Prospects for the Use of Mobile Operator Data in Studies of Natural and Man-Made Risk

The article proposes a conceptual substantiation of the possibility of using the cellular operators data in order to assess the population vulnerability in the natural risk studies. Cellular operators data allow obtaining information on the differentiation of the population vulnerability in a large city (the article provides the case of Moscow) to natural and manmade hazards, taking into account the actual population size and its movement within different time cycles (daily, weekly, seasonal). A reliable information of how many people are at each point of the urban space at a certain point in time will allow not only to timely assess the most likely number of people in the potential danger area, thereby simplifying the work of specialized emergencies services, but also to competently develop a set of preventive measures in accordance with the real need.

Organizational and Economic Basis of Functioning of Transportation Complexes of the EU And PRC

The effective functioning of the transport complex is associated with the development of transport infrastructure, including sea, river, road, aviation, railway transport, which meets the needs of the country’s economy in the delivery of goods and passengers. The article provides a comparative analysis of the organizational and economic foundations of the functioning of the transport complex in the EU and China. On the example of the EU countries and the PRC, it has been proved that the effective functioning of the transport complex in developed countries ensures the connectivity of territories and contributes to the growth of socio-economic development.

Post-Soviet States of Eurasia in International Economic Relations

The present article is devoted to the analysis of participation of new post-Soviet Eurasian states in international economic relations, of current goals and strategic targets of this policy in the economic development of these states. Many, in fact the majority of them appeared to be unable after achieving political sovereignty to solve complex economic problems of national development since they had neither organizational experience in carrying out an independent and effective economic policy nor the personnel, technological and financial provisions for these goals. Therefore new independent Eurasian states had to approach foreign countries searching for adequate forms and methods of cooperation with them on these issues. In this connection the article explores the nature of interrelations between post-Soviet states with their principal foreign partners on a bilateral basis as well as in multilateral international economic organizations, of the comparative role of political and economic factors in these relations. Some of the post-Soviet states have begun their participation in the Eurasian integration project headed by Russia, others aim at solving their external political and economic problems by strengthening relations with the USA and European Union on a priority basis, still others see the way out in promoting their orientation primarily on their closest regional partners (such as China, Turkey, Iran). However, neither of these directions of external economic activities has become a dominant one on the post-Soviet space. Moreover, some of their elements may get a priority significance, neighboring others or even replacing them at various stages of development of this or that post-Soviet state. Besides, three decades after their formation the new sovereign Eurasian states having endured complex processes of national state building began to differ substantially from each other by their political systems, by levels of economic development and above all – by their strategic goals, aspirations and orientations. And in its turn this has caused serious changes in their approaches to building relations with their external partners, both in bilateral and multilateral formats. Under these conditions the most important national priority of Russia is to implement such a foreign policy at the post-Soviet space that would react timely and most flexibly at social, political and economic processes going on there and emphasizing that most important goal of such a policy is neither a political expansion or an institution of a great power hegemony but development of partnership and friendly relations with the post-Soviet states on the basis of equality and mutual benefits.

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.

Formation of the Economic Federalism Theoretical Model Based on the Dual State Nature

The complexity of the economic aspects of federal relations and the multidimensional nature of management tasks predetermines the need to comprehend the essence of the system of federalism. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to substantiate a model that, on the one hand, considers federalism as the concept of the creation and functioning of the state system and as a way of managing the economy of the federal state on the other. Application of an evolutionary methodological approach allowed the author to divide the fundamental theories of federalism into two groups: the one examines federalism as a power paradigm, focuses on the federal principles of building a state, political and legal status The other examines federalism as a mechanism for coordinating the economic interests of its participants from the position of providing resources for fulfilling the assigned state functions at each level of the federal structure. The first group of fundamental works allows us to single out the essential features of federal relations. The second group of works made it possible to determine the economic principles of the functioning of federalism relations. Based on the highlighted features and principles of economic relations of federalism the article presents the author’s view of the dual subject essence of the state. Firstly, as a carrier of federal relations as a construct that structures and formats the territorial-state structure, as a mechanism of management and organization that sets the formal conditions for the reproduction of the subjects of the federal state based on the possession of power. Secondly, as an actor, one of the participants in the economic cycle of reproduction of the gross regional product based on the resources of the public sector. The proposed binary representation of the state allows us to show not only its creating role in the system of economic federalism, but also includes the goals of the regional economy in the federal system.

Development of Urban Agglomerations in the European North of Russia

At present, in Russia, the development of urban agglomerations is designated as one of the priorities of the country’s spatial development. At the same time, there is still no common understanding of how many agglomerations there are in Russia, what is their composition; unified approaches to organizing a management system for the development of agglomerations have not been formed either. The main idea of this article is that not only the largest and largest agglomerations (with a population of more than 500 thousand people – they are indicated in the Spatial Development Strategy of the Russian Federation for the period up to 2025), but also agglomerations with a population of less than 500 thousand people. people play an important role in the development of regions and the country as a whole, and therefore require state support and the formation of a management system for their development, which will increase the positive agglomeration effects. The article presents a methodological approach to the analysis and assessment of the main parameters of the development of urban agglomerations (a formula for calculating the indicator of the economic power of an agglomeration and a methodology for assessing the level of socio-economic development of agglomerations). On the basis of this approach, the identification of 10 agglomerations in the European North of Russia has been substantiated. The calculation of the agglomeration development coefficient showed that 9 agglomerations (Apatitskaya, Arkhangelskaya, Vologodskaya, Vorkutinskaya, Kotlasskaya, Petrozavodskaya, Syktyvkarskaya, Ukhtinskaya, Cherepovetskaya) belong to the least developed (emerging or promising), and Murmanskaya – to the category of underdeveloped. Taking into account the analysis of successful foreign and domestic experience, the key elements of the mechanism for managing the development of urban agglomeration are substantiated. The results obtained will be interesting and useful to the state authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation and local governments in the development of management decisions in the implementation of regional and local socio-economic policies, as well as serve as a basis for further research on this topic.

Typology of Municipalities to Monitor Their Socio-Economic Development

One of the urgent tasks of the state policy of spatial development is the introduction of a permanent system for monitoring the socio-economic development of municipalities (at least at the level of municipal and districts), for which, as stated in the article, it is necessary to develop typologies of municipalities. It is advisable to generalize and analyze statistical information on municipalities on the basis of its automatic processing for different types of territories. The article analyzes the existing experience of the EU and the OECD in the typology of regions comparable to Russian municipal districts, and also summarizes the experience accumulated in Russia in the typologization of territories – municipalities in general, cities. It is shown that the basic typology can and should be based on an assessment of the settlement system – the ratio of urban and rural population, population density, the presence of a large urban center or proximity to it. Additionally, it is also important to take into account natural and climatic conditions, geographical location, sustainable economic specialization, and administrative status.

Valuatio of Inequality in the Russian Federation and its Decomposition Using the Theil Index

The high level of interregional socio-economic inequality is one of the main problems of spatial development of the Russian Federation, which is enshrined in several state strategic planning documents. Such a situation requires constant monitoring of this inequality and the search for solutions to this problem. The article analyzes the current situation of interregional inequality in the Russian Federation according to a few key indicators of socio-economic development and assesses the dynamics of changes in inequality of the subjects of the Russian Federation in the period 2000–2019. In addition, the article decomposes interregional inequality using the Theil index and proves that differences between federal districts explain a relatively small part of interregional differentiation, while differences between regions within districts account for more than 80% of all regional variation.

Impact of the Coronavirus Pandemic on Labor Market

The coronavirus pandemic has affected all spheres of society, including a significant impact on labor markets. The article presents a statistical analysis of trends in the Russian labor market in the context of the spread of coronavirus infection in 2020 and in the first half of 2021. On average, in 2020, the number of people employed in the economy field decreased by almost 2%, respectively, the number of unemployed increased by 25%. Within 2020, the peak of unemployment growth occurred in the third quarter of 2020, when the decline in the number of employed reached 1,9 million people, and the increase in the number of unemployed – 1,5 million people. At the same time, the unemployment rate increased to 6,4%, i.e. by almost a half compared to the corresponding period of 2019. Starting from the fourth quarter of 2020, the recovery of the Russian labor market began. By July 2021, the unemployment rate had dropped to 4,8%. Such serious transformations of the Russian labor market required an analysis of the dynamics and structure of employment in various sections: by type of economic activity, by subjects of the Russian Federation, by gender, by age groups, by place of residence. Along with this, the authors compared the indicators of the unemployment rate, which was calculated using two methods used in Russian statistical practice. An international comparison of the unemployment rate for 2020–2021 was carried out. The indicators characterizing the underutilization of labor, including the number and level of potential labor, are considered. The dynamics of wages in 2019–2021 is considered. Special attention is paid to the analysis of the situation with workers’ wages at the most acute moment of the crisis – in April 2020.

Debt Burden of the Subjects of the Russian Federation

The growth of regional debts produces risks both at the regional level and in the sphere of intergovernmental relations. The article shows that with a low debt burden at a long-term level, the subjects of the Russian Federation are highly differentiated by the level of debt, and even with a decrease in overall debt, a variation of debt load is growing. On the basis of cluster analysis, four groups of the subjects of the Russian Federation were allocated, depending on the variation of the debt burden and the share of social spending in total regional expenditures. It is concluded that the level of debt burden and its dynamics are explained both by the socio-economic factors for the regional development and the quality of budget management in any subject of the Russian Federation. Accordingly, the procedure for the distribution of intergovernmental transfers and budgetary rules should be agreed with the accounting of objective relationships and institutional effects.