The increasing international political tensions and the growing use of economic sanctions in world markets have made it more important to compare the prospects for the development of major players in the global economy. The aim of this study is to evaluate the potential of the BRICS and G7 countries based on the attractiveness of their industries for other countries, including those from the Global South and East, which are still undecided about joining either group. To achieve this goal, the following objectives were set and achieved: to obtain statistically significant data on the capabilities of associations, taking into account the political and economic orientation of supranational organizations; to form and compare the financial and economic profiles of industry participants from BRICS, G7, and non-aligned countries; to assess the attractiveness and development potential of players in the BRICS and G7 markets. The methodology used has been based on regression analysis, comparative analysis, multidimensional analysis, and nonparametric testing of corporate financial statements from public companies in 2019 and 2020. The analysis of the images of the industry residents of BRICS, G7, and “neutral” countries has allowed to identify a trend toward increased polarization and growing differences between the BRICS and G7 members. The criteria for this trend are indicators of business margins, sales volumes, capital, and the volume of non-current assets. According to three out of four criteria, the overall image of an industry resident from BRICS is more attractive than that of from G7 due to multiple exceedances of the values of these criteria indicators. This serves as a clear example of the potential for undecided countries from the Global South and East to join this association and strengthens BRICS’ authority and development.

Modern information technologies make it possible to aggregate and study a significant amount of data on the prices of online retailers. Online data has the advantages of high frequency and real-time monitoring. Based on daily granular micro data on prices since September 2020 to May 2023 (including), we test theoretical and empirical drivers of price stickiness using a logistic regression approach. The heterogeneity of the data leads us to conduct estimates on two sub-periods: before and after February 2022. In the first sub-period we found that the use of attractive prices by online retailers contributed to increased price rigidity, while the probability of price change was higher as the more productscompetitors adjusted prices. Price changes ranged from one to four weeks. In the second sub-period, the factors of market size and attractive prices became insignificant for the pricing of online retailers. Price changes continued to be periodic and dependent on the behavior of competitors but to a lesser extent than in 2020—2021. 

The paper examines the auction tilt phenomenon in public procurement in terms of the transaction mechanisms of governance. Arguments to develop the discussion on limits of using auctions expediency and consequences of their forced distribution in public sector procurement are proposed. The reasons for maintaining the auction tilt despite the recognition of this practice as vicious in some jurisdictions and its numerous criticisms in the literature are explained. Transaction cost theory tools helped identify the failures of theoretical ideas about the effectiveness of auctions as attempts to bring the governance mechanism closer to the market one. Using heuristic models within the framework of the theory of transaction costs, a mechanism has been demonstrated that promotes the sustainability of the practice of regulated procurement with an auction bias, which is ineffective for a wide class of goods (works, services).

The study of governance structures in digital platform ecosystems remains relevant not only for economic research, but also for qualifying the legal status of platform workers, as well as for the development of economic policies that affect the labor market, rights and obligations of platforms and their workers. The paper presents the results of an empirical study of the conditions and mechanisms used by the Russian digital platform Yandex Taxi to incentivize and control platform workers (drivers) in 2022—2024. Mechanisms of transaction governance between platform participants are described, the dual role of algorithms is demonstrated: as systems of matching and coordination of participants, as well as incentives for legally independent drivers. The paper shows that digital platforms use hierarchical governance structure, controlling the parameters of transactions, quality standards and conditions of service provision. It is concluded that the platform system of rules and mechanisms is internally logical, which allows the platform to be regarded as a regulator of economic relations. 

The goal of the study is to reveal the relationship between the financial literacy of Russians and socio-demographic and psychological factors using data from three waves of the All-Russian Panel Survey of Consumer Finances (2018, 2020 and 2022). Fixed effects regression shows that the age of an individual is related non-linearly with financial literacy and the profile has the inverted U-shape. The association of education with financial literacy is positive: respondents with specialized secondary and higher education are more financially literate compared to people with general secondary education or lower. Income, Internet use, the presence of a spouse, paid employment, and a bank account are also positively related to financial literacy. Individuals with higher risk appetite, low ability to control their emotions, and short-term time preferences are worse literate in personal finance. Robustness tests allowed us to conclude that the influence of gender on the level of financial literacy in Russia is insignificant.

This study examines how the reproductive intentions of Russians changed during the socio-economic shocks in 2022—2023 basing on the data from a representative survey of respondents of reproductive age conducted in May 2023. We used multiple-choice models to identify the factors that influenced changes in fertility decisions. Most individuals who had planned to have children before the crisis did not change their plans (60.2%), 9.5% of respondents decided not to have children, while, on the contrary, 9.2% decided to have children earlier. The rest of the respondents postponed having children. The econometric model included both objective and subjective characteristics of respondents. Objective factors included income, housing availability, health, family status, and the presence of children. Subjective factors comprised emotions such as anxiety, fear, appeasement, happiness, and attitude to the political course of the country. The study found that psychological factors played a more significant role in decision-making. Anxiety and fear as well as disagreement with the country’s political course led respondents to postpone having children for an indefinite period. Conversely, a positive emotional background and the presence of a partner encouraged respondents to have children earlier. The decision not to have children was mainly explained by physiological limitations and attitudes to political course, while the income and emotional indicators had a more minor but significant influence. The results of model estimates are consistent with the cluster analysis of answers to the openended question about changes in reproductive intentions. We also discovered significant differences in decision-making for respondents before and after the age of 30 as well as for those with and without children. A series of demographic and social policy recommendations are suggested.