Institute of Economics

The purpose of this study is to analyze the convergence dynamics in renewable energy innovation in 25 OECD countries during the period 1990-2022. The research makes a unique contribution to the literature by examining renewable energy innovation in two different dimensions: the number of patents per capita (RPPC) and economic intensity (RPINT) indicators. Stochastic, beta, and sigma convergence tests were applied in a comprehensive approach. The results show a clear trend toward convergence among OECD countries in renewable energy innovation, particularly in terms of innovation per capita. Beta convergence analyses show that this process between countries is influenced by structural factors such as renewable energy consumption, ecological footprint, real GDP per capita, globalization, and financial development. On the other hand, it has been found that countries starting from low levels have recorded faster growth rates in innovation, supported by knowledge and technology transfer. Policy recommendations emphasize increasing public-private partnerships, research and development (R&D) investments, supporting multinational partnerships, and developing country-specific strategies.

This perspective paper draws on insights from a 2024 symposium entitled ‘ Exploring methods for researching shifts in knowledge production for agroecology transition ’. The symposium critically examined emerging conceptual and methodological challenges arising from combining agroecology with living labs and research infrastructures as key instruments promoted within EU policy to strengthen Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Systems (AKIS). Through presentations, group discussions, and iterative reflections, we identified four key tensions: structural constraints limiting farmers’ agency within living lab approaches, the problematic nature of AKIS as supposedly neutral frameworks, the oversimplification of transition frameworks as linear rather than overlapping categories, and risks of definitional dilution or cooptation. We then demonstrate that these tensions are not unique to agroecology, bridging the concepts and methods within agroecology research with those used in other fields of sustainable food system transition research, such as transdisciplinary research and sustainable transitions. This conceptual mapping of shared tensions reveals opportunities for mutual learning. Bridging these fields would help create clarity at the conceptual and methodological levels, ultimately strengthening the theoretical foundations and enabling more nuanced approaches to food system transition research.

Objective: to study the international experience of using cryptocurrencies to overcome financial sanctions in the payment sector and the possibility of its application in international settlements in Russia.Methods: to achieve the set objective, the article uses analysis, synthesis, induction and deduction. Analytical and statistical information from foreign financial institutions was used to assess the prospects for using cryptocurrencies in the payment sector in order to offset the negative effects of sanctions restrictions.Results: the authors identify the supply and demand factors that determine the scale of introducing cryptocurrencies into the payment turnover of the sanctioned countries. Having analyzed Iran and Venezuela experience, they describe two models of using cryptocurrencies: state-controlled (Iran) and market-oriented (Venezuela), and show the limits of their effectiveness. They established that in Russia, the use of cryptocurrencies to overcome sanctions is limited by the high dependence on a centralized crypto infrastructure supervised by Western regulators and the lack of regulated channels for the input/output of fiat funds. The study proved that cryptocurrencies can act only as an auxiliary, rather than a systemic tool for diversifying cross-border settlements. Recommendations for the Bank of Russia on the regulation development include the integration of cryptocurrency service providers into the prudential supervision perimeter.Scientific novelty: it consists in systematizing the international experience of using cryptocurrencies under sanctions and identifying on this basis two institutional models (Iranian and Venezuelan), differing in the degree of state control and the role of decentralized infrastructure. The authors proposed an approach to assessing the limits of cryptocurrencies’ applicability in cross-border settlements, taking into account not only regulatory but also infrastructural constraints, including dependence on centralized exchanges subject to sanctions regimes.Practical significance: the developed recommendations can be used by the Bank of Russia in forming the regulatory framework for cryptocurrency settlements under the experimental legal regime, as well as in making decisions regarding the use of cryptocurrencies in cross-border transactions and foreign economic transactions.

The introduction of online banking in Armenia is an important element of the digital transformation of the financial sector, providing convenient access to banking services, improving the efficiency of economic operations, and supporting the country's integration into the global financial system by complying with international standards, thereby strengthening the confidence of foreign investors and financial institutions from the United States, Europe, and other regions. Based on this, the study aimed to identify the key determinants of online banking adoption in Armenia by analyzing domestic and international literature and examining the development of online banking in the country. To assess consumer behavior, a binary logistic regression based on a sociological survey of the Armenian population was conducted, identifying the factors that significantly influence the adoption and use of online banking services.

Social networking is an essential feature of hunter-gatherer societies. It fosters the circulation of goods and information and enables kinship ties across different scales, including long-distance contacts. While such behaviors are known since at least the Upper Palaeolithic, evidence for geographically extensive social networks remains scarce. This evidence is limited to indirect inferences based on shared cultural traits, “art” styles, and symbolic items, while lithic raw material movements are mostly local and regional, with few cases exceeding 300 kilometers. We provide geochemical evidence for the largest confirmed distance between the source and discard location of a knapped lithic object in Palaeolithic Europe. Solutrean artifacts discarded at Peña Capón, Central Iberia, were sourced in Southwest France, 600 to 700 kilometers away. This demonstrates social networks of unprecedented geographic scale maintained during ∼1400 years during the Last Glacial Maximum. It also suggests that stone tools were exchanged as symbolic items to solidify social contacts and sustain far-reaching networks as risk-buffering mechanisms among widely dispersed hunter-gatherers.

Uneven socio-economic development in Russian regions stems not from some regions lagging behind the leaders, but from inefficient and fragmented use of internal potential. This study offers a methodological approach to inform strategic regional development using a comprehensive assessment of a region’s potential. The analysis uses official statistical data from 2014 to 2023 and examines 87 indicators across 20 areas of regional development using classical analysis and synthesis. The proposed methodology assesses regional potential by accounting for neighbouring regions, population density, and interdependencies among indicators. An original matrix of inter-potential interactions is introduced to identify both limiting and enabling factors in regional economic performance. The methodology’s validity is supported by expert evaluation. It is applied to regions of the Volga Federal Okrug, with a particular focus on Orenburg Oblast, which is notable for its combination of agriculture, industry, extractive sectors, and border location. Comparison of the results with the region’s 2030 Development Strategy reveals gaps and priorities for investment, industry, R&D, and logistics. Analysis of regional growth drivers in relation to neighbouring regions also reveals potential for creating interregional specialized territories to enhance cooperation. The methodology has practical relevance for designing regional development strategies and policy programs. Due to the complexity of the calculations, digitalizing the evaluation algorithm is recommended. The findings can be of interest to state and municipal authorities.

This article examines the production and consumption of patronized goods in the humanities and social sector, including science, education, healthcare, and culture, as critical domains for social investment in human capital. These goods often do not align with standard market mechanisms, and existing theoretical approaches offer limited guidance on the nature and economic mechanisms of government support. We propose a new theoretical and methodological approach to financing the humanities and social sector, grounded in the characteristics of creative labour and the principles of W. Baumol’s “cost disease” theory. A parametric model of budget subsidies is proposed, grounded in the concept of “consolidated income” and incorporating a novel composite price index. In this model, state subsidies are treated as social investments designed to offset income losses of organizations due to their societal significance. The model incorporates two key normative conditions: N₁, reflecting the alignment of total labour productivity with macroeconomic indicators of a Russian region, and N₂, regulating the average monthly wages of employees. Testing the model on statistical data from 80 regions of the Russian Federation for 2015–2019 confirmed a persistent lag in total labour productivity in most theatrical organizations. Only 20 of the 80 regions saw productivity in the theatre sector exceed the regional average, while the average underfunding of the sector exceeded 50 % over the given period. These results underscore the need to increase the share of budget funds in the normative consolidated income to satisfy conditions N₁ and N₂, ensuring the effective operation of organizations. Growth in budget subsidies is shown to be crucial for preventing hyperinflationary ticket price increases and maintaining the affordability of publicly supported goods. The study concludes that normative subsidies aimed at supporting labour productivity growth effectively standardize wages and cover essential non-wage expenses in the humanities and social sector.

The article emphasizes that the adoption in 2019 the first in the domestic practice of public administration Spatial Development Strategy and its subsequent updating in 2025 confirmed the need for the continuous perfection of the institutional and instrumental apparatus of the spatial regulation and regional development policy. One of the most interesting innovations in this area, presented in the Spatial Development Strategy 2025, should be considered the “launch” of the institute of so-called anchor or support settlements. In our opinion, this measure has certainly serious constructive and simultaneously quite problematic sides. The former consist in actual attempts to restore, taking into account the experience of previous years, the principle of support in the formation of institutions of spatial development, primarily at the regional and sub-regional level. In turn, the negative context is seen in the absence of a detailed consideration of the conditions and mechanisms for the practical implementation of the principle of support in the context of certain situations of spatial development.