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TERRA ECONOMICUS

Taxes and technologies: Past, present and future of the Russian tax system


TERRA ECONOMICUS, , Vol. 18 (no. 4),

The article deals with the long-term trends in the development of the tax system of the Russian Federation. To identify them, the authors analyze co-evolution of production technologies, economic institutions and taxes instead of applying the standard financial methodological tools. The results show that the transformations of the Russian tax system generally were in line with the development of technologies and institutions. This allows us to outline the future contours of the tax system associated with the Fourth Industrial Revolution. For this purpose, three stages in the latest economic history of the Russian Federation were specially selected: an old-industrial (1991–1998), post-industrial (1999–2008), and neo-industrial (from 2009 to the present) ones. The analysis demonstrated that the new tax system of the Russian Federation was designed during the old industrial stage, featured by a painful economic restructuring. The experience gained was used to reform the tax system at the next stage, which followed the 1998 default and was characterized by a rapid recovery of the economy, primarily due to the growth of the extractive industry, but also due to the transformation of taxes: state control over the tax base for hydrocarbons was restored and the share of resource rents assigned by the state was sharply increased. This allowed restoring the countryʼs economic sovereignty, creating foreign exchange reserves and increasing the consolidated budget revenues. Due to the global financial crisis, another transformation of the Russian tax system was required to meet the challenges of new industrialization based on cyber-physical technologies. The latter are already successfully used in the tax administration system. Now we should expect a restructuring of the entire tax system based on the principles of digital tax algorithmization, real-time data associated with the particular business transaction, and automatic tax calculation and tax payments under smart contracts within the state economic policy framework.
Citation: Vishnevsky, V. P., Goncharenko, L. I., Nikulkina, I. V., Gurnak, A. V. (2020). Taxes and technologies: Past, present and future of the Russian tax system. Terra Economicus, 18(4), 6–31. DOI: 10.18522/2073-6606-2020-18-4-6-31 (In Russian)
Acknowledgment: The article is supported by the state assignment for research, development and technological work, project no. AAAA19–119092590051–2 “Research of alternative concepts of tax regulation as a factor of ensuring the new industrial revolution in Russia”.

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Modeling marital fertility in Russia in terms of regional multi-variations in family policy


TERRA ECONOMICUS, , Vol. 18 (no. 4),

Russia’s population is forecasted to decline annually by 2024, the updated version of the Unified Plan for Achieving the National Development Goals of the Russian Federation for the Period until 2030 says. The total decrease may be equal to 1,2 million people. According to key Russian officials, low level of marital fertility is seen as one of the main reasons for depopulation. Russian authorities are “implementing active measures” to increase the birth rate and to protect mothers and children, with an emphasis on traditional family support. In terms of regional multi-variations in family policy, however, these measures do not always result in positive impacts. This paper contributes to the problem of assessing marital fertility in the Russian Federation by developing a classifier for estimating the likelihood of marriage. The study proposes a grouping of regions by the level of marital fertility to assess the scope of deinstitutionalization of marriage in Russia. The authors suggest that the tendency of the marriage deinstitutionalization in Russian can be explained by the regional population structures, which negatively impact the reproduction of the institution of marriage and family. With an increase in the average age of marriage for women, there is a shift to contract marriages, which results in a gradual accumulation of institutional exceptions and breakdown of the traditional family. This study relies on the data of the Russia Longitudinal Monitoring Survey – Higher School of Economics (RLMS-HSE). The authors evaluate the binomial logit model of the probability of marriage. The results suggest that the effectiveness of the family policy may be increased through the institutional strengthening of shared strategies according to the regional context.
Citation: Kapoguzov, E. A., Chupin, R. I., Kharlamova, M. S. (2020). Modeling marital fertility in Russia in terms of regional multi-variations in family policy. Terra Economicus, 18(4), 32–46. DOI: 10.18522/20736606-2020-18-4-32-46 (In Russian)
Acknowledgment: The article is supported by the state assignment of the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, titled «Family households as an economic entity».

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The potential for labor productivity growth in the context of digital transformation


TERRA ECONOMICUS, , Vol. 18 (no. 4),

Digital transformation permeates all aspects of life. Recent years have shown an increasing growth in the number of studies on the impact of digitalization on industrial and economic development, business environment, employment and labor quality. This article attempts to identify the relationship between increasing labor productivity and indicators that characterize the digital transformation of the economy. Relatively high level of regional differentiation and socio-economic development of territories in Russia makes the digital transformation of production and social processes uneven; the estimates within this study focus on the Federal districts of the Russian Federation. The authors apply macroeconomic analysis of the overall efficiency of the Russian economy (refined by the labor productivity indicators of the Federal districts), statistical and econometric methods for data analysis, and the multiple regression analysis of the selected data sets, including labor productivity indicators and digital economy development indicators from the official data collected by the Federal State Statistics Service of the Russian Federation. Analysis of the Networked Readiness Index, the Global Innovation Index and the Knowledge Economy Index, that demonstrate the significance of the culture of digital services consumption and digital skills training on the national level, shows a significant gap between Russia and the top ten leading countries. The authors emphasize the necessity for statistical monitoring of the current state and the development of digital skills among the population through the system of continuing education, as well as their utilization based on time and spatial factors.
Citation: Borovskaya, M. A., Masych, M. A., Fedosova, T. V. (2020). Reserves for growth of labor productivity in the context of the digital transformation. Terra Economicus, 18(4), 47–66. DOI: 10.18522/2073-6606-2020-18-4-47-66 (In Russian)

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The twilight of neoliberal globalization


TERRA ECONOMICUS, , Vol. 18 (no. 4),

The author employs contemporary Marxist theory and methodology, and its theoretical concept of finance monopoly capital in particular, to analyze the decline of the neoliberal globalization currently under way. The paper shows that offshoring and financialization that developed during the neoliberal era have reinforced monopolistic dominance by mature imperialist states (namely, the “triad” of USA, EU and Japan), leading to the new division (or recolonization) of the periphery. As a result, the geo-economic space has become rigidly structured in a hierarchy of the groups of nations, with production having become increasingly organized within global production networks controlled by transnational corporations based in the “triad”. However, mass transfer of the labor-intensive industries to low-wage countries of the periphery, and to China in particular, has resulted in geopolitical and economic rise of the latter, thus intensifying competition and struggle between national imperialisms. Deglobalization that emerged and evolved during the post-crisis period appears as a manifestation of a new redivision of the world, with unfolding redrawing of the geoeconomic map, creeping degradation of supranational institutions and spike of trade wars between the world’s largest economies.
Citation: Sergeev, G. S. (2020). The twilight of neoliberal globalization. Terra Economicus, 18(4), 67–77. DOI: 10.18522/2073-6606-2020-18-4-67-77

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Economic impacts of Covid-19 on the labor market and human capital


TERRA ECONOMICUS, , Vol. 18 (no. 4),

This paper tackles the economic impacts of COVID-19 pandemic on the labor markets and human capital. Specifically, it looks into the issues the pandemic brought upon the human resources and personnel during coronavirus lockdowns. Our results identify that in spite of all the adverse effects of the pandemic such as the excessive burden on the healthcare system, great economic losses and disruptions on the labor market (such as the loss of human capital and widening gaps in gender inequality) due to the lockdowns in many countries intended to slow down the spread of the infection with the purpose of flattening the curve representing the numbers of the COVID-19 patients, the current situation had many positive economic effects. For instance, we find that the recent pandemic helped to increase the financial inclusion and enabled broader access to financial system. In addition, during the past few months, digitalization and the use of information technology deepened and progressed in both large and small enterprises as well as in the higher education institutions. Moreover, COVID-19 pandemic helped to develop the awareness about the climate change among many people by demonstrating how the decrease in economic activity can have a profound effect on cutting CO2 emissions. Furthermore, we find that COVID-19 pandemic contributed to optimizing work load and cutting unnecessary work in many large and small business companies and public institutions. It is likely that most of them will continue with this optimization and digitalization of work after the pandemic is over. Last but not least, we note the enhanced family life and interpersonal relations that would without any doubt contribute to the quality of human capital and the level of happiness. Our results might be useful for public officials and labor market specialists who would want to grasp the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and to find ways how to smoothen its impacts.
Citation: Dvořák, M., Rovný, P., Grebennikova, V., Faminskaya, M. (2020). Economic impacts of Covid-19 on the labor market and human capital. Terra Economicus, 18(4), 78–96. DOI: 10.18522/2073-6606-2020-18-4-78-96
Acknowledgment: The study was funded by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (RFBR) and the Krasnodar Territory of the Russian Federation, project No. 19-413-230017.

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Cameralism and the tradition of natural law


TERRA ECONOMICUS, , Vol. 18 (no. 4),

The article presents an attempt to describe the intellectual context in which cameralism developed in the 18th century. The main thesis is that during this period two independent sources of economic thought were formed: one goes back to scholasticism and developed in the frame of jurisprudence and moral philosophy; the other one takes its origins in the “science of public administration”, which is distinguished by practical goals it set and the absence of a theoretical system. During our investigation, we made a focus on the tradition of natural law and its evolution (the scholastic, rationalist (J. Locke and others) and sociological (D. Hume and others) schools are compared). The comparison of thoughts is carried out by three points, which were essential for the development of economic thought of this period: 1) methodological (apriorism/anti-apriorism); 2) anthropological (acceptance/improvement of the natural properties of man); 3) political (liberalism/ regulationism in economics). The study draws parallels with the development of economic thought in Russia in the 18th century.
Citation: Chaplygina, I. G. (2020). Cameralism and the tradition of natural law. Terra Economicus, 18(4), 97–110. DOI: 10.18522/2073-6606-2020-18-4-97-110 (In Russian)
Acknowledgment: The study was funded by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (RFBR) within the framework of the research project № 19-010-01080 “Cameralism in Russia in XVIII–XIX centuries: Economic practice and academic discipline”.

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Township and village enterprises in China: Reform success or evolution of a traditional institution?


TERRA ECONOMICUS, , Vol. 18 (no. 4),

The paper explores the historical continuity of economic and social institutions. We use the example of township-village enterprises (TVE) in China to illustrate this continuity. In the 1980s township-village enterprises became the leaders of economic growth in rural China. We argue that TVEs were an evolution form of “baojia”, the traditional Chinese institution of frankpledge and rural defense. The article outlines a brief historical implementation of the baojia both by the Chinese authorities and Japanese administrators of the Chinese territory. Literature presents a popular theory claiming the TVEs were designed “from above”. We reject this theory. We claim that the TVEs were not created by the Chinese authorities at the beginning of “reform and opening up”. On the contrary, the basis for the TVE formation were informal agreements among Chinese peasants. When enterprises first appeared, authorities prohibited them, accusing of threatening the public sector. Due to political uncertainty in the initial period of reforms and the impossibility of effective official management, the peasants reproduced the economic practices familiar to the Chinese institutional environment. They relied on mutual trust customary for the traditional Chinese tax system. We conclude that it was a powerful institutional tradition which became the basis for the rapid development of the TVEs, strongly affected the Chinese economic growth in the early 80th. We also conclude that the baojia institution works effectively only among the Chinese population. The paper analyzes the interviews we conducted with the employees of three TVEs in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
Citation: Kruglova, M. S. (2020). Township and village enterprises in China: Reform success or evolution of a traditional institution? Terra Economicus, 18(4), 111–125. DOI: 10.18522/2073-66062020-18-4-111-125 (In Russian)

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The impact of social networks on the quality of life for youth. Experimental verification


TERRA ECONOMICUS, , Vol. 18 (no. 4),

Digital transformations of the economy are spreading rapidly, thus making it necessary to measure their impact on the quality of life. In this research, we present the findings of the experiment aimed at measuring the impact of social networks on student’s subjective quality of life. The experiment involved 256 university students from Novosibirsk aged 17–20 years. The experiment was conducted between February 2019 and February 2020. Hence, the Russian ruble depreciation and the COVID-19 pandemic in Russia did not affect the behavior of the participants. To measure the subjective quality of life, we apply the methodology for diagnosing the level of psychoemotional stress elaborated by O. Kopina. The results of the experiment demonstrate the impact of short-term use of the social networks on the subjective assessment of the quality of life. Negative for most of the participants, this effect is likely to occur due the active use of social networks which leads to a change in the rituals of interpersonal interaction. This experiment shows that the negative effect of using social networks is greater for women than for men. The type of social network used during the experiment (VKontakte or Instagram) has not impacted on the change in the subjective assessment of the participants’ quality of life. This was probably due to the short time interval during which the impact of social networks on the participants in the experiment took place.
Citation: Shmakov, A. V. (2020). The impact of social networks on the quality of life for youth. Experimental verification. Terra Economicus, 18(4), 126–148. DOI: 10.18522/2073-6606-2020-18-4126-148 (In Russian)
Acknowledgment: The study is supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (RFBR) within the framework of the research project № 19-010-00195/20.

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Economic aspects of consumer behavior in tourism for a selected population group in the Czech Republic


TERRA ECONOMICUS, , Vol. 18 (no. 4),

Tourism is currently an important branch of the global economy. However, the democratization of travel and tourism, together with the intensifying globalization processes and mass movements of the world’s population, brings with it some accompanying adverse effects that influence the shape of the contemporary world. The paper aims to evaluate the impact of the security and safety factor on the consumer behavior of young people aged 19–29 in the Czech Republic when choosing a destination for tourism. The age categorization was carried out concerning the theoretical definition of youth travel participants according to UNWTO and WYSE Travel Confederation. Attitudes and opinions of the monitored group of consumers were gathered through primary research attended by 428 respondents. Quantitative studies were used to obtain the necessary data using a questionnaire technique of data collection. The results show that, in terms of general preferences, the vast majority of respondents prefer an active way of spending time during their trips. The results show that young people consider the situation in their place of residence as the most important safety factor when choosing a destination (84.8%); the local political situation and potential health risks in the country are considered as significant ones by less than 70.0% persons. The majority of respondents (65.7%) identified the Internet as the predominant way of obtaining information when traveling.
Citation: Navrátilová, M., Beranová, M., Smutka, L., Severová, L. (2020). Economic aspects of consumer behavior in tourism for a selected population group in the Czech Republic. Terra Economicus, 18(4), 149–168. DOI: 10.18522/2073-6606-2020-18-4-149-168
Acknowledgment: This work was supported by the Internal Grant Agency of Faculty of Economics and Management, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague - grant number 20181015 “The Impact of Climate Change on the Structure of Agricultural Production in the Czech Republic”.

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