The article describes the principles of structural and investment policy, which should become one of the elements of a long-term economic strategy aimed at eliminating development disparities that have emerged in the last two decades and can not be eliminated by traditional market instruments. A description is given of the main directions of the structural and investment policy, its instruments, as well as an assessment in long-term economic dynamics.

Relevancy. For over a sufficiently long period, researchers have been paying attention to the analysis and assessment of the innovative development of regions; however, until now there is no single universally accepted methodology in the scientific community to position regions against one another and determine the degree of their differentiation. In this regard, the purpose of the study was defined as follows: based on statistical data, scientific publications on the researched topic as well as the study of existing approaches to the assessment of the innovative development of regions, to develop a new methodology for identifying the degree of their differentiation making it possible to perform the diagnostics of the inter-regional space and determine prospects of the innovative growth based on the detection of bottlenecks in the regional development. Methods. The paper pinpoints critical factors that influence the innovative development of territories and describes the procedure for calculating integral indices to assess the differentiation level of socio-economic systems. The study used the methods of statistical and logical analysis, comparison, tabular and graphical data presentation. Results. The methodology developed by the authors involves the calculation of an integral index allowing a comprehensive account of factors in three analyzed blocks: resources, social (indirect) conditions and innovation intensity. In the authors’ approach not only the results of aggregate indices but also individual components of the blocks are evaluated. These actions simplify procedures for revealing prospective innovation areas and key factors that require special attention in the formation of subsequent differentiated proposals and optimization of problem indices, which can positively change the socio-economic situation of the region and significantly reduce interregional disparities. Prospects. The results of the study can be used by regional and federal authorities to develop and implement innovative development strategies of federal subjects.

The innovative way of development of Russia is the most important factor of increase in level of competitiveness of national economy. The research purpose includes identification of restrictions of further progress of already created innovative territorial clusters and the offer possible methods of their elimination, and also the directions of activization of innovative activities for other Russian entities. Research methods it: the analysis of investment activity of economic actors, diagnostics of problems of innovative territorial clusters, development of the general plan of activization of innovative activities of the entities at the macrolevel and microlevel. The result of a research includes combination of the public target financing and mobilization of own financial resources of economic actors (due to use of accelerated depreciation of non-current assets, tax optimization). In the long term the author expects: increase in a share of the economic actors realizing investment projects, and also increase in competitiveness of national economy.

The paper deals with financial relationships and funding sources of non-profit organizations. The subject of the study is the role and place of non-profit organizations in the Russian national economy and their development trends. The scope of the paper includes the study of information materials on the economic condition of non-profit organizations. The purpose of the study was to identify the key problems of financial resource generation and ways to improve the economic activity of non-profit organizations in the context of the established innovation-oriented market economy model. The paper analyzes the current practice of funding non-profit organizations in Russia compared with the foreign experience. The problems accumulated in the financial support of non-profit organizations are considered and areas for improvement are suggested. The study used general scientific methods of analysis and synthesis, dialectical and system-based approaches, as well as method of comparison, analogies and expert assessments. The development of cooperation between non-profit organizations and enterprises of various organizational and legal forms, legal entities and individuals in matters of formation and use of financial resources is regarded as the most important objective of financial relations. It is proved that the share of public and private investments as well as donor funds in the financial support of economic activities of non-profit organizations needs to be increased. The conclusions and recommendations for improving the support of non-profit organizations through budgetary and non-budgetary funds in the situation of the macroeconomic instability and limited finance raised from various sources are formulated.

To maintain sustainable economic growth and development under the current economic conditions, the government has to ensure large-scale investment activities sufficient for parallel implementation of multiple programs and projects. The so-called mega-projects characterized by high investment costs and providing a long-term multiplier effect on the socio-economic sphere require the biggest efforts and as such are of great significance. At present, both budget funds and money of private investors and lenders may serve as project funding sources. Moreover, in case of mega-projects the distribution of investment risks is needed for which purpose mixed funding schemes are often used when the state takes part in a partial support of the needs of a project, which in turn has a significant positive socio-economic impact. This category of projects is called mega-projects with mixed participation. Today, the main problem in the implementation of mixed participation mega-projects is the overexpenditure caused by an inadequate pre-implementation assessment and inefficient use of financial resources. This necessitates the improvement of the financial control system intended to ensure the achievement of the mega-project targets through the analysis of the project feasibility, effectiveness and legitimacy of procedures of raising and use of money funds. What is more, this category of projects, due to the large number of funding sources, is controlled predominantly by external independent parties, which makes it possible to ensure the transparency in a complicated situation with financial resources. The author examines a possibility of establishing a specialized coordination body to enhance the cooperation of external financial controlling parties involed into a mega-project, improve the efficiency of control and expert-analytical activities through adequate distribution of functional responsibilities between the parties as well as standardize the information flows in the process of running control activities.

The establishment of a flexible and dynamic bank risk management system is a crucial condition for a stable and profitable operation of banks. The risk management system of a commercial bank is understood both in the broad and narrow sense. In the broad sense, the banking risk management system is viewed upon as the following set of components: international risk management standards and adopting institutions; the state regulation of monetary relations including the monetary policy; the central bank activities; mechanisms of state supervision and control of the activities of lending institutions as well as other measures that may have a direct or an indirect impact on the state of the banking system. In the narrow sense, the risk management system means a system of regulation and supervision of the central bank activities based on federal laws, rules and regulations as well as organizational structures and risk management mechanisms used by commercial banks. The formal difference between the banking risk management mechanism and the risk management system is that the former has a particular object and management tools. The risk management mechanism consists of several levels: international, national and intra-bank. It includes the following interrelated elements: governance, risk management mechanism tools, information, resource, management object. Based on the research findings, the paper presents the structure of the bank risk management mechanism, describes its elements and defines the main objectives to be achieved with the management mechanism.

The current study is devoted to the methodology of systemic risk management adjusted for the Russian credit market. Among specific sources of systemic the following risks were emphasized: access of a banking sector to market liquidity and currency fluctuations in the short term; financial contagion, economic bubbles and sovereign default risk in the long term. The Hui-Heubel ratio was applied to assess depth and volume of market liquidity. It was proved that there is a temporary market liquidity surplus. Currency risk was tested with application of VaR, historical simulation method, which supported observed tendency to economic stabilization. In both cases conditional and unconditional volatility were determined with GARCH method. Moreover, a methodology of stress-testing described in the paper presents a convenient solution to investigate effects of uncommon risks, such as financial contagion, economic bubbles and sovereign default risk. The current study could be applied to create personalized strategy of systemic risk prevention for banks or any commercial organization dealing with an unpredictable Russian financial market.

The paper explores the experience of Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries in responding to the globalization challenges relating to the monetary policy in terms of choosing a policy regime and a set of tools to implement it. Highlighted are the main globalization challenges for the national monetary policy associated with target restrictions, the impact of external crises and cross-border capital flows. The evolution of monetary policy regimes in the CEE countries corresponds to the “bipolar pattern”. It is shown that countries with the extreme form of the exchange rate fixation demonstrate the best results in quiescent periods and are more affected by crises whereas countries with the inflation targeting regime are characterized by smoothed dynamics of macroeconomic indices. The transformation of the tooling in terms of the active use of macroprudential policy tools in the countries of South-Eastern Europe in the periods preceding a global economic crisis and during transition to new monetary policy tools in some countries (Czech Republic, Hungary) in the post-crisis period is shown.

During the period from 2009 to the present day the rate of economic growth (an average increase of 1.4% over the last 7 years in the year against 12.2% a year for the past 7 years) has significantly slowed down in Armenia. The GDP in dollar terms up to 2015 inclusive did not manage to come back to pre-crisis level of 2008. Particularly disturbing were the numbers for 2015, when it would seem that the entry of Armenia into the EAEC should have created new opportunities for the expansion of export oriented towards markets of the countries of the Eurasian economic integration. What are then the main causes and consequences of the current stagnation?

The public-private partnership (PPP) is a mechanism suited for running nuclear power plant (NPP) construction projects under conditions of limited state funding. The USA PPP experience with its 50-year tradition and real results achieved in the XXI century is undoubtedly the most mature in the global nuclear power industry: in 2008 the NPP construction project (Vogl, 3, 4) was launched in the USA being the first in 30 years. The PPP adaptation to new NPP projects is in demand both in Russia and abroad. The study of the American PPP practice in the nuclear industry includes the historical review, the comparative analysis of the liberalized and regulated energy markets as well as the survey of the legal and regulatory incentives that had an impact on the Vogl NPP project. The government at the federal and regional levels is taking the following measures to make the partnership attractive for all participants: the program of government guarantees for the US Department of Energy loans; the state system of the NPP owner liability insurance in the event of a nuclear accident; granting NPP owners a permission to include their NPP construction investments into tariff rates of energy consumers, etc. The study used the methods of analysis and synthesis, including the problem-chronological and logical analysis, as well as case studies. Based on the research findings, three fundamental components of a successful PPP for NPP projects were identified: guaranteed return on investments as a result of the stable and receptive market of energy sales at long-term fixed rates and stable costs of energy generation by nuclear power plants, actually independent of the uranium market situation; a solid national nuclear energy support policy implemented in specific support programs; a proactive approach of Vogl NPP shareholders. In the future, the analysis of the PPP experience of other countries in the nuclear industry (e. g., Finland, France, South Korea) will allow creation of a holistic PPP concept, which will make it possible to develop recommendations tailored to the specific features of individual NPP projects.

The interest in planning the labor force and forecasting its key characteristics such as the education level, qualification, occupation, etc. emerged in the second half of the 20th century. Forecasts provide the basis for the macro-economic policy of the state and choosing optimal directions of development. According to the authors, the quality of the labor force is indispensable for the sustainable development of the national economy and its place in the global market. The prediction of substantial changes in this quality is an integral part of management both in developed and developing economies though in many instances they have different problems to solve. The differences are discussed through the example of forecasting and planning structural changes in the labor force in India, the UK and the USA. The authors substantiate the choice of these countries by the importance of their experience for the Russian practice. The role of international organizations in the development of the methodology for labor force surveys covering approximately 200 countries is analyzed. In the case of India the special role of IT-companies in the development of innovative education systems is revealed which is based on the forward-looking encouraging policy of the state. The analyzed experience is important for Russia, where rural schools and many regions do not have another opportunity to raise the teaching level to the modern requirements. Forecasts of the employment structure in Great Britain and the USA are made by government bodies aided by non-governmental organizations, e. g. the University of Warwick in Great Britain. In the United States government agencies use the macroeconomic model of the Data Resources, Inc. private company for making forecasts. Particular attention is paid to occupation forecasts and vocational training the analysis of which reveals their importance for structural changes in the economy. The analysis of the US forecast as of 2014 for high demand occupations in 2024 highlighted the complexity of determining key indices and methodological approaches to the prediction of employment and the economy demands for qualified personnel in certain professions. The paper assumes that without solving this problem in the Russian management system, no progress in the future growth of the national economy can be expected.

Improving of risk management’s tools is one of the important ways of increasing the efficiency of customs control. A development of statistical methods to identify potential customs risks is the most promising area of research in this context. The present research is aimed to developing practical proposals for an implementation of descriptive statistics methods for processing information from the customs declarations in order to identify potential risks and to develop customs risk criteria. In the article, a set of the most important parameters of sampling units (goods) based on the adapted regulations of customs statistics methodology is proposed. The sample, which tested the proposed method, is based on a real database of electronic copies of declarations for goods had customs clearance in the region of the Southern Customs Directorate. Sample analysis has shown that the misdeclaration of value is the most typical violation of the Russian customs legislation. A study of descriptive statistics of customs value index for the selected goods led to the conclusion about the potential customs risks of misdeclaration of value and to formulating appropriate risk criteria. The paper deals with additional issues related to customs risk analysis process, including a description of the impact of customs control of goods and a calculation of a potential economic damage. The descriptive statistical methods proposed can be implemented into practice of the customs authorities. The results of the primary data processing can be the basis for classification characteristics for multivariate statistical analysis aimed to a separation of customs declarations array on the areas of high and low risk.

Based on the study of state administration problems typical for modern Russia it is stated that the administrative law should not be reduced exclusively to the administrative and police spheres though the latter are undoubtedly indispensable parts of the administrative law system. The administrative law is substantially wider: it provides a legal framework for the public administration in all spheres of human activities, namely the social and cultural, financial and economic, administrative and political and others; establishes an administrative order and appropriate legal regime the violation of which creates liability of a perpetrator; it studies everything that occurs in the sphere of the state administration. The administrative law to a certain extent and in a specific volume regulates the administration order and procedure in stipulations of the law.

Russian universities aim at developing their own programs along with increasing the international mobility. Cooperation with recognized English-speaking professional associations (ACA, CFA, ACCA) and making use of their learning materials, exams and certifications is an important factor though so far underestimated. Teaching manuals of the above associations are not expected to contain scientific novelty but they are well styled and include components of abstracts, tests, problem solutions and essays written in the thoroughly edited English language. In this they have an obvious advantage over heavy-style university textbooks or the Business English manual simplifications. Advisable for borrowing is the practice of multiple complex exams rather than the single State Final Examination not unfrequently followed by paid re-examinations ousting traditional hardships of motivating a fee-paying student. The strict methodological support and taking some exams under control of associations offer a contrast to a softer practice of national universities and are more in line with the Unified State Examination of the latest years or the IELTS. The third highest level exams by their form and required skills may be useful for the Russian PhD programs and PhD minimum exams. It is important to understand the specifics of the preparation for a professional English exam which requires every-day systemic diligence instead of our traditional session rush as well as a different number of hours depending on a course and acquired students’ knowledge. All the above is analyzed based on the author’ experience of program accreditation, adjustment of academic disciplines to domestic cases and regulations, engagement of our teachers as the methodologists and interpreters.

The article discusses organizational changes and the major theoretical approaches to them. A brief overview of two approaches to organizational change management. The mechanistic, whereby the organization is seen as a machine, operating according to rigid rules; the changes were planned and implemented “from above”; for the calculation of the resistance can be controlled; careful planning and control system, is considered as the success of the changes. The organic approach considers the organization as an open system that is influenced by the external environment; successful innovation is based on understanding, acceptance and participation of employees. Reviewed by the author, the most common today, organizational change, major change issues facing the national organization; the reason why organizations do not achieve success in implementing organizational changes. Presents various factors of readiness of the organization to change, such as organizational factors such as involvement, awareness, support manual, etc.; and the willingness of employees to change, for example, age characteristics, occupation, intellectual status, etc. Presents the results of the conducted research, held in the Pension Fund of Russia in 2016, with the aim of identifying the level of readiness of employees of the Pension Fund to organizational changes in connection with the transfer of functions of administration of insurance contributions from the Pension Fund to the Federal tax service. The methods and technologies that are appropriate to use when developing and implementing changes in organizations, including the resistance of the staff: such as constant, step-by-step information to employees; involvement of employees in decision-making; support staff; personal interviews; negotiations; development of a variety of output programs for retirement; establishing a compensation program for leaving; control of the psychological climate in the collectives; the control of the level of employee engagement; psychological trainings and trainings; counselling activities for psychological and organizational nature, etc.

The Paris Climate Change Agreement has become an additional incentive for clean power development. The global warming problem has encouraged major economies to ramp up renewables share in the energy mix. This paper discusses the issue of a forthcoming transformation in the global energy sector and its implications for the Russian Federation. The Russian economy remains highly dependent on raw materials exports, which hinders its proper development. The country’s coal industry faces large losses, while the coal’s role in the power sector at a global level is forecasted to diminish. For this reason, Russia’s plans on increasing the coal production and launching new coal-fired plants until 2030, for which purpose large sums are laid out, should be reconsidered. The country, in turn, has a natural and technological potential in developing renewables, mainly hydropower, which is underutilized nowadays. Clean energy development in Russia is viewed to be beneficial to the economy, feasible, and crucial for meeting climate change-related obligations declared at the international level.