM INTERACTION IN THE TELECOMMUNICATIONS OPERATORS' ACTIVITIES

TERRA ECONOMICUS, , Vol. 17 (no. 1),

Citation: Kobylko, A. A. (2019). Intersystem interaction in the telecommunications operators’ activities. Terra Economicus, 17(1), 77–93. DOI: 10.23683/2073-6606-201917-1-77-93

The article deals with the problems of interaction between the organization, industry and the state. The study relies on the system economic theory perspective. The project subsystem is responsible for communication with systems of other levels. This system is inherently limited in time and space. Changes in the entire socio-economic system are a set of targeted measures. These activities are aimed at solving local problems. This is collection of some projects with the territory of exposure and time interval. The project subsystem of the microlevel interacts with the project subsystem of the industry – industry union or association. The project subsystem of the industry interacts (forward and backwards) with the project subsystem of the state. These are executive authorities, regulators of the industry. Communication is the exchange of information on a number of system problems, like how to provide solution to a problem by transferring information about it to a higher level and receiving an answer about how to solve it, transferring it to a lower level. This study shows that the role of project subsystem of mesolevel infocommunications companies in intersystem activity is rather weak. In some cases, there may be direct interaction between the macrosystem and the microsystem. Signals can pass by the mesolevel due to the size of the key players in the industry. There are educational and scientific problems in infocommunication sphere, bureaucratic problems in the development of this market and the attitude of the state to the regulation of this area as a whole. They are caused by the strength of insufficient inter-level communication. The development of the power of the mesolevel project subsystem can have a positive impact on their solution.

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GOALS AND OBJECTIVES OF LANGUAGE POLICY AND PROBLEMS OF SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF RUSSIA

TERRA ECONOMICUS, , Vol. 17 (no. 1),

Citation: Kadochnikov, D. V. (2019). Goals and objectives of language policy and problems of socio-economic development of Russia. Terra Economicus, 17(1), 96–111. DOI: 10.23683/2073-6606-2019-17-1-96-111

The paper presents an analysis of Russian federal laws and state programs with a focus on the stated principles and objectives of language policy. Key questions posed in the paper include the following ones: How are the goals and objectives of the language policy formulated, and how implementable are they, taking into account the formulations used? To what extent the goals, objectives and activities declared meet the needs of socio-economic development of the country and the welfare of its citizens? It should be noted that texts of normative legal acts of the Russian Federation, which determine the language policy and establish the ways of its implementation, only indirectly refer to the ultimate goal of language policy (that is the welfare of citizens and of the society as a whole, the full realization of human potential). The choice of wording in the documents, which are fundamental for the Russian language policy, implies that both in the mass consciousness and in the political discourse some very mythologized and simplified ideas about the goals and objectives of language policy are tenacious and popular. The formulation of the goals and objectives of language policy in normative legal acts of the Russian Federation, the choice of ways to implement these goals and objectives in the government programs do not allow to say that the potential of language policy as the tool of social and economic development of the country, ensuring social and economic interests of its citizens, is fully realized by the participants of the normsetting process.

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THE USE OF THE LOCAL LANGUAGES AS THE OFFICIAL ONES IN THE REPUBLICS OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION: LEGAL AND ECONOMIC ASPECTS

TERRA ECONOMICUS, , Vol. 17 (no. 1),

Citation: Oding, N. Y., Yushkov, A. O., and Savulkin, L. I. The use of the local languages as the official ones in the Republics of the Russian Federation: Legal and economic aspects. Terra Economicus, 17(1), 112–130. DOI: 10.23683/2073-6606-2019-17-1-112-130

The article deals with the recent practices of using national languages in Russian regions. Based on the actual statistical data, the authors analyze the current state and dynamics of national language use in the national republics of the Russian Federation and outline the reasons for heterogeneity among the regions of Russia. The authors also review the legal practice of recent years regarding the use of national languages in education, public administration and other spheres of the public sector, and reveal the new trends in the regulation of language policy at the federal level as well as the coincidence of trends of the budget and language policies.

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RUSSIAN TEXTILE INDUSTRY: PAST AND PRESENT

TERRA ECONOMICUS, , Vol. 17 (no. 1),

Citation: Shevchenko I. K., Razvadovskaya Y. V., and Marchenko A. A. (2019). Russian textile industry: Past and present. Terra Economicus, 17(1), 131–149. DOI: 10.23683/2073-6606-2019-17-1-131-149

This article presents a multi-level analysis of key economic indicators of the Russian textile industry performance. The authors focus on the capital-labor ratio analysis describing the production technology. The article suggests calculation of the capital-labor ratio in the textile industry for 2015 and 1900. Research findings show an increase of this indicator during the last 150 years of industry existence by only 1.5 times. Analysis of data on the value structure of fixed capital in 1900 suggests that the cost of foreign equipment employed in textile production is 3 times higher than the cost of domestic equipment. These findings resulted in a hypothesis about the historical trend towards import of equipment and technologies from more technologically developed countries. Further analysis of the materials “On the development of the linen industry based on the Materials for Statistics of the Russian Empire of 1859” confirms this hypothesis. The next phase of the analysis deals with the relationship between the ownership type and the profit rate. Correlation analysis tends to support the hypothesis that there is a positive relationship between the state ownership and the profit. The conclusion is made that there is a need for the incentives for attracting investment in the textile industry, with the average profit margin for the industry among the crucial parameters.

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EVOLUTION OF PUBLIC PROCUREMENT AUCTIONS IN RUSSIA

TERRA ECONOMICUS, , Vol. 17 (no. 1),

Citation: Melnikov, V. V., and Lukashenko, O. A. (2019). Evolution of public procurement auctions in Russia. Terra Economicus, 17(1), 150–173. DOI: 10.23683/20736606-2019-17-1-150-173

Reverse auctions in public procurement have become an important stage, shaping the modern “showcase” of Russian state contractual system. The formal rules that determine conduct of economic entities in this field tend to be an essential factor underlying development of an efficient competitive environment in the public procurement quasi-market, which, other conditions being equal, facilitates growth of well-being for both consumers and producers in Russia. The paper focuses on the evolution of auction technologies and the underlying legal and regulatory framework in the modern Russia. A detailed comparative analysis of various auctions methods used in public procurement in Russia is presented to highlight the rationale of their transformation. Some formal rules are highlighted that contributed to attaining a controlled uniformity of procurement mechanisms, which have led to better predictability and attractiveness of the new market for its participants, and shaped framework for fighting corruption in the public sector. The pressing factors of corruption and quality assurance in public procurement are addressed. The issue is becoming of particular importance since, due to its current administrative reform, Russia is reviewing its offer for joining the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement. The sequence of technological measures in public and municipal procurement, stages and timeline of procurement procedures are detailed. The role of digitalizing public procurement in order to enhance transparency in this segment of economic operations is discussed. The authors have performed a comparative analysis of different types of e-auctions within the federal regulatory environment in Russia. Any robustness and balance improvement in procurement procedure selection can be expected only after mandatory and synchronous electronification of all methods of public procurement in the Russian Federation.

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THE ROLE OF LABOR POTENTIAL IN IMPLEMENTATION OF ENERGY EFFICIENCY POLICY AT INDUSTRIAL ENTERPRISES

TERRA ECONOMICUS, , Vol. 17 (no. 1),

Citation: Gaboyan, A. G., Podgajnov, D. V., and Belousov, V. M. (2019). The role of labor potential in implementation of energy efficiency policy at industrial enterprises. Terra Economicus, 17(1), 174–188. DOI: 10.23683/2073-6606-2019-17-1-174-188

This paper provides an analysis and systematization of various approaches to the conceptual and terminological interpretation of industrial policy, and energy efficiency policy as its key component. Empirical evidence shows that successful implementation of tactical and strategic energy saving plan goals depends on the quality of organization and use of human resource capacity at appropriate hierarchical levels. This perspective is justified by the idea that across the enterprise, employees’ goal orientations, as well as their professional competencies, play an important role. Research findings show that reliable and objective assessment of human resource capacity of an industrial enterprise using the methodical modelling and informational tools is an important prerequisite for the managerial resonance (goal coordination, managerial decisions and enterprise-wide results), and for harmonization of innovation processes across the organizations’ units, services and departments oriented for energy efficiency. A model for assessing the quality of employees’ professional competencies is designed and tested, with the energy conservation policy framework taken into account. The analytical tools developed by the authors suggest as the instruments for the rating procedures applicable to all employees of a specific enterprise, with their engagement in the “lean production” procedures as the main criterion (including quantitative parameters and qualitative characteristics). The paper shows that the cumulative efficiency of the employees’ activities in implementation of energy-conservation policies might be improved not only due to individual and professional competencies, but also due to their reasonable combinations and complementarities between them.

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