Current State of the Worldwide and Russian E-commerce Markets and Prospects for Their Development

The article examines the current state of the world and Russian retail e-commerce markets and assesses the prospects for their development — the study of these issues is the purpose of the work. The research topic is relevant, because in the context of the global digital revolution and the rapid development of the world economy, the development of e-commerce is becoming one of the key drivers of the growth of all trade and the economy. To achieve this goal, based on the integrated application of such scientific methods as analysis, systematization, synthesis, generalization, classification and description, the following tasks were performed: the main development approaches included in the strategic management system of e-commerce market leaders were identified; the dynamics of the global and Russian e-commerce markets were analyzed; a comparative analysis of the development of e-commerce markets of the leading countries in terms of market volume and market growth rate was made; the key drivers and obstacles to the development of the global and Russian e-commerce markets, which are related to the current economic situation, the state of legal support and changes in consumer preferences, are identified and described; forecasts and trends in the development of markets are formulated.

Daya Saing dan Faktor yang Mempengaruhi Ekspor Lada Indonesia ke India

Pepper is one of the export commodities that contributes significantly to the Indonesian economy. Indonesian pepper exports have fluctuated in destinations such as India, which is included in the world's largest pepper importer country. The study aims to analyze competitiveness (comparative advantage) and factors affecting Indonesian exports to India in pepper commodities. Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA) and Multiple Linear Regression are analysis methods in research. The results showed that Indonesian pepper has strong competitiveness in the Indian market. Volume of Indonesian pepper exports to India has significant effect were the exchange rate of the rupiah against the US dollar and the value of RCA, while the national pepper production, the price of Indonesian pepper exports, and Indian consumption did not have a significant effect.

Assessing portfolio and asset returns of some financial and non- financial companies on the Ghana stock exchange using a 3-factor model

This study on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE), investigated, if the overall size of the market, affects the fundamentals of the Fama French 3-Factor model, and to ascertain if the Fama French model can be used effectively to assess portfolio and assets return for companies listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange. In this paper, portfolios of assets of companies on the Ghana Stock Exchange are constructed and analyzed using the Fama-French 3-factor model. The empirical data which consists of assets of 15 companies listed on the GSE, including assets of both financial and non-financial companies for good representation of the Ghana Stock Exchange. We found that the basic principle of the model is not satisfied. This is attributed to a number of factors which include overall size of the market, volume of trade, and high leverage (more debt than equity) associated with financial firms. High debt/equity ratio is linked to high risk. Keywords: Market Capitalization, Book-to-market ratio, Portfolio, Small minus big, High minus low

Methodology for the Development and Use of the USALI Standard in International Practice

According to the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the tourism industry is one of the most dynamically developing sectors of the economy. It was expected that by 2020, the proportion of people employed in this area and the contribution of tourism to world GDP would amount to about 10%. The hotel industry in this sector is the most profitable and progressive. At that, the Russian hotel market volume lags significantly behind the world indicators and does not exceed one percent in the global hotel industry. The active development of the tourism industry, and as a result, the hospitality industry, has created conditions for the intense development of the hotel business in Russia. A significant impetus to this in recent years have been the 2016 Winter Olympic Games and the 2018 FIFA World Cup. However, even in the preparatory stages for these large-scale international events, many experts expressed concerns about the idleness of most of the built facilities, the downfall of many accommodations and catering enterprises, and the decline of infrastructure after completion of these sporting events. These circumstances determine the objective need to find and implement mechanisms for effective management of hotel enterprises based on the study of international experience and Russian best practices in the hotel business.

Linking Fortification Compliance Metrics With Decision Making Needs: From Brand Level Data to Market Share Weighted Information

Objectives A fortification program can only be effective if (1) each brand producer complies with fortification standards (i.e., adequately fortified), and (2) the adequately fortified products are consumed by a large proportion of the population. We quantified fortification quality (extent to which levels of fortification align with food standards) of oil, salt and wheat flour products; and ascertained the degree of food brand penetration and market share in Tanzanian markets. Methods Food inspectors collected multiple samples of food products at the production and/or market and laboratory analysts quantified the micronutrient content. We compared the average content for each individual brand product to the national fortification standards considering lab measurement uncertainty and classified into one of 4 fortification status categories (not fortified, fortified below, according to, or above the fortification standard). To establish penetration and market share, we visited 1500 retail outlets across regions in Tanzania to ascertain brand product availability and sales volumes. We applied weights using the market share estimates to extrapolate the fortification quality of the food market volume in the country. Results Of the different brand products of salt (26), wheat flour (25), and oil (68) found in the market, samples were collected and micronutrient content analyzed in the main oil (30%), salt (62%), and wheat flour brand products (85%). While 12% of salt, 35% of wheat flour, and 22% of oil brand products were fortified above the fortification standard minimum, when weighted by their market share, these represent 90% of the salt, 86% of wheat flour, and only 2% of the oil market volume respectively. Conclusions Fortification compliance of brand products provides important data for industry and regulatory authorities to identify where corrective action is necessary. Health and development staff are concerned about the extent to which additional nutrients are delivered to the population to anticipate public health impact, for which adjustment using reliable market share data is key. Weighted brand data can help resource constrained regulatory staff prioritize monitoring and enforcement activities to industries/producers with greatest influence. Funding Sources Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF).

Vitamin A Fortification Quality Is High for Packaged and Branded Edible Oil but Low for Oil Sold in Unbranded, Loose Form: Findings from a Market Assessment in Bangladesh

Although mandatory fortification of oil with vitamin A is efficacious, its effectiveness can be compromised by suboptimal compliance to standards. In this study, we assessed (1) the availability of oil brands across the eight divisions of Bangladesh, (2) fortification quality (the extent to which vitamin A content is aligned with fortification standards) of oil brands and producers and (3) the market volume represented by available edible oil types. We visited different retail outlets in rural and urban market hubs to ascertain available oil brands and bulk oil types and collected samples. We used high-performance liquid chromatography to quantify average vitamin A content and compared them to the national oil fortification standards. Among the 66 packaged brands analyzed, 26 (39%) were not fortified, and 40 (61%) were fortified, with 28 (42%) fortified above the standard vitamin A minimum. Among the 41 bulk oil type composites analyzed, 24 (59%) were not fortified, and 17 (41%) were fortified, with 14 (34%) fortified below and 3 (7%) fortified above the standard minimum. Vitamin A fortification is high for packaged and branded edible oil but low for oil sold in unbranded, loose form. As bulk oil makes up a large proportion of the oil market volume, this means the majority of the oil volume available to the population is either not (25%) or fortified below the standard requirement (39%). Regulatory inspections of producers selling bulk oil should be prioritized to support and incentivize the industry to make all oil traceable and fortified to standard.

Optimal destabilization of cartels

This paper introduces an oligopoly model that includes three actors: a cartel (comprising two or more firms that operate like one merged company), a group of competing fringe firms, and a welfare maximizing antitrust authority. The cartel is the Stackelberg quantity leader and the fringe firms are in Cournot competition with respect to the residual demand. The cartel is internally stable if none of its member firms finds it profitable to become a fringe firm. The antitrust authority can destabilize the cartel in the sense of making the cartel internally instable. To this end, the antitrust authority has three policy instruments at its disposal: its own effort, a fine for detected cartels, and a leniency program for cartel members that cooperate with the authority. Taking into account that the use of these instruments is not costless for society, a unique optimal antitrust policy is derived. The analysis reveals that both, the optimal force and mix of the antitrust authority’s policy depend on market characteristics such as the efficiency of the authority’s operations, the public respect for the rule of law, the ethical standards of the firms’ managers, the market volume, and the number of firms operating on the market.

When a Master Dies: Speculation and Asset Float

An artist’s death constitutes a negative shock to his future production; death permanently decreases the artist’s float. We use this shock to test predictions of speculative trading models with short-selling constraints. As predicted in our model, we find that an artist’s premature death leads to a permanent increase in prices and turnover; this effect being larger for more famous artists. We document that premature death increases prices (by 54.7%) and secondary market volume (by 63.2%).

Teaching Russian-English translation with computer games

Nowadays, computer games occupy a large share of the entertainment industry market: according to data for 2019, the market volume was $ 152.1 billion (for comparison, the market volume in 2018 was $ 137.9 billion). The growing popularity of the industry led to the inclusion of computer games in 2005 on the UNESCO World Heritage List, and in 2003 – to the establishment of a video game award by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Computer games are increasingly penetrating our lives, and thus follows the language of “gamers”, exerting an increas-ing influence on the normative language. Computer games are a vast topic for research and study, especially in terms of language and teaching. Teaching translation in the modern world should in-clude a comprehensive preparation of future specialists for work. In the current education system of the Russian Federation, there is no professional training of translators for the localization of computer games, therefore, translators who wish to work in this area need to undergo additional training outside the higher education system. This brings to the fore the issue of needing to identify the features of the translation process and localization of computer games in order to improve the quality of teaching translation. We consider the features of translation and localization from English into Russian based on the texts of the computer game “The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt”.

User interest in car sharing as an indicator of sustainable urban agglomeration development

The use of car sharing instead of owning a car minimises the negative impact of logistics activities on the urban environment. This research aims to show that sustainable development of densely populated cities is accompanied by an increase in Internet users’ interest in sharing services. The research of Internet users’ interest in car sharing services was based on Google Trends data on search queries originating from Russia, the United States and Canada over the past five years. In the course of this work, the hypothesis was confirmed that high user interest in car sharing is mainly observed in urban agglomerations with high population numbers and density, where the positive effects of car sharing are most noticeable. The paper emphasises the need to encourage the creation of new services in urban logistics, which will contribute to sustainable development and increase the competitiveness of cities. It also confirms the hypothesis that the growing interest of Internet users in the new service is accompanied by an increase in the market volume. User interest in established car sharing markets is at a stable level, except for the occurrence of significant events (e.g., the emergence of a new major player in the market) that stimulate an increase in interest.