The purpose of the article is to assess the return on investment in human capital in Russia in a regional context. To achieve this goal, based on the data of the Russian monitoring of the economic situation and health of the population of the National Research University Higher School of Economics, 2 specifications of the Mincer equation were assessed. The sample consists of individual questionnaire data for 9–30 waves (2000–2021). The general population is divided into eight sub-samples, each of which characterizes a federal district (FD). Several important results were obtained: the lowest return in the North Caucasus Federal District (NCFD), this result is explained by the lack of jobs for highly skilled workers and the high level of corruption in the regions of the NCFD; rich FDs have a lower return on investment in HC than poor ones; the difference between the categories of respondents with incomplete secondary education and respondents with completed secondary education is insignificant; the highest return on higher education is in the Far Eastern Federal District (FEFD), as respondents with higher education from the FEFD receive 62.6 percent more than respondents with less than secondary education.

oday, in conditions of limited supply in the labor market both at the regional level and from the rostrum of the State Duma proposals are being made on the use of forced labor in the national economy. In this regard, it is important to return to the study of the historical experience of our country. The proposed work provides a comprehensive review of the results of studying the consequences of the use of forced labor within the framework of the economic system of the Gulag in modern scientific literature. The author argues that short-term results achieved through the use of forced labor are fraught with protracted negative consequences for generations, difficult to overcome and hindering further sustainable development.

Participation in global value chains (GVCs) has traditionally been one of the most important external factors of socio-economic development of developing countries. However, the successful and deep integration of national economies into GVCs can`t be considered a universal phenomenon, and at present many developing countries remain unattractive in terms of locating the business operations carried out within international companies` global production networks. The aim of this article is to identify the major peculiarities of developing countries` integration into GVCs. In addition, the paper provides several examples of how certain factors contributed to the entry of individual states, namely Vietnam, Costa Rica and Morocco, into specific GVCs. Special attention in the research is paid to the role of developing countries` public policy in creating the favorable business environment for joining GVCs. The analysis indicates that developing countries can strengthen their potential for integration into GVCs by optimally utilizing the existing comparative advantages along with applying the public policy measures aimed at improving the quality of business environment.

With the imposition of sanctions, Russian companies have faced an additional challenge: ensuring the purchase of goods whose imports are prohibited. For this purpose, various tools are used, among which are secret sub-sanction agreements. This paper studies secret sub-sanction agreements as an extension of negotiation theory. A model of secret sub-sanction agreements is proposed to highlight the strategies of market players and the level of opacity (secrecy) that will be achieved to enforce the contract. A modification of the principal-agent incentive contract model is also proposed that takes into account the risks of secondary sanctions against the agent. To verify the models and to study the problem under study in more detail, the cases of secret sub-sanction agreements and their outcomes are considered.

The paper analyzes the views of technology entrepreneurs and investors on artificial intelligence (AI). The study uses two data collection methods: interviews and questionnaires. Based on the results of the analysis, respondents' views on the main risks associated with the use of AI were revealed, as well as the expected effects from its use in emerging companies. Using ordinal logistic regression, it was revealed that the idea that AI is “hype” is negatively influenced by the experience of founding a company, as well as the use of AI in everyday life. Using the method of hierarchical clustering, groups of respondents with similar views on AI were identified and described.

The emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) have significant influence on the global economic and environmental trajectories. They have carbon intensive economic systems, which contribute significantly to total global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, leading to climate change. However, BRICS have joined the race to net-zero emissions by 2050 in the quest for a climate neutral and sustainable global economy. The journey, however, is not without challenges and opportunities. The proliferation of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) had mixed reactions from scientists regarding its implications on net-zero trajectories. While statistical data show a correlation between COVID-19 and a decrease in total emissions, it is envisaged that COVID-19 compromised the efforts to develop carbon neutral economies. Hence, there is still a need for more scientific examination of COVID-19's impact on net-zero ambitions, especially in the emerging economies. This study focuses on India and South Africa's trajectories. Statistical analysis of secondary data from authentic interactive web-based dashboards for COVID-19 data repositories, namely Our World in Data and Climate Action Tracker was performed in conjunction with the document analysis approach following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) methodology. Some of the COVID-19 challenges as indicated by the results of the study include curtailing the technology transfer staircase in the energy sector, retaliatory emissions for recovery and resource diversion. The opportunities presented by COVID-19 in the quest for carbon neutrality include behavioral changes in investment, production and consumption patterns with a focus on low carbon options. Governments and stakeholders need to focus on addressing the barriers whilst riding on the opportunities presented by the pandemic to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.