STONE TOOL FUNCTIONS, HOUSEHOLD ACTIVITIES, AND FORMATIVE LITHIC ECONOMIES IN NORTHERN TLAXCALA, MEXICO

High-magnification use-wear analyses create datasets that enable microeconomic studies of lithic consumption and household activities that complement macroeconomic studies of lithic production and exchange to collectively improve our reconstructions of ancient economies. In recent decades, compositional and technological analyses have revealed how certain obsidian sources and lithic technologies were exploited, produced, and exchanged in Mexico's central highlands region during the Formative period (1500 b.c.–a.d. 100). This article presents use-wear analyses of 275 lithic artifacts from four sites in northern Tlaxcala—Amomoloc (900–650 b.c.), Tetel (750–500 b.c.), Las Mesitas (600–500 b.c.), and La Laguna (600–400 b.c. and 100 b.c.–a.d. 150)—to compare household activities with lithic technologies and evaluate their roles in regional economies. Blades were used for subsistence and domestic crafting; maguey fiber extraction for textile production increased over time, especially in non-elite households. The preparation and consumption of meat acquired by hunting and other methods increased slightly over time, and bipolar tools were used as kitchen utensils. Bloodletting was practiced with two variations of late-series pressure blades, but these and other tools were neither exchanged as nor used to craft prestige goods, often viewed as driving forces of Formative economies in Mesoamerica.

Climatic Change as a Driver of Economic Development: an Example from Angara–Yenisey Siberia

Climate change and its impact on economic development is an important, but still understudied issue. This paper is aimed to fill in this gap in relation to the Angara–Yenisey macroeconomic region. It contributes to the literature in several dimensions. First, an overview of research on the climate impact on various sectors of the Russian economy is given. Second, we showed the main trends and factors in the dynamics of economic development in Russia over the past 20 years. And at last, the comparison of the average annual temperature and the gross regional product growth rates was conducted for the four regions of the Angara–Yenisey Siberia. It was concluded that there is no sufficient evidence that regional economies are significantly dependent on temperature fluctuations. Nevertheless, there is still space for further research.

Management of Astrakhan region development in conditions of digital economy formation

Digitalization of all spheres of the economy and social relations in the country sets the vector of changes in the management of regional economies. Having analyzed the most important directions for the domestic economy, enshrined in the national program Digital Economy of the Russian Federation, the absence of any significant references to the regions as subjects of the digital economy was revealed. It has been stated that for the effective transition to a digital economy the regions should independently develop and implement regional projects taking into account the risks of lagging behind, the potential of the region and available resources. There are considered the opportunities and threats for the regional economies during the transition to the digital economy. The analysis of the role of the state and regions in the formation of the digital economy is carried out. Examples of complex programs and concepts for the development of the digital economy in the regions of Russia are given, the main trends in the implementation of regional digital initiatives are listed. Structural changes in the economy are based on the internal technological and organizational modernization ensuring an increase in the efficiency of economic entities. The priority directions of digitalization of the most important industries and spheres for the Astrakhan region - agriculture, healthcare and city management - are substantiated. For the effective implementation of measures for the transition to the digital economy, it is proposed to create educational pools, taking into account the scientific and educational potential of the region. The formation of educational pools will increase the competitiveness of scientific institutions and educational organizations of region within the framework of training specialists in the above-mentioned industries and spheres.

Prospects for China’s BRI and Strategic Influence in the Post-COVID-19 Central Asia

COVID-19 brings a momentous decline for global economic activities but its consequences for China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) remains imminent. Despite the economic shocks of the Pandemic, BRI remains a top priority for China which allows Beijing to improve regional connectivity and expand its economic outreach far off to Europe and the American shores. On the other hand, the Central Asian economies are hard hit by the pandemic with a reduced regional trade, decline in oil prices and its commodities, deep slump in remittances, and the slackening manufacturing ability. The revival of BRI and its immediate success is desirable to the COVID-19 hit Central Asian economies. This is because BRI has bound the region together in terms of infrastructural development where China, under the rubric of BRI, is spearheading major developmental projects, pouring investment in energy sector, offering debt, and improving bilateral trade with regional economies. For this reason, the Central Asian countries desire immediate revival of close economic cooperation which could links the economic fortunes of regional countries to Beijing and brings the BRI to the fore in regional priorities. The paper highlight the impact of COVID-19 over Central Asian economies, the significance BRI for the region; its geopolitical importance for China; and the growing Chinese influence in the post-Pandemic Central Asia using Bourdieu’s Theory of Symbolic Power. Finally, using qualitative content analysis, the paper argues that the economic impact of COVID-19 are short-term and of limited nature and it will only increase prospects for BRI in the post-Pandemic Central Asia with vital strategic utilities for China’s geopolitical profile in the region.

Development Trends of Subjects of the Russian Federation During the Pandemic Period

There is a growing number of publications in the scientific literature on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the situation in national economies. The number of studies in which this problem is considered at the regional level is much smaller. At the same time, due to differences in the levels of development of regional economies, the impact of the pandemic on regional economies is different and differs from that recorded at the macro level. The research results presented in the article continue the publication of annual analysts on the development trends of the economies of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, which began in 2012, however, it is based on a new methodology. The indicators used in the analysis are no longer related to the gross regional product. The authors made an attempt to determine: the existence of a relationship between the “quality of the social environment” of the regions and the economic activity carried out on its territory; to specify the sources of financing for the development of the social environment of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. The author have identified the groups of regions where the provision of a certain level of social well-being can be achieved through the development of their own economy, as well as the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, where this is not possible in the short term. All groups of regions, except for the second, shows the absence of a strong correlation between the levels of social well-being and economic activity. It is indicated that transfers from the federal budget play a significant role in supporting social well-being in most constituent entities of the Russian Federation. They largely compensate for the lack of economic activity to finance costs. The question is raised about the need to move to a reasonably asymmetric model of building relations between the federal center and the constituent entities of the Russian Federation and a reasonably asymmetric model of interbudgetary relations adequate to it.

Pattern-based downscaling of snowpack variability in the western United States

The decline in snowpack across the western United States is one of the most pressing threats posed by climate change to regional economies and livelihoods. Earth system models are important tools for exploring past and future snowpack variability, yet their coarse spatial resolutions distort local topography and bias spatial patterns of accumulation and ablation. Here, we explore pattern-based statistical downscaling for spatially-continuous interannual snowpack estimates. We find that a few leading patterns capture the majority of snowpack variability across the western US in observations, reanalyses, and free-running simulations. Pattern-based downscaling methods yield accurate, high resolution maps that correct mean and variance biases in domain-wide simulated snowpack. Methods that use large-scale patterns as both predictors and predictands perform better than those that do not and all are superior to an interpolation-based “delta change” approach. These findings suggest that pattern-based methods are appropriate for downscaling interannual snowpack variability and that using physically meaningful large-scale patterns is more important than the details of any particular downscaling method.

Border Trade between Regions of Russia and Provinces of China

The purpose of this article is to study border trade in the regions of Russia and the provinces of China. It is shown that in recent years there have been negative trends in border trade, leading to its reduction. Therefore, Russian regions bordering with China should transform into separate objects of regional policy, while also forming a legislative framework for border interaction in all its main spheres: trade, humanitarian cooperation, science and education, and others. In border cooperation with China, special emphasis should be placed on cooperation in the innovation sphere, as well as on improving the quality of exported goods and services and promoting infrastructure projects. Border trade between the regions of Russia and China is built mainly on trade and export of labour resources from China to Russia, as well as China’s receipt of additional sales channels for the confidently growing sales markets for consumer goods and sources of raw materials and primary products. The interaction of Russian regions with neighbouring provinces on the border with China not only preserves the raw material orientation of these regions, but also hinders the development and strengthening of the manufacturing industry in the structure of their regional economies, since border interaction for Russian regions immobilizes those stages of value-added production observed in the very first stages. In general, for the Chinese provinces there is a similar problem associated with such exports to border regions that have common borders with Russia, which does not contribute to the diversification and structural development of the regional economies of the Chinese provinces. That is why building an effective mechanism for border interaction between Russia and China is a strategically important issue for both countries.

Water quality in the Floridan Aquifer Region

We rely on clean water to sustain human life, ecosystems, and food supply. In Florida and southwest Georgia, the Floridan Aquifer supplies much of the water we use. As populations grow and regional economies expand, the impacts of human activity on water pollution become more widespread. We must take preventative actions to minimize water pollution to maintain the quality of our water sources, and thus, our quality of life.

LIMITATIONS AND OPPORTUNITIES OF SCIENTIFIC EDUCATIONAL AND INNOVATIVE SPHERES OF UKRAINE IN THE CONTEXT OF THE FORMATION OF REGIONAL SMART SPECIALIZATIONS

European methodology Strategy for Smart Specialization is being implemented in Ukraine. The success of this process is largely predetermined by the readiness and ability of regional scientific and innovation systems to effectively interact within the country and abroad. The characteristics of these systems are determined by the general state of the national spheres of scientific educational and innovative activities. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to comprehensively assess the actual situation in the scientific educational and innovation spheres of Ukraine and identification of constraints and opportunities for establishing scientific technological and innovative cooperation with EU regions in the context of smart specialization of regional economies. To achieve this goal, the SWOT analysis method, which is a classic strategic management tool, was applied. Literature review of the application of this method and the specificity of the research object showed the need to clarify the methodology for performing the SWOT analysis. Three stages of this analysis have been proposed. At the first stage, the formation of groups of factors of the external and internal environment of the research object and selection to the list of the most significant of them was carried out. The second stage included an assessment of the selected factors using the experts' intuitive-logical analysis. A feature of the applied approach is that the experts determined a quantitative assessment for the factors of the internal environment and a qualitative one for external ones. The third stage involved the establishment of strategically important logical relationships between internal (Strengths and Weaknesses) and external (Opportunities and Threats) factors, which were discovered at the first stage of the SWOT analysis. Because of performing three stages of analysis using an expert survey, limitations and opportunities that affect the prospects for Ukraine's integration into the European Research Area were identified. It was concluded that it is necessary to design a comprehensive state policy for the development of the knowledge and innovation sphere, which will also contribute to the achievement of the goals of regional smart specialization.

Interregional Mobility of Latin American Immigrants in Canada: Explorations Using Tax Filer Data

Using data from the Longitudinal Immigration Database (IMDB), which links tax filer information to provinces of landing information and current regions, the author carried out data explorations regarding the interregional mobility of 98,440 Latin American immigrants arriving in Canada between 2000 and 2014. These were observed in the tax year 2014. The interregional mobility of citizens from 15 citizenship countries was examined: Argentinians, Bolivians, Brazilians, Chileans, Colombians, Cubans, Ecuadorians, Salvadoreans, Guatemalans, Hondurans, Mexicans, Nicaraguans, Peruvians, Uruguayans, and Venezuelans. Immigrants were allowed entry into Canada under various immigrant intake classes such as economic, family, and refugee. Examination of retention and net migration rates showed that Alberta and British Columbia were among those who benefited the most from Latino immigrant inflows during the observation period. About one in five Latinos had moved outside their original landing region by the tax year 2014. Citizens of various nationalities left the Atlantic, Quebec and Manitoba regions for other ones. Interregional mobility was found the highest among males, earlier arrival cohort members, those with higher educational levels and economic principal applicants. Colombian citizens were the most mobile group while Nicaraguans, Bolivians, and Ecuadorians were the least mobile. The regional triangle constituted by Alberta, Ontario, and Quebec was found to be the dominant one in the network of all migratory exchanges. Tracking the interregional mobility of Latin American immigrants to Canada after arrival provides interesting insights into how this particular immigrant population is redistributed, how it may respond to the needs of regional economies, and also speaks to the success of immigrant integration and resettlement of Latin American immigrants in particular regions of Canada.