This paper proposes a new approach to measuring the cultural dimension of individualism—collectivism at the regional level in Russia. The study aims (i) to identify regional differences in workplace practices associated with individualism—collectivism and (ii) to examine the relationships between the resulting individualism—collectivism indicator and its traditional correlates, including per capita income, innovation, creativity, entrepreneurial activity, and reproductive behavior. Using survey data for 46.8 thousand employees of a large Russian company across the country’s regions and applying an ecological approach that separates regional cultural specificity from individual characteristics, the paper constructs an individualism—collectivism index for 81 Russian regions. The robustness of the observed regional differences and the consistency of the index with alternative individualism—collectivism measures are assessed. Correlation and regression analyses reveal stable positive associations between individualism and entrepreneurial activity as well as trust, and a negative association with large families (higher-parity fertility). The paper concludes that the presence of cultural differences in individualism—collectivism across Russia calls for a specific institutional design of formal institutions to align them with prevailing cultural norms.

In making decisions, people rely on a wide variety of information — qualitative and quantitative, objective and subjective, accurate and mistaken, scientific and non-scientific. About two decades ago, researchers identified a cluster of beliefs on how the economy works that differed markedly from how it is understood in economics. These beliefs appear to be remarkably consistent across countries and often lead to decisions that may reduce individual welfare. This set of ideas has come to be known as folk or naïve economics. The article provides an overview of this “theory” and presents empirical findings on its prevalence among certain groups in Russia — specifically, university students and senior government officials. The first group was surveyed using questionnaires, while the second one was examined through computer-assisted narrative analysis. The pilot studies suggest that the overall prevalence of naïve economic beliefs is relatively low, though this does not diminish the importance of improving economic education in the country.

The continuation of the discussion on individualism and holism can have a more general scientific justification on the basis of multidisciplinary approach and achievements of modern philosophy and sociology. As a result of introducing the principle of methodological relativism into economic theory and distinguishing four relatively independent relativist doctrines, the article presents the peculiarities of relativist methodology, which is based on two fundamental statements about the impossibility of existence of objectively neutral criteria for choosing between conflicting alternatives and that these alternatives themselves arise in different cultural contexts. An important consequence of this approach is the new research results in the field of the theory of merit goods — that part of the economy where the state participates in financing the production of goods and services with social utility. A significant part of the work is devoted to new results: it is about proving the necessity to return to a strict dichotomy in the definition of public goods (according to Samuelson) and the introduction of a new category of “normative-public goods”, the properties of non-excludability and non-competitiveness of which are acquired in the process of purposeful actions of the state, in the extreme case of the policy of meritization of private goods and services. The new results also include the construction of an equilibrium model for merit goods, an important consequence of which is the justification of an alternative exegetics of the “Harberger triangle”, which became a theoretical proof of the rehabilitation of the category of budgetary subsidy.

In Russia, more than half of the population has no savings and that reduces household financial resilience, especially in the face of economic shocks. There is a question whether improving financial literacy can help address this problem. Using the data from four waves of the All-Russian Household Survey on Consumer Finances, a fixed-effects panel regression revealed that financial literacy is associated with both the availability and the amount of household savings. However, this relationship is heterogeneous across socio-demographic groups and savings forms. For example, research confirms a positive correlation between higher levels of financial literacy and specific demographics, including male-headed households, urban residency, and higher income levels. Financial literacy is positively associated with both availability and the size of bank deposits while being unrelated to stocks or cash. Robustness checks confirm that the main results remain stable despite plausible changes to model specifications and sample modifications.

Overeducation, also named as “vertical mismatch” in the research literature, occurs when an individual possesses a higher level of formal qualification than is required for his/her current job. Given the recent shortage of personnel in the Russian labor market, this problem has become particularly acute, but remains insufficiently studied. This paper examines the issue of overeducation in the Russian labour market by focusing on the educational and professional backgrounds of recent university graduates, using administrative data. A probit model with Heckman correction for self-selection into employment is used to estimate the probability of overeducation, as well as a fixed effects wage regression model to estimate the returns to overeducation, accounting for unobserved characteristics. The results show that, on average, 35% of higher education graduates are overeducated for their jobs. Men who have received part-time higher education at non-selective universities in the fields of agriculture or humanities are more likely to be employed in unsuitable jobs. On average, overeducated graduates receive a 20% wage penalty compared to graduates employed in suitable jobs. The use of panel regression with fixed effects reduces the penalty to 7% at the start of their careers. On the one hand, overeducation compensates for its low quality, which prevents graduates from occupying skilled jobs that actually require higher education. On the other hand, the structure of the labour market does not imply sufficient demand for workers with higher education. Individual unobservable differences in productivity and abilities play an important role in the distribution of graduates across jobs of different skill levels.

The lack of complete and reliable information on the volume of food waste generated in the retail segment is still an urgent problem. The estimates available in the literature, both at the global level and for individual countries, often are not based on any methodology but on private opinion of experts. The article presents a quantitative assessment of the scale of food waste generation in retail trade in Russia. Methodologically, the estimates are based on data from the accounting and non-financial statements of the largest retail chains. In 2022, food waste in Russia accounted for about 3% of the retail turnover of food products, or about 530 billion rubles. Estimates of waste in physical terms and per capita turned out to be comparable with UNEP data for Russia and some European countries. In recent years, the reduction of food waste has become the goal of the sustainable development policy of the largest retail chains in Russia. The developed methodology for collecting information on food waste, which is based on open sources and available data, will allow tracking the current state of this problem, as well as including new retail chains in the research framework.

The fundamental differences in the attitudes of peasants and large agribusinesses to land are argued. In the first case, they include a range of economic, mental, ethical, cultural, and other interests, as well as strategic concerns; in the second case, they are usually limited to commercial estimates and tactical considerations. The difference in these interests is rooted in the value systems that transform into the practices of land use and attitudes towards nature. This is confirmed by the results of sociological studies of rural residents’ opinions and are linked to the theory of centripetal (for peasants) and centrifugal (for large agribusiness) economic development. The numerous peasantry protects the country from the risks of losing food security in the event of the collapse of large agribusiness once the loss of benefits from land exploitation occurs, and also contributes to solving social problems. The article formulates the paradox of the use of land in the context of market relations, when, as an object of purchase and sale, it is not always subject to the market logic. We argue for the institutional support for peasants who ensure the preservation of land without external coercion. Such support serves as a compensation, by means of extra social care, for both shortcomings of the state power and the preservation of national traditions and identity. This issue becomes particularly relevant in the context of the dominance of large businesses in agricultural production and the ongoing decline of the Russian peasantry.