Development strategy of the world’s largest cities in recent years «turned green» substantially and include as priority the maintenance of the quality of the environment and reduce the risks posed by global climate change. The article analyzes the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations (2016-2030) from the standpoint of sustainability and quality of life of communities, primarily in the big cities. Proceeding from these positions the authors consider the relationship and interaction between different Goals, targets and indicators for their implementation. Particular attention is paid to international indices of city prosperity and cities outlook, the global cities index. Constructive methodological and instrumental basis for solving urban problems is the concept of ecosystem services and payments for these services. The largest cities and megalopolises should be prioritized and pioneer objects in the system of payments for ecosystem services or compensation for the loss of the quality of these services, which eventually should become nationwide and provide a sustainable long-run development of the country.

The aim of this study is to review the global trends in bioenergy, and then in the light of these developments to assess the potential, development trends and drivers of the biofuel market growth in Russia, highlight key players and assess the concentration in this market. The authors focus on the most developed sector of bioenergy - solid biofuel (fuel pellets). On the basis of the Concentration ratio, the Herfindahl-Hirschman and Hall-Tideman indices the authors estimate the concentration in this market. The results lead to the conclusion that the market is moderately concentrated, but has a tendency to concentration downturn. The Lorenz curve serves as a visual representation of the erratical distribution of market share between producers. The study draws on the data of the International Energy Agency, the European Biogas Association, the Russian Federal State Statistics Service, the Customs Service of Russia, FAOSTAT, recent data provided by the media.

The article analyses the main features of the intellectual activity results market through the lens of the product boundaries definition. Frequently the pirated copy is not considered as a substitute for original products in legal cases. However, unlicensed computer programs should be included in the product market boundaries regardless of its legal status if the consumer considers them as substitutes. The difference between these types of products (original and pirated) are hidden not in transformation but in transaction characteristics. It is also important to take into consideration the possible complementarity between pirated and original products expressed in the information and network effects. In order to assess the buyers’ choice it is necessary to adjust the methods evaluating product market boundaries prescribed by «The Procedure of market competition analysis» of the Russia’s Federal Antimonopoly Service.

The article underlines the latest trends in real estate prices in Russia, which helps to record the increasing negative effect of real estate risks on various groups of economic agents. The consequences of negative dynamics in mean real estate market prices could be relaxed by real estate derivatives market construction, which has been unclaimed yet by the market participants due to favorable economic conditions. The article provides the ground for the necessity of real estate risk hedging for various groups of economic agents, viability of real estate derivatives utilization for the purposes of hedging and their application to further financial innovations.

The article discusses three main areas of interdisciplinary research of the phenomenon of “tourism” with the aim to increase the effectiveness of its socio-economic functioning. These areas include an expansion of study scope at the expense of attraction of scientific research in the related science areas, a multiplicative analysis of the interaction of tourism and other industries, research in the complex range of services with underlying tourism product. The proposed multidisciplinary research should be based both on theoretical developments and empirical material, reflecting the dynamics of the market of tourist services.

Specific features of the emerging markets challenge the use of approaches designed for developed markets in emerging markets. Customer orientation as one of the key concepts of contemporary marketing requires a rethinking in the context of emerging markets. The purpose of the article is to develop a tool for a complex evaluation of the company’s customer orientation level adapted to the Russian market. The empirical study includes mixed qualitative-quantitative design: at the first stage we conducted a quantitative survey with representatives of 239 companies operating in the Russian market, at the second - 62 in-depth interviews. For the analysis of quantitative data we used an explanatory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). As a result the four factorial scale model consisting of 14 indicators was obtained. Drawing on in-depth interviews analysis, the scale was supplemented by the indicators expressing the specifics of customer orientation on the Russian market.

The development of category management practices in the foreign markets has made crucial the study of category management tools as well as their use within the complex structure of the Supplier-Retailer relationship in Russian consumer goods market. The article highlights the meaning of the category in terms of managing retail sales and the process of category management implementation. Using desk research method with the category as a level of analysis, we analyzed 10 business cases of Russian FMCG market representatives. The analysis of existing practices allows to evaluate the applicability of the classical category management implementation model in the domestic market and to identify the most common tools. The results of the study indicate that companies in the domestic market have short-term orientation on the development of the category and implement category tactics without defining the role and the strategy of the category.

The paper addresses the results of the First International Conference «The Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) Financial Regulation: Challenges and Perspectives», which was organised jointly by Moscow State University Faculty of Economics and the Eurasian Economic Commission (October 13-14, 2016). The conference was designed as a discussion platform for experts from EAEU states, for representatives of academic and business communities, and for national and supernational regulatory authorities. Participants discussed the future of harmonised financial legislation and regulation, of perspectives for supernational regulation of financial markets within EAEU; of basic financial market segments and their regulation, and of key infrastructural and institutional issues of EAEU financial integration.