The year 2026 marks the 250th anniversary of Adam Smith’s “An inquiry into the nature and causes of the wealth of nations”, the work that had laid the foundations of economic science. The three factors of production Smith implicitly introduced — labor, land, and capital — no longer operate in their pure form: the digital and even non-digital sectors generate no profit without data, technology, and infrastructure, which calls into question the universality of the original system. This gap cannot be ignored: an economy in which the digital sector, comprising three times fewer industries than the physical sector, contributes twice as much labor input to output growth and in some cases leads in productivity growth rates is structured differently from the one Smith described. According to BEA–BLS data for 63 U.S. industries over 1997—2023, this gap is not cyclical: it registers a structural change in the very system of factors of production. The central question of this paper is not historical reconstruction but method: what would Smith have said had he seen digital platforms, and how would he have rethought his own categories? The same question is posed regarding the economists Smith directly influenced and who developed the theory of market organization, the firm, and consumer surplus — Marx, Marshall, Pigou, Schumpeter, Coase. The paper proposes a procedure of returning to the theoretical core that makes it possible to trace the evolution of factors of production from the original triad to a system that includes data, technology, and infrastructure, and to test this evolution through the sequence of these theorists. The analysis shows that the propositions formulated by the classics retain their validity on the whole yet begin to operate under conditions where market boundaries become, in essence, infinite. A transparent market open to small players has emerged, and economic science must reckon with this, and market power is shifting to the ownership of the digital assets that underpin it. Economic analysis of the information society, digital platforms, and artificial intelligence requires rebuilding the “hard core” of science, abandoning its textbook-based learning. Ultimately, such analysis is essential for informed decision-making, but economists must overcome the disease of neglecting the fundamental foundations of their theory.

The attempts to create a unified economic theory which is designed to integrate, at a general level, the concepts of neoclassical, institutional, evolutionary, systemic and a number of other theories that describe the functioning of economy or its fragments from various points of view have been analyzed in this paper. The idea is based on a concept of economic space as a combination of ontological, ideological, epistemological and praxeological spheres. The possibilities and prerequisites for creating a unified economic theory have been explored. Outline (preliminary) requirements for the thesaurus, subject area and a standard unit of analysis in a unified economic theory have been defined. The prospects for incorporating a new class of economic systems — the so-called quartet systems, which combine economic ontological, ideological, epistemological, and praxeological components, into the core of a unified economic theory have been demonstrated. The examples of situational analyses demonstrating the potential of the emerging unified economic theory as an apparatus for formulating and studying new socioeconomic problems have been provided. The most important tasks have been listed, and their solution would facilitate the progress towards creating a unified economic theory.

The emerging global race for leadership in digital transformation escalates the critical importance of innovative IT businesses. Their viability, in turn, hinges on the availability of financing. Currently, Russia faces an acute scarcity of empirical research within this sector, thereby constraining the effectiveness of pertinent government initiatives. This paper presents the results of an empirical analysis of the financing characteristics of innovative IT companies in Russia during 2021—2024. We compiled the study’s informational base from SPARK- Interfax data, covering 1055 active software development companies that reported non-zero revenue and possessed consistently significant intangible assets. We investigated the interrelationship among the share of intangible assets in total assets, financial leverage, cost of debt, and profitability. Contrary to prevailing theoretical assumptions, substantial investments in intangible assets did not restrict access to debt financing for IT companies. We identified a consistently stable direct correlation between the share of intangible assets and financial leverage over time. We also observed heterogeneity in the financial strategies of IT companies younger than 15 years, whereas mature, highly profitable IT businesses prefer internal financing. During 2021—2024, the macroeconomic context held crucial significance for the investigated interrelationships, while state support measures exerted a certain positive influence on the industry. We conclude that, in the context of developing technological sovereignty, low-profit innovative IT companies younger than 15 years primarily require such support.

The rules for collecting, processing and using personal information affect the distribution of surpluses both among firms in markets and between firms and consumers. Regulating the turnover of personal data is fundamental for sellers in the digital economy, including digital platforms. To prevent the risks of privacy violations and manipulation of consumer choice, the legislator restricts the collection and turnover of personal data. At the same time, the use of personal data by digital platforms and their ecosystems can also bring benefits to consumers. Using microeconomic models, the paper analyzes possible economic effects for sellers and buyers arising from the collection, processing and use of information about buyers’ preferences. The models show that collecting and using personal information can increase welfare. The paper proposes an interpretation of the logic of the special legislation and of individual decisions of competition authorities regarding the rules for the use of personal data by digital platforms. It also points to the possibility that restricting the collection of preference data may restrict competition.

This article presents the assessment of gross domestic product (GDP) losses in Russia resulting from mortality attributable to overweight-related diseases. The study is performed on multiple data sources, including overweight-related mortality rates, demographic indicators and labour market characteristics, i.e., employment structure, total mortality and population size subject to age and gender, and also Russia’s GDP in 2023 with its forecasted values. Economic losses in both current GDP (2023) and potential future GDP due to premature mortality from overweight are estimated using a methodology based on the human capital loss approach. The methodology is corrected to incorporate forecasted future GDP growth, and a social discount rate is applied to adjust future GDP values to the base year. The estimates indicate that the total amount of potentially foregone GDP due to premature mortality among the employed population in 2023 reaches approximately 1.25 trillion roubles (as in the prices of the year 2023), which is equivalent to 0.7% of GDP and 14% of government health expenditures in the corresponding year. A substantial disparity in economic losses by gender is observed: males’ input accounts for about 73% of total losses, explained by their higher mortality in working ages together with greater labour force participation rate. The main share of the long-term economic burden is attributable to mortality among individuals aged 35—59 years. The findings emphasize the significant impact of premature overweight-related mortality on the healthcare budget and the overall economy.

Child benefits can not only reduce the risk of child poverty but also help decrease overall income inequality. Using microsimulation analysis, the paper assesses the impact of child benefits on disposable income inequality in Russia. The empirical basis of the study is nationally representative data from the Survey of Income and Participation in Social Programs conducted by Rosstat (the Federal State Statistics Service). The Gini coefficient and the decile ratio are used as indicators of inequality. The results show that between 2013 and 2019 child benefits only slightly reduced inequality in disposable incomes. In 2020—2023, the contribution of child benefits to the reduction of income inequality increased substantially, largely due to the federal child benefit reform implemented over this period. The paper also conducts scenario simulations of alternative child benefits designs — universal, means-tested, and quasi-universal — and compares their contribution to inequality reduction under different funding levels. The simulations indicate that, for an equal budget, inequality indicators are more responsive to means‑tested benefits targeted on low-income households. Under sufficiently high funding, promising directions for the development of means-tested benefits include expanding coverage by relaxing the eligibility criteria and providing additional support to younger children. The findings suggest that child benefits should be viewed not only as a tool to alleviate child poverty but also as an important instrument of income inequality reduction policy in Russia.

The development of text-generating artificial intelligence systems frightens scholars: at first glance, articles by real researchers may be displaced by fabricated publications — fully invented or written on invented data. The modern history of academic research is full of such cases. However, journal editorial boards’ requirement that authors submit the data and code used in their work (the replication package), combined with the editorial team’s check of reproducibility before reviewers see the manuscript, substantially reduces the risks of publishing dishonest texts — especially when authors also supply log-files and research diaries.

The article is devoted to the publication in Russian of the book by Bernard Salanié “The economics of taxation”. The fundamental theory of taxation is presented in the short and accessible form, while presentation remains quite rigorous. The main attention is paid to the theory of optimal taxation — its basic models and results. The book shows the evolution of the theory of taxation as well as a linkage between the theory, empirical results and the contemporary debates on appropriate taxation policy. The book covers in more detail some current issues: low-income support programs and environmental taxation. The short survey of the history of taxation in different countries can also be useful for the readers.