Dynamics of Interests and Positions in the Field of Economic Integration of Russia and Belarus (2019–2020)

Introduction. Economic cooperation between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus is based on the platforms of the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Union State, and the Eurasian Economic Union. These associations contribute to the identification and promotion of promising business niches and areas of economic integration, taking into account the interests of the participating countries. The Union State, embodying a more multidimensional idea of integration, encourages us to turn to a deeper and more substantive analysis of the relationship between various factors and spheres. The purpose of the article is to identify positive and negative constants and dominants of economic interaction between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus in the general course of integration processes in the CIS and in the context of current challenges of modernity for both countries and the Union State. Materials and Methods. The main research methods are diachronic analysis, event analysis and the method of studying documents. The main sources are materials posted on the Internet resources of integration associations with the participation of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus. Results. The key actors – state and non-state participants in the economic integration of Russia and Belarus – are identified, the degree of their involvement in integration processes and the dynamics of interaction are characterized. The most attractive traditional spheres of Russian-Belarusian integration are shown, as well as new vectors determined by current needs. Discussion and Conclusion. A moderate positive scenario is considered the most likely in the field of economic integration of Russia and Belarus. The deepening of integration is determined by the content and orientation of the “road maps”, the established economic relationships and political motives in the internal and external spheres. However, the economy in the process of union building largely continues to follow politics. The necessity of closer coupling of efforts within the framework of the CGB and the EAEU is shown. At the same time, the “dissolution” of the Union State in the EAEU and subordination to it in the logic of integration development are assessed as undesirable.

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS IN UKRAINE: TAX COMPONENT

In the system of regulation of international business, the tax component is of exceptional importance. The development of business is largely dependent on tax policy tools, the actual task of which is to create an optimal tax field in Ukraine, for the development of an open national economic system. The article is devoted to the study of theoretical and practical tax aspects in the international business of Ukraine. Effective level and taxation regime helps to attract foreign capital, develop international business, increase state revenues and increase gross domestic product of the country. The factors hindering the process of investing in our country are considered. The problems, as well as ways of their solution, concerning the tax component of Ukrainian business are analyzed. Detailed attention is focused on some tax aspects, which primarily include: transfer pricing rules, the rule of "thin capitalization", the rules of reporting of international groups of companies by country. Essential characteristics, features and rules of transfer pricing and "thin capitalization" are highlighted. The actions on the BEPS Action Plan are considered, which propose to eliminate the shortcomings of international tax regulation and differences in the national tax legislation of different countries, which promote "concealment" of corporate profits and its artificial transfer to low tax jurisdictions, where companies are no longer engaged in economic activity. The proposals on the improvement of bills that will recognize Ukraine as a cooperating country on taxation issues have been formed. These bills will make it possible to strengthen the economic link between Ukraine and the countries of the CIS and Eastern Europe. Recovering and strengthening these ties is the easiest to date, as each party feels that need. Right now Ukraine is taking measures for their restoration on the basis of an effective market mechanism of economic interaction.

Features of intraregional trade turnover of Southern Federal District

The economic interaction of the constituent entities of Russian Federation is manifested in the strengthening of mutual trade contacts between them. An indicator of mutual trade between regions is intraregional trade turnover. The purpose of this article was to identify and substantiate the features of the intraregional trade turnover of Southern Federal District based on data on its levels, dynamics and structure. At the same time, the trade turnover was considered as a result of the development of mutual trade flows and an indicator of the effectiveness of trade and economic relations between regions. In the course of the study, the economic and statistical method prevailed, associated with the calculation, analysis and interpretation of relative statistical indicators, their visualization through graphic-analytical images. Based on the system of statistical indicators, the article examines the specific features of intraregional trade turnover of Southern Federal District in comparison with data from other federal districts of Russia and national levels. Southern Federal District occupies insignificant positions in the ranking of the federal districts of Russia in terms of retail and wholesale turnover, which does not correspond to its resource, production and demographic potential. The authors identified the following features of intraregional trade in Southern Federal District: the predominance of the segment of private trade enterprises in retail trade; a high share of the market and fair trade format in the sale of consumer goods; dominance of stationary outlets in retail turnover; expansion of network retail. The materials of this article have analytical significance and can be used as an information basis for making managerial decisions in the field of regional economic policy to activate mutual trade flows of the regions of Southern Federal District and expand mutual trade contacts between them.

Venezuelan Aspect of “Emerging Partnership” between Turkey and Latin America: Factors, Dynamics and Risks

The article provides an analysis of Turkish-Venezuelan relations amid Turkey-Latin American ties enhancing. In 2015-2019, this way of intercontinental cooperation has reached a peak. This was reflected in the intensification of trade and economic relations, as well as in the strengthening of diplomatic ties. The author analyzes the causes and international factors of the ongoing rapprochement. The analysis is carried out by tracking the trajectory of the changes in Turkey's foreign policy from the perspective of its gradual departure from the pro-Western course. The main emphasis is placed on the evolution and current stage of the Turkish-Venezuelan relations. After periods of recession and boom by 2016 relations between Venezuela and Turkey had come into a turning point. In recent years, their bilateral partnership has been markedly distinguished on the background of Ankaras relations with other states of the region. Venezuela has a record frequency of interstate official visits and a high degree of mutual understanding with the Turkish leadership on fundamental issues. The author carried out a comparative analysis of the two states political and historical special characteristics. The author comes to the conclusion that the format of Turkish-Venezuelan partnership is built on the basis of responding to common to the two states current external challenges. Both states are under sanctions pressure, although with a varying degrees of severity; both economies are experiencing crisis moments. These factors contribute to the development of economic interaction between the states on a mutually beneficial basis. For Venezuela, its economic cooperation with Turkey is a significant factor mitigating the negative effects of the permanent economic crisis. The supply of Turkish foodstuffs helps to reduce a food shortage, while Ankara's purchases of Venezuelan gold contribute to the replenishment of the Venezuelan budget with currency assets. We can talk about the existing geostrategic partnership, which has, if not long-term, then medium-term potential.

Taiwan-China economic ties will grow, despite tension

Significance Even as China's military intimidation of Taiwan reaches its highest level in decades, economic interaction continues expanding. During the first ten months of 2021, Taiwan’s exports to China reached a record high of USD154.68bn, or 42.5% of its total. Impacts Chinese sanctions on Taiwan will not have much impact on overall economic interaction. Beijing will encourage further economic integration, especially Taiwanese investment in China. Taiwanese firms will not terminate business with China, but will increase their investment in friendlier countries. China will remain Taiwan’s top economic partner.

SPREAD OF AGRICULTURAL KNOWLEDGE AS A TREND OF CULTURAL AND ECONOMIC INTERACTIONS OF OSSETIA AND RUSSIA (SECOND HALF OF THE XIX – EARLY XX CENTURY)

Проблема становления многонационального социума всегда была и остается в фокусе научного познания. Особую актуальность она имеет для России, история которой является ярким примером сосуществования множества разных народов. Период второй половины XIX – начала XX вв. стал важной вехой в деле утверждения российской государственности на Северном Кавказе. Осетия активнее других северокавказских территорий участвовала в модернизационных процессах пореформенного периода. Трансформация, затрагивавшая в ходе этих процессов все сферы жизнедеятельности осетинского общества, рождала новые, более современные формы социально-экономических отношений и способствовала возникновению новых потребностей. Земледелие в частности и сельскохозяйственная отрасль в целом превращаются в главнейший источник народного благосостояния. В статье рассматривается проблема культурно-хозяйственного взаимодействия Осетии и России в условиях реформаторства второй половины XIX – начала XX в., исследуются основные векторы развития осетинского социума в рамках этого взаимодействия. Одним из наиболее прогрессивных направлений обозначается стремление к новейшим достижениям в области сельскохозяйственной деятельности, а потребность в приобщении к эффективным способам ведения личного хозяйства определяется как важнейшая. Научная новизна работы обусловлена постановкой проблемы, привлечением новых источников и междисциплинарным походом. Методологическую основу составили системно-структурный, сравнительно-исторический, междисциплинарный и цивилизационный подходы, принципы историзма, объективности и целостности. Результаты, полученные в ходе исследования, дают основание утверждать, что одним из важнейших трендов культурно-хозяйственного взаимодействия Осетии и России в рассматриваемый период стало распространение сельскохозяйственных знаний среди населения Осетии посредством развития системы сельскохозяйственных учебных заведений. The problem of the formation of a multinational society has always been and remains in the focus of scientific knowledge. It is of particular relevance for Russia, whose history is a vivid example of the coexistence of many different peoples. The period of the second half of the XIX - early XX centuries became an important milestone in the establishment of Russian statehood in the North Caucasus. Ossetia participated in the modernization processes of the post-reform period more actively than other North Caucasian territories. The transformation, which in the course of these processes affected all spheres of life of the Ossetian society, gave birth to new, more modern forms of socio-economic relations and contributed to the emergence of new needs. Agriculture in particular and the agricultural sector as a whole are turning into the main source of national wealth. The article examines the problem of cultural and economic interaction between Ossetia and Russia in the conditions of reformism in the second half of the 19th - early 20th centuries, examines the main vectors of development of the Ossetian society within the framework of this interaction. One of the most progressive directions is the striving for the latest achievements in the field of agricultural activity, and the need to familiarize with effective methods of running a personal economy is defined as the most important. The scientific novelty of the work is due to the formulation of the problem, the involvement of new sources and an interdisciplinary approach. The methodological basis was formed by the systemic-structural, comparative-historical, interdisciplinary and civilizational approaches, the principles of historicism, objectivity and integrity. The results obtained in the course of the study give grounds to assert that one of the most important trends in cultural and economic interaction between Ossetia and Russia in the period under review was the spread of agricultural knowledge among the population of Ossetia through the development of a system of agricultural educational institutions.

Economic Analysis of Developing a Sustainable Aviation Fuel Supply Chain Incorporating With Carbon Credits: A Case Study of the Memphis International Airport

Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) has been considered as a potential means to mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the aviation sector, which is projected to continuously expand. This study examines the impact of developing a SAF sector along with carbon credits on carbon equivalent emissions from aviation using a Stackelberg leader-follower model that accounts for economic interaction between SAF processor and feedstock producers. The modeling framework is applied to an ex-ante optimization of commercial scale SAF production for the Memphis International Airport from the switchgrass-based alcohol-to-jet pathway. Results suggest that supplying 136 million gallons of SAF to the Memphis International Airport annually could reduce 62.5% of GHG emissions compared to conventional jet fuel (CJF). Incorporating with carbon credits, SAF could lower GHG emissions by about 65% in total from displacing CJF and generate additional welfare gains ranging between $12 and $51 million annually compared to the case without carbon credits. In addition, sensitivity analysis suggests advancing SAF conversion rate from biomass could lower the SAF break-even considerably and enhance the competitiveness of SAF over CJF.

Greater Eurasian partnership: economic perspectives of integration with the EAEU

This article analyzes the current state and future prospects of integra- tion associations and formats of multilateral economic cooperation from the point of view of the implementation of the Comprehensive Eurasian Partnership initiative. The author analyzes the role of this initiative as an instrument of Russian politics and assesses its potential for strengthening international cooperation in Eurasia. In partic- ular, it analyzes the possibilities of harmonizing key projects and initiatives within the EAEU. The work examines the potential of the largest multilateral formats in Eurasia as in the economic sphere – the Comprehensive Regional Economic Partner- ship, the Belt and Road Initiative, the Eurasian Economic Union, etc. to multilateral economic projects in Eurasia as a locomotive for promoting strategic interests, as well as realizing the potential of the EAEU. It is concluded that institutional overload is observed in the economic sphere of Greater Eurasia, caused by the existence of a number of parallel developments of in- tegration initiatives and mechanisms of economic cooperation. Based on the forego- ing, the strengthening of the EAEU as the institutional core of Greater Eurasia can become the basis for the formation of a regulatory mega-space. However, the aggre- gate economic potential of the EAEU member states does not allow the Union to be the largest economic pole and a leading center for the development of multilateral in- stitutions in Greater Eurasia. It is assumed that the solution to this problem could be the development of the Comprehensive Eurasian Partnership towards the conjugation of the EAEU and RCEP – the largest format for developing rules for international economic interaction in Asia and formulating specific proposals for building a system of mutually beneficial relations between the largest players of Eurasia, in which all interested states will be involved on mutually beneficial terms to strengthen interna- tional cooperation.

Chinese Workers in the History of the Mongolian People’s Republic in the 1950s–1960s: Cooperation, Politics, Ideology

The article is devoted to one of the historic periods of Mongolia of the 20th century, when the Mongolian People’s Republic built the foundations of a socialist society, and key modernization processes took place with the support of the Soviet Union. The economic component of Soviet-Mongolian relations was dominant at that time. However, the assistance from the People’s Republic of China played a definitely important role in the economic development and formation of modern Mongolian society. Labour constraint was one of the main difficulties in promoting industrial economy in Mongolia. The study of the Mongolian-Chinese economic cooperation is also relevant today, despite the influence of the “third force” in Mongolia’s foreign policy. Russian and Chinese directions are in priority. In this regard, it is important to refer to the experience accumulated by countries in the field of economic interaction, which determined the purpose of the publication ‒ to study one of the aspects of Mongolian-Chinese cooperation in the 1950s and early 1960s, namely, the employment of Chinese labour in Mongolia based on a rich source base, including both the published documents and documents from the National Archives of Mongolia, as well as historical works by Russian and Mongolian authors, and to consider such issues as the role of foreign labour, in particular, Chinese workforce in the industrialization of Mongolia, traffic of foreign workers into the Mongolian People’s Republic, and then their family members, the employment of Chinese workers, ideological and cultural events organized by party officials of the Chinese Communist Party. The research methodology is specified by the principles of scientific objectivity, historicism and historical determinism. The work uses both universal scientific methods and special methods of historical research determined by the formulated problem and includes problem-chronological method, comparative analysis method, and systemic method. The study revealed that the employment of workers from the PRC in Mongolia took place within the framework of the diplomatic relations established in 1949 and based on the agreements reached in 1956, 1958 and 1960 in respect of providing economic and technical assistance. It was emphasized that Chinese workers became an integral part of the changing Mongolian society for almost a decade, from 1955 to 1964. The Mongolian side fulfilling bilateral agreements on the working conditions of Chinese employees opened schools for Chinese children, created additional medical centers where Chinese doctors worked, and so on; all this introduced some adjustments to the everyday life of Mongolian society in the mid-20th century. Today, the process of rethinking, re-evaluating the path traversed by Mongolia throughout the 20th century continues, the external conditions of the Mongolian People’s Republic are being revised, so a detailed reference to its history can contribute to the formation of a more objective approach to this process.

Implementation of a Discount Policy the Shortage B2B Markets: a Marketing Ploy or Price Discrimination?

Modern research of B2B markets focuses on various aspects of information and economic interaction of market participants, but most often the features of marketing strategies in the field of promoting goods / services and building marketing communications are analyzed in order to increase customer satisfaction and loyalty. The issues of effective pricing and the implementation of discount policy as a tool to stimulate sales in B2B markets have not been practically studied. The variability in the application of seller pricing policy instruments in B2B markets under conditions of a limited number of buyers can have a significant impact on the intensity of competition in the market and, as a consequence, lead to a change in the market structure, its transformation and loss of balance. Therefore, the pricing system in non-equilibrium, in particular, shortage markets, in which the inefficient use of discount mechanisms by sellers can take the form of price discrimination of buyers due to the increased market power of the seller, is of considerable scientific and practical interest. This article, being a continuation of the discourse started by the authors on price discrimination in scarce markets, published in No. 3 of the journal Modern Competition, and is devoted to the study of the feasibility of using discounts in equilibrium and scarce B2B markets. At the end of the series of articles on price discrimination in scarce markets [1], the authors intend to publish a third article, which will examine the case of a shortage solid-rolled wheel market in Russia in 2018-2019 from the standpoint of assessing the feasibility of preserving discount programs for certain categories of buyers in the specified oligopolistic B2B market.