The article identifies relevant methods of short-term forecasting of regional and local budget revenues to improve the accuracy of forecasts. The methodological basis of the study is the analytical review of scientific publications on the methods of forecasting budget revenues, identification of their distinctive features, limitations of their application, as well as justification of the choice of the method that provides high accuracy of forecasting tax revenues of subnational budgets. The authors argue that the accuracy of revenue forecasts is the most important component of economic government planning as it enables the development of effective fiscal policy, resource allocation and strategic financial management. Given that achieving an accurate forecast is a complex task, the paper shows that one of the main sources of error in revenue forecasting is the choice of revenue forecasting method, in addition to a variety of political and institutional factors affecting the accuracy of forecasts. Drawing on comparative analysis of existing forecasting methods, the authors select two methods: time series forecasting method (traditional SARMA/SARIMA method) and forecasting method based on discrete wavelet transform. They are tested on the data of aggregated monthly tax revenues of consolidated budgets of the subjects of the Russian Federation for the period from January 2011 to March 2023. It has been revealed that the forecasting method based on wavelet transformations is superior to the traditional SARMA/SARIMA method by all indicators and allows to achieve a higher level of accuracy of forecasts of monthly aggregated tax revenues of consolidated budgets of Russian regions. The findings demonstrate a high forecasting potential of shortterm forecasting methods with a preliminary decomposition of time series based on wavelet transformations. The obtained results make it possible to improve the accuracy of classical forecasting methods and thus contribute to the growth of efficiency and effectiveness of budget planning and forecasting.

Development of PC online gaming is accompanied by creation a new type of exchangeable things – in-game paraphernalia or electronic gaming stuff. First, these things are allowed to be shared (given, transferred), then exchanged by agreement, then exchanged using virtual (gaming) currency, which acts as a measure of ‘value’ of a computer gaming thing. And, finally, as virtual currency begins to be converted into real money, the market of gaming paraphernalia acquires significant features of a financial market accessible not only to direct players, but also to investors. A gaming item by its origin is not a source of interest or dividend income by the type of securities, but since its price is determined by a rapidly changing supply and demand ratio over time, such a thing turns into a potential source of net income for an investor aimed at making profit in the form of a difference in the prices of gaming paraphernalia. The aim of this article is to examine the main characteristics of the market of computer game paraphernalia as a market for alternative financial investments, as well as to highlight the nuances that potential investors should take into account. The methodological framework of the research includes such scientific methods as analysis, comparison, and synthesis, as well as the case study method and content analysis. The study inter alia concludes that the market of PC gaming paraphernalia is developing rapidly, has a global character, and investments in it in some cases can act as an alternative to investing in traditional financial assets.

Within the framework of the global climate agenda, one of the most significant initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is the introduction of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) in the European Union. The purpose of this study is to confirm a significant negative impact of the CBAM on the value of Russian companies, as an example of transition climate risks implementation. This paper will provide empirical evidence that the Russian financial market assesses events related to the introduction of the CBAM as a new significant risk for Russian companies. Using event study methodologies and the construction of autoregressive models for assessing abnormal returns, the study confirms that the risks introducing the CBAM are priced into the Russian financial market. The study also demonstrates the possibility of mitigating transition climate risks, highlighting the need to include them in the analysis when forming company's long-term strategy. Furthermore, the author demonstrates an approach to obtain «cleaned» returns which allows for a good assessment of the effect of an event related to carbon regulation, as well as verifying the results for robustness. Although the volume of exports to the EU has significantly decreased, as has the risk from the introduction of the regulation, the findings will be relevant in the context of developing carbon regulation markets in Asian countries (China, Japan, Kazakhstan, etc.). This is the most likely development, considering that China, having declared its goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2060, launched a national emissions trading scheme, similar to the EU's, in 2021 and is the largest export market for Russian carbon-intensive companies.

The aim of the article is to identify current structural changes in the world energy system and their relation to geopolitical and economic processes. The research is based on the methods of systemic and economic analysis, the expert assessment system, and general research methods used to study economic phenomena, including analysis of historical records, time series, and the analogy method. The article demonstrates that the calls of proponents of an accelerated energy transition to abandon the use of fossil fuels are not scientifically sound and are practically unrealistic. The article also examines a number of ongoing processes of large-scale geopolitical transformation that affect the global energy system, such as declining global dominance of industrialized countries in economy, trade and technology, and the weakening role of the US dollar as an international reserve currency. A special emphasis is given to the strategic importance of Russia's hydrocarbon resource base and its contribution to the long-term energy security of Eurasia. The continued growth in global demand for fossil fuels is inevitable as rising living standards in developing countries, coupled with the development of data centers, will drive a steady increase in global energy consumption. With greater energy intensity, transportability and energy flow density, fossil fuels are far superior to renewables in terms of investment efficiency, and therefore hydrocarbons will continue to hold a central position in the global energy system. The research findings emphasize the need to give up utopian energy transition scenarios embedded in state policies and corporate strategies in favor of pragmatic solutions based on current technological and economic realities.

Growing uncertainty and more frequent shocks in the global economy require firms and regulators to find new sources of resilience. The impact of participation in global value chains on firm performance remains largely unresolved in current literature, especially in the context of external shocks. The paper aims to expand on the understanding of the mechanism of the relationship between globalisation and firm resilience. The study draws on the concept of global value chains and utilises various markers of firms' belonging to these chains such as imports, exports, international quality certificates and foreign equity participation. The methodological novelty of the paper lies in the fact that not only the actual values of the change in revenue as a result of the shock, but also the expected recovery period for different models of global value chain organisation are used to assess the resilience of firms. Using data on 5,301 firms from 29 countries in Europe and Central Asia, using probit regression and ordered probit regression, we find that non-economic shock from the COVID-19 pandemic negatively affected importing firms, leading to lower sales and a longer expected recovery period. Large firms and firms with international quality certifications proved to be more resilient. Participation in global value chains and firms' export orientation had no significant impact on revenue fluctuations and the ability to restore revenue to pre-crisis levels. The results obtained provide additional arguments for companies' decision-making regarding participation in the chains, as well as in forming guidelines for the state foreign trade policy and foreign direct investment policy.

The paper explores the major current trends and features of global value chains (GVCs) in the world economy. The author identifies the main changes in geographical location of GVCs’ stages, in the cost structure of final products, and in the composition of GVCs’ participants. He then considers the reasons for GVCs reduction since the beginning of 2010s, such as: the lack of large-scale initiatives for trade liberalization, «protectionism 2.0», and a shift towards domestic markets in the world’s biggest economies. The author proves that the contemporary geopolitical situation causes significant changes in well-established models of GVCs. The key channels that provided the GVCs reconfiguration in 2010s-2020s have been investigated. The study emphasizes that modern pattern of GVCs is shaped by such factors as lesser importance of differences in low-skilled labor wages as a driving force of geographical fragmentation of production, a larger contribution of services to value creation process, a greater knowledge intensity of GVCs, a higher role of non-affiliated firms in GVCs. Finally, the author argues that current trends in GVCs generate new challenges for the development of Russia’s economy. The analysis concludes with recommendations for Russia’s state policymakers aimed at promoting an effective participation of national companies in GVCs.

The study identifies external environmental factors that influence industrial enterprises’ innovation activity drawing on the example of China – the global leader in innovative development. The subject of this study is the measurement of innovation activity within the industrial sector, such as: research and development activity, the number of new product development projects and active patents for inventions, revenue from sales of new products and their exports. The selection of external success factors is based on literature review on relevant topics including: innovation infrastructure, institutions, cooperation and financing. Financing is employed as a control factor that has been repeatedly substantiated by other empirical studies. The analysis is based on official Chinese statistics (2011-2022), the Global Innovation Index sub-indices and data from the Statista platform. The time series sample is subjected to a detailed examination through descriptive statistics, correlation analysis and the calculation of an internal consistency coefficient. The Granger causality test is employed as a primary research method. The  findings reveal that financing represents the most crucial element influencing the innovation activity of enterprises. The provision of startup financing and venture capital investment has been demonstrated to stimulate an increase in the number of innovative projects and new products. The study demonstrates that scientific collaboration, formation of clusters, and regulatory framework exert a considerable influence on the innovation processes of enterprises engaged in R&D. The empirical data prove that regulatory framework stimulates the number of active patents, and high patent activity in turn promotes cooperation and imports. The study thus asserts the importance of external factors, in particular financing and collaboration, which entail the success of innovation projects within the industrial sector. The findings are of significant importance for the development of new national development programmes and the adaptation of existing ones, as well as for the management of companies seeking to enhance the efficiency of their investment in innovation projects.

Rapid development of technologies entails a structural change in the requirements for the content of work for different positions and professions. The main objective of this study is to assess the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) development on the labor market. The methodological basis is structuring the main professional niches in the field of activity «Economics and Management» and assessing the structure of in-demand competencies within these specializations in Russia. Research methods include qualitative analysis of relevant expert materials and scientific publications, as well as a quantitative study based on data from Russian job search websites for the period from 2020 to 2024. As a result of the analysis of AI development, the authors systematized the risks and opportunities of its implementation for the labor market, structured the description of in-demand competencies in the field of AI, identified three groups of competencies expected from employees according to the degree of their specificity for working with AI technologies, estimated the volume and structure of demand for professional segments of employment in the field of economics and management for the beginning of 2024. The authors conclude that it is advisable to monitor the labor market requirements for the knowledge and skills of workers in the field of using AI for timely assessment of qualitative changes in the demand for labor, informing the vocational education system for adjusting educational programs, which will contribute to increasing labor productivity in the economy.

Growing importance of social and environmental issues encourage business, society, and state to combine their efforts in implementing the sustainable development agenda. The purpose of this study is to identify institutional determinants that influence Russian companies’ corporate sustainability. The object of the empirical study is big Russian companies that implement sustainable practices of various scales and diversity. The sample covers 39 companies; the data obtained are analyzed using the qualitative comparative analysis method and fuzzy sets. The findings reveal the differences in pressure of the institutional environment components depending on company’s level of internationalization. Significance of pressure from different types of institutions differs for each component of corporate sustainability. For implementing sustainable development practices by companies operating in domestic market, institutional drivers are regulative and normative components of the institutional environment, while for companies operating in foreign markets, all components of the institutional environment will be important, although pressure of normative component will differ among such companies. Ecological and social components of corporate sustainability are mainly stimulated by employee engagement in relevant practices, while governance component is mainly determined by government pressure as a normative component of institutional environment. The findings will allow to develop optimal management solutions to stimulate corporate sustainability considering the geographical scope of company’s activities, and to combine the efforts of business, society, and state in strengthening the national ESG-agenda.

The paper analyzes the Russian research landscape of the circular economy (CE). The theoretical importance of the work is determined by a growing interest to the subject in academic community. The practical importance is related to the implementation of the CE concept in the field of business and to the development of national policies in this area, in particular adoption of the Federal project «Circular economy» in Russia. Using bibliometric methods, the authors analyze a sample of 1089 prior studies from 2014 to 2023 related to the topic of circular economy, 209 of which can be attributed to the core of the research landscape. One of the characteristics of the landscape is terminological variability: the English term «circular economy» has acquired different variants in Russian works and practice. The analysis of the core of the research landscape of 209 scientific papers with formulated criteria allowed us to identify nine categories. Among them: the study of the CE theoretical foundations, the study of foreign experience, the development of indicators and assessment methods, the development of solutions for implementing CE in Russia, the implementation of the concept at the regional level, implementation in industries, waste management to achieve CE, enterprise management in the context of CE, industrial technologies and CE. Three periods of landscape development are also defined: «formation» (2017-2019), «expansion» (20202022), «beginning of transformation» (starting from 2023).

In the context of the climate change agenda, many companies set targets to reduce their carbon footprint and declare progress in achieving them in their non-financial reporting and corporate inventory of direct and indirect energy GHG emissions. The complexity of managing the latter is due to the fact that electricity consumed from the unified energy system cannot be attributed to its producer. To ensure the possibility of voluntarily choosing a specific energy supplier, there is a market-based approach when companies can purchase certificates of energy origin and take them into account when inventorying their indirect energy greenhouse gas emissions. The use of this method for Russia has become especially relevant after the launch of a full-fledged system for the circulation of certificates of electricity origin in 2024. The objective of this paper is to present the findings of a comprehensive analysis of international experience in applying the market-based approach and provide proposals for its improvement. The theoretical framework is based on foreign studies and analytical materials on the topic of corporate accounting of energy-related greenhouse gas emissions. The author identifies the problematic aspects of applying the market-based approach including goal-setting and meeting the criterion of additionality. Taking these aspects into account, the paper proposes a conceptual approach to accounting for certificates of energy origin within the corporate greenhouse gas emissions inventory by the corporate sector and regulatory authorities.

The purpose of the study is to provide recommendations for developing a methodology for economic analysis of agricultural organizations based on ESG principles. The author applies general scientific approaches, including dialectics, methods of institutional analysis, general theoretical methods of analysis, synthesis, grouping, classification. The information and empirical base of the study rests upon the norms and standards in the field of integrated and non-financial reporting, the OECD-FAO Guidelines on Responsible Supply Chains in Agriculture, policy documents on the development of agro-industrial complex of the Russian Federation, reports of Russian agro-industrial complex organizations for 2020-2022 (RUIE, National Register), disclosing ESG indicators of their activities. As a result of the study, the conclusions confirm that unification of methodological approaches to economic analysis and the development of industry practices for the ESG formation metrics is required; there is a need to adapt domestic accounting and analytical system of agro-industrial complex organizations to ESG needs. The author proposes a methodological approach to economic analysis based on ESG principles, including clarification of the paradigm, addition of principles, methods of analysis, and offers a system of specific, sectoral indicators form non-financial reporting of agro-industrial complex organizations. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the development of a methodology for industry analysis for the purpose of managing sustainable development and forming non-financial reporting of agro-industrial complex organizations that have significant sustainable development potential and specific performance indicators. The implementation of the findings will make it possible to adapt the ESG metrics system, ideas about the disclosure of non-financial information to the needs of various institutions and improve the quality of management decisions in the field of sustainable development of agro-industrial complex organizations.

Today, the question of making consumption more eco-friendly is important both for consumers interested in purchasing environmentally friendly products (EFPs) and for producers interested in expanding the market for such products. However, there are still many “white spots” in this area, starting with the criteria for classifying products as environmentally friendly. The aim of this study is to identify the criteria for the environmental quality of products as perceived by the youth, using first-year students at the University of Tyumen as an example. The methodological basis of the research is the works of Russian and foreignscolars, revealing the characteristics inherent in EFPs, as well as the results of a survey of 741 students on types of EFPs and their attributes. The EFP concept is interpreted ambiguously in Russian-language sources – from a narrow understanding as products safe for human health to a broad understanding that also considers the impact of the product on the environment at different stages of its life cycle. Foreign sources have comprehensive definitions of EFP, as well as detailed lists of criteria for classifying products as environmentally friendly. The survey results show that students associate EFP with certain materials (obtained from plant raw materials, easily recyclable, produced from secondary raw materials). The main criteria for eco-friendliness in the students' responses are the following: multiple uses of the product, biodegradability, the possibility of recycling product waste, reducing the consumption of raw materials and pollution of the environment with harmful substances at the stage of production and use of the product, and reducing waste generation. Misconceptions about classifying certain products as EFP are also identified, leading to the conclusion that ecological education is necessary. The catalog developed to systematize students' responses, which includes 196 characteristics of EFP, can be used to study the understanding of EFPs by consumers in different market segments and to develop strategies to improve the ecological quality of products.

Tests are an integral part of any learning process. If students do not have sufficient information on tests’ content, they may have erroneous expectations and choose a suboptimal educational strategy, which leads both to a decrease in an overall level of knowledge and academic success, and a decrease in students' motivation to make efforts in future. Our objective is to identify the factors that shape expected and actual test scores and determine the differences between them. The data were collected through a survey of students of the Faculty of Economics of Lomonosov Moscow State University in the course “Theory of Finance” with a regression analysis as a modeling method. Students incorrectly assess their knowledge of the course, which leads to incorrect expectations. When forming expected grades for the tests, respondents focus on past achievements in other academic subjects, but no correlation between this factor and actual grades was found. At the same time, students do not consider past mistakes (the difference between actual and expected scores for the first paper) when forming expected scores for the next test.

In order to optimize service utilization and enhance user accessibility IT service providers offer customer education. While research indicates positive impact of customer education on company performance, there is a scarcity of experimental studies evaluating its economic impact. The purpose of the study is to compare the dynamics of Yandex Cloud services consumption by client companies whose employees were trained and those who were not trained under the vendor's program. The training program involved participants completing the «Cloud Services Engineer» open online course offered by Yandex Cloud. The experimental group exhibited an average normalized increase of 4.4% in daily consumption of cloud platform services, whereas the control group showed a 2.2% increase. Difference between the two groups was significant (Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, KS = 0,14; p = 0,04). Given that cloud business revenue is often in billions of rubles, the difference of 2.2% can be considered large. The increase in consumption may suggest that the training has equipped employees with requisite knowledge and skills in cloud technologies, thereby enhancing their ability to effectively address professional challenges within the context of employer's operations. The findings may be applied in decision-making process regarding the establishment or enhancement of training programs for clients of cloud vendors. Additionally, these results may be helpful in training specialists to effectively articulate the value of their contributions to business.