Vol 32, No 2 (2024): INNOVATION AND INVESTMENT: OPPORTUNITIES AND PROSPECTS

Human capital is widely regarded as a fundamental driver of economic growth, at least in the innovative and knowledge-based economy. However, the empirical evidence linking human capital with economic outcomes has been problematic both at macroeconomic and microeconomic levels. The estimates obtained in this study, based on RLMS data, show that the conditional probability of a worsening financial situation for people with higher education increased significantly in 2020 and 2022 compared to 2019. Using logit analysis, we calculated the odds ratios for worsening finances for three groups: currently employed versus not employed, reported poor health versus good health, and with tertiary education versus no tertiary education. Individuals with poor health are 20 % more likely to experience a decline in income than those in good health, but worryingly, after 2020 those with tertiary education are also about 1.2 times more likely to experience a decline in income than those with secondary education or less. It does not cast doubt on the positive impact of human capital on the knowledge-based economy. But it raises the question to what extent the characteristics of the knowledge-based economy are maintained during crises. The other question is the extent to which tertiary education today meets the expectations of the labour market and whether the education system has the foresight to ensure a high return on investment in human capital.

The relevance of the problem under study is due to the need to introduce information technologies in various spheres of activity and their impact on the development of household finances. In this regard, the purpose of this article is to identify measures that increase the impact of digitalization on household finances and to develop indicators that characterize the effectiveness of household income from the use of digital technologies. The leading method of researching this problem is regression analysis as a proposed tool for testing the model of modern technology use in the economic and financial spheres, which allows us to consider this problem as a process of changing indicators that directly affect household finances. Results of the study: it is concluded that household income can change under the influence of various variables such as information and communication technologies; it is determined that the following indicators are used to assess the level of ICT: index of innovative development, index of government spending on innovation, index of workability of technological inventions; the tendency of improving ICT indicators and their positive impact on the development of the labor market and information environment is revealed; it is determined that the resultant indicator is influenced by the following indicators: index of innovation development, index of government spending on innovation, index of workability of technological inventions.

The main purpose of the study is to consider increasing the tourist attractiveness of Russian regions based on the use of a cluster approach, considering the formation of personalized service technologies. To achieve this goal, the definition of the structural components of the tourist clusters of the region is given, considering the specifics of the provision of tourist, recreational services, types and factors of integration processes of the system of organization of tourist clusters. The result of the study is the definition of a macroeconomic tourism cluster, which allows, by combining sequentially or in parallel technological processes of specialized enterprises of a tourist territory or cross-border territories, to create, promote and provide a cluster tourism product, taking into account consumer preferences. The macroeconomic tourism cluster reflects the economic paradigm of the tourism and recreational complex, including systematicity, synergy and institutionalism and other signs of organizing the functioning of complex-forming structures in the tourism industry. In the course of the study, the types and factors of integration processes of the system of organizing tourism clusters were clarified, the content of the strategic planning system of macroeconomic tourism clusters was substantiated, the state of the Russian tourism services market was assessed, taking into account the formation of personalized service technologies in the conditions of clustering, scientific and applied aspects of diagnostics and monitoring of the functioning of tourist clusters in conditions of limited use of financial resources have been identified, recommendations have been proposed on the most important problems of using resource provision, focused on maximum preference for the interests and needs of tourists in the modern period of development of clustering in the tourism industry, as well as the development of integration-production, coordination relations between the activities of specialized enterprises of tourism clusters. The article notes the processes that hinder the dynamic development of cluster formation in the tourism industry, which include the lack of organization for the interaction of executive authorities of cross-border regions, the limited possibilities of using an adapted methodological framework that allows the use of cluster technologies, the lack of trained management personnel and specialists in the formation and use of tourist clusters of cross-border regions.

Legacy emissions from fossil fuel consumption signify the lasting impact of past carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions on present-day emissions. Given that the current emission levels are also high; it has become urgent to deal with this crisis. This study aims to examine the effects of gas consumption, legacy CO2 emissions, energy decoupling, and population on carbon dioxide emissions in South Africa using the modified IPAT identity and the Markov Switching Dynamic Regression analysis. Integrating additional variables into the modified IPAT identity uncovered evidence from the South African energy sector on the impact of gas consumption on the environment. The Markov Switching Dynamic Regression Model (MSDRM) utilised annual data from the South African energy sector from 1966 to 2020, collected from diverse sources. Results indicate that the Gas model’s probability (i.e., 0.8475) would persist in high-emissions states over time. The MSDRM results showed that gas consumption suggests a statistically significant negative relationship between gas consumption (-0.0461) and CO2 emissions, meaning that despite the decrease in CO2 emissions from using gas, it does not imply instant reversals in the ambient CO2 as to reduce the overall CO2, likely contributed from other CO2-emitting fuels. The MSDRM results showed that legacy CO2 emissions positively impact (I) current CO2 emissions and that decoupling (T) leads to increased CO2 emissions-the latter relationship indicating likely energy rebounding. These findings highlight the need to prioritise interventions and strategies targeting the factors with higher probabilities of contributing to sustained high emissions, which may involve implementing policies to transition away from high-emission sources while exploring alternatives and adopting cleaner energy sources. The results emphasise the challenge of decoupling economic growth from high CO2 emissions and underscore the importance of sustained efforts to address and mitigate climate change.

The emergence and active development of digital ecosystems defines a new object of management study, integrating knowledge management, innovation management, operations management, supply chain management and organizational change. In conditions of competition and market barriers, economic entities actively use digital ecosystems as a key success factor. Digital ecosystems themselves are a special, complex management object whose properties change as they go through various stages of their life cycle. At the same time, the life cycles of digital ecosystems are influenced by the objects and subjects functioning in their contour and the economic systems associated with them. Based on the observation of economic systems and the influence of various factors on them, the authors determined the stages of the life cycle of digital ecosystems. Based on the study of the specifics of the behavior of digital ecosystems at the stages of their life cycles, the authors made conclusions about the most significant features of their management.

The relevance of international integration issues stems from the tendency of similar economic systems to unite in order to achieve mutually beneficial effects against the background of deglobalisation processes that have become an integral part of the capitalist world in recent decades. The tense geopolitical situation affecting the whole world against the backdrop of the international trade crisis calls into question the further hegemony of the Western world in the context of non-equivalent capital exchange. One of the approaches to analyse the effectiveness of the established global way of doing business is the worldsystem. This study examines the Eurasian Economic Union through the prism of the worldsystem approach. The aim of the research is to identify problems and possible prospects for the development of integration in the context of the world-system. In addition, research considers the issues of mutual investment and labour migration in the EAEU member states, reveals the specifics of the economy of the Union, points out the existing problems facing it and the possible ways to solve these problems in order to further develop integration processes between the member states.