Vol 31, No 4 (2023): EDUCATION. SCIENCE. DIGITALIZATION

Development of bilateral trade relations between countries in the period of deglobalization of world economy is a priority issue of the foreign economic policy of the state, aimed at ensuring its economic security. Particular attention should be paid to the study of trade and economic interrelations of the main actors of world economy, which are representatives of the new gravitational centers of economic activity. The interaction of such states, as a rule, is characterized by macro-regional effects that tend to reach the level of the global agenda. Undoubtedly, Russia’s foreign trade with India belongs to the above type of bilateral cooperation. The study shows the transformation of the countries’ economies over the past 10 years, characterized by the consistency of India’s economic growth and the turbulence of Russia’s economic policy, based on the need to adapt the economy as a result of systemic external pressure. The relationship of this retrospective with the cardinal trade changes in 2022 as a result of the geopolitical and energy crisis is determined. The author concludes that past events is an attempt to break the theoretical paradigm of trade and economic relations between countries that has existed in recent decades.

The study is devoted to the definition of a system of sustainability factors for the fuel and energy complex of the regional economic system, as well as the development of recommendations for improving the management of these factors in the regions of Russia. Based on the provisions of the Systemic Approach, econometric modeling and a comprehensive analysis of the influence of potential factors identified in the literature on the sustainability of the fuel and energy complex of modern regional economic systems around the world are carried out. The international experience of 120 countries in 2022 is projected onto Russia and compared with Russian regions. As a result, a system of factors has been formed, including the electrification factor, the clean energy availability factor and the carbon emission factor in cement production, which increases the predictability and manageability of the sustainable development of this system. The barriers to the sustainable development of the fuel and energy complex in the regions of modern Russia are identified, firstly, the incomplete availability of clean energy (90 %), which, however, is significantly higher than the average for the international sample (76.95 %). Secondly, a large amount of CO2 emissions from the combustion of fossil fuels and the production of cement (10.81 tCO2 per capita). The prospect for the period up to 2025 is disclosed and recommendations are proposed for improving the management of selected key factors for the sustainable development of the fuel and energy complex in the regions of Russia. The practical significance of the article is explained by the fact that the author’s recommendations proposed in it on improving the management of selected key factors will ensure

National economy digitalization is a powerful economic growth engine and one of the key areas for developing and maintaining the competitiveness of the state. Digital economy potential lies in accelerating the pace of economic development of enterprises, industries, regions and countries, and in improving in living standards. Under the conditions of digitalization, a tool for assessing the pace of economic system development at the country, region, industry and enterprise level becomes a source of competitive advantages. Therefore, the relevance of the study is evident. The purpose of the study is to develop tools for studying digital development rates at country and region level. The database of the study was represented by the proceeding of well-known foreign and Russian scientists and statistical data on the main indices of the US and Chinese stock markets. The methodological base was represented by the ISPI (Information System Portfolio Investor) digital model. The effectiveness of the obtained results was verified using the PRM (Profitability-Risk model) tool. The result of the study was an analysis of digital development rates at the country level by the case of the United States and China. The analysis was based on the calculation of the main parameters of the portfolio theory: expected return, risk level, return-to-risk ratio. Scatterplots were constructed for the main US and Chinese stock market indices based on the fitted data. They show the mutual distribution of groups of main indices and allow to determine the most promising areas for investment, including digital development. The findings confirm the possibility of using the proposed tools to determine the most attractive sectors for investment in the world stock markets and countries, and/or countries and regions that need investment for their development, including digital one. The introduction of the proposed tools into practice at the enterprise, industry, region and country level will contribute to the further development of the digitalization in all aspects of society at the enterprise, industry, region and country level.

The current dynamics of the development of the world economy is gaining new momentum despite the high crisis dynamics, containing financial, economic, monetary and geopolitical parameters. The factors accelerating the transformation of the global financial and economic architecture (GFEA) are high technologies, including the digital economy and artificial intelligence. The purpose of the study is to study the dynamics of the development of high technologies and its contribution to the evolution of the global financial and economic system. To conduct this analysis, the work uses a wide range of different scientific methods and approaches - the methodology of system analysis, methods of historical, logical and comparative analysis. Technologies are analyzed according to seven groups of impact on the GFEA transformation process: blockchain technologies, 3D printing, the Internet of Things, mobile broadband, cloud computing, robotics, and artificial intelligence. Their economic contribution to the processes under study is given. The activities of the Singularity University are considered as an example of a transnational think tank engaged in scientific and applied synthesis of high technologies, analysis of their prospects and consequences of their influence on the life of society. Proceeding from this, the contours of the further development of the GFEA and the strategies of behavior in the new conditions are given.

China occupies a significant position in the world market and is one of the countries that is developing rapidly and increasingly introducing new technologies into various sectors of the economy. Thus, one of the most important industries is the automotive industry, influencing the national economy and the global mechanical engineering market. In recent years, the Chinese economy has occupied a leading position in the world market in exports and imports of cars, production growth and sales of new cars. Even during the pandemic, where many countries faced an economic crisis, China was able to recover quickly. The investigation is devoted to the analysis of the dynamics of the main economic indicators of the automotive industry and its impact on the PRC economy. To identify the level of efficiency of this industry, statistical methods were used in the work, thanks to which leaders in sales and production of new cars were identified, as well as China’s place and share in the world market in terms of exports and imports. Using an analysis of literary sources, the trends that are observed in various countries and their interrelation were substantiated. Analysis carried out on goods of group 8703 “passenger cars and other motor vehicles intended primarily for the transport of people (other than motor vehicles of heading 8702), including utility vans and racing cars” on the domestic market of the People’s Republic of China from 2008 to 2022 year, showed economic activity and trends in various periods. The most important factors are highlighted that played at the macroeconomic and microeconomic level: economic, political and social factors. Econometric methods were used to forecast sales in the Chinese domestic market. The forecast is based on a logarithmic trend model, which has a high approximation accuracy, which was later used for a model with an additive component and a multiplicative model. For the predicted volume of vehicle sales, the accuracy of the forecast was assessed using error calculations, which showed that the deviation from the actual one, up or down, was 1.37 million vehicles.

In 2023, India surpassed China in terms of population, becoming the most populous country in the world. Many experts emphasize that India has a demographic dividend, which allows for high rates of economic growth. However, millions of young people enter India’s labor market each year, a significant portion of whom lack basic education and can only be engaged in low-skilled jobs. This situation affects the quality of life, working conditions, and overall socioeconomic situation in the country. The Government of N. Modi, along with other reforms relevant and timely for India, has developed a comprehensive transformation of basic and higher education in the country. The objective of the research is to identify the economic prerequisites, tasks, and methods for implementing the reform of the basic education system. It has been identified that despite the 2002 amendment to the Constitution and the Right to Education Act passed in 2006, many families do not send their children to school, and in other cases, some children do not complete their education. This is due to several reasons, including the remoteness of schools, difficulty in entrance and transfer exams, the need to help parents, among others. The new National Education Policy of 2020 aims to provide holistic early childhood and school education. The traditional structure of the education system has been changed: preschool education is now incorporated into the education system, allowing kindergarten graduates to transition smoothly into school. The traditional 10+2 model has been replaced with a 5+3+3+4 model. Regional languages are given special importance - education will be conducted in the mother tongue up to the fifth grade, and then students will also learn Hindi and English. Age-appropriate teaching methods are applied at each stage of education. In the final stage of schooling, students are given the freedom to choose disciplines based on their interests. Each stage of education aims to develop critical thinking, the ability to engage in discussions, and case analysis. Thus, the education system reform, if successfully implemented, aims to provide India’s economy with a higher quality workforce, regardless of whether the school graduate continues their education in college or enters the labor market after completing school.

The research is devoted to the analysis of the current state of chemical crop protection market in Russia. Significant industry growth has occurred in last decade due to the attractiveness of agriculture as an export-oriented industry. Russian agricultural products are in stable demand all over the world. Countries in the Middle East, South-Eastern Asia and Africa with constantly growing population rely on foodstuff import, including from the Russian Federation. Thus, country makes a significant contribution in a global food security. However, in order to develop and increase competitiveness, Russian farmers need to intensify crop production. One of technological improvement elements, which let growers to get sufficient yield and quality, is application of innovative chemical crop protection products. Pesticides help farmers struggle with crop diseases, pests and weeds, as well as minimize adverse climate factors in some cases. Agrochemicals market in Russia is represented not only by foreign players, but by domestic manufacturers as well. Market share of these two groups in value terms of market players is approximately equal. However, it’s worth mentioning, that like in many other industries, this sector is heavily dependent on import inputs. Major part of components for local pesticide production are imported and key technological process is constrained as a type of mixing necessary inputs in proper way. Domestic business, together with Russian Government and, probably, in cooperation with some international players, needs to solve the problem of deepening the production cycle, look for stimulus for development of the entire production chain in the long-term perspective, including development of fundamental science in chemical crop protection industry. Learning and adapting foreign experience can be the first step in the process of structural change of the crop protection industry. Simultaneously, it is critical to maintain openness and desire to use best practices at pesticide market, without which the competitiveness of Russian agricultural production will be constrained and development of the entire industry will have a pace inferior to other countries.

The knowledge economy is an economic system in which the production of goods and services is based principally on knowledge-intensive activities that contribute to advancement in technical and scientific innovation. A knowledge-based economy is a kind of economy without limitations. This study studies the prospects of Knowledge Economy in Iran. In recent years, the scope of innovative activity and the necessity of a knowledge economy in Iran has grown. However, this study shows that knowledge development alone is not efficient: it is useful only when knowledge is being generated and applied in a real business environment. Iran would probably benefit as well in the case the expertise of national academia and business community is used more intensively; otherwise, it would grow vulnerable if the foreign innovative technologies were only used. Under the current circumstances, Iran, dealing with ever-expanding sanctions, should be seeking opportunities to commercialize its domestic researches and developments.