Publications

The subjects of the research are the dynamics of the development of creative industries, their role in achieving sustainable development goals, measures of state support for the creative sector in Russia. The pandemic and accelerated digitalization are radically changing the landscape and structure of creative industries, which found themselves in a «shock» situation due to a low margin of safety and were forced to restructure the formats of their work with audiences and markets. The purpose of the work is to assess the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic for the development of creative industries. For this purpose, a comparative analysis of the dynamics of economic indicators of the development of the music industry and the film industry was carried out with a plausible period. It is shown that consumer behavior in the sphere of culture and leisure is changing significantly, the supply in the music, cinema and animation sector is expanding and structurally changing, new formats of activity based on a combination of offline and online services are being created, causing the emergence of new major players in the creative industries markets that create digital ecosystems. The role of creative industries in the life of society is established, which form an influential part of the economy and employment, make an important contribution to social well-being, and provide social communication and inclusion of vulnerable groups in public life.

This article focuses on the widespread but vague concept of the smart city. The smart city is a visionary projection, around which are an eclectic ensemble of often contradictory theoretical attitudes and doctrines that link urban development with the devel- opment of technology, especially digital technology. We argue that the work of the British cyberneticist Gordon Pask on the theory of “aesthetically charged environments” sheds light on a key aspect of the problem of the smart city. Pask emphasizes the fundamental dependence of the problem of human control and emotional interaction with the urban, technology-saturated environment, which still remains a blind spot for most researchers of the smart city. A critical analysis of modern ap- proaches to the smart city has shown that there are two crucial conditions for the success the smart city policy: 1) the increasing variety of algorithms and competition between technical devices; 2) not just total digitalization or the creation of a technological “framework”, but designing the city as a technological environment with a powerful emotional potential. The authors believe that the emotional and cultural-aesthetic dimension is only a barely outlined direction of future research on the smart city, digital technology, and engineering.

The study is devoted to the dynamics of the provision of cultural benefits to the Russian population in terms of  the main functional species between 2000 and 2019.   The objectives of the study were: determining the composition of indicators that characterize the provision of cultural conditions and services to the population; the formation of a database of five functional species for the period 2000-2019; the choice of analysis methods, as well as an analysis of the dynamics of cultural benefits for the Russian population; the assessment of the positive effects and negative effects of the optimization of the network of cultural institutions.

To thisend, the statistics of the Main Information Center of the Russian Ministry of Culture have been analyzed, and the legislation regulating state guarantees of cultural benefits for the population has been studied. For each functional species  (teatras,  tooncertal organizations and philharmonic collectives,  mUzey,  bibliotheks,  tolub-leisure institutions) selected indicators that characterize conditions and services in the field of culture, which were compared with the indicators of attendance and demand of services by the population. Itwas shown that, first, the dynamics of cultural benefits for the Russian population during the period were uneven in terms of functional types; secondly,  measures to improve the efficiency of cultural budget expenditures have led to some positive developments in security conditions. However, there have been disparities in the decline in cultural benefits and diminishing opportunities for cultural participation due tothe unreasonable optimization of the network of libraries and club-leisure facilities.

Creative industries are one of the most important factors for sustainable economic development and a condition for higher-quality human capital. The brochure examines the concepts of creative industries that have been developed in different countries, analyzes the assessments of creative potential and competitiveness factors, using the data from the Index of Innovative Cities. Taking into account the growing global competition in the innovative economy, many countries have developed and adopted the state support programs for creative industries; in Russia, systemic support for the sector is be developed. The brochure analyzes the economic characteristics of the Russian creative sector, identifies the main effects of the coronavirus pandemic, and outlines the main areas for the state support of the creative sector.

To assess the economic impact of COVID-19 and to study the specifics of functioning of cultural institutions in the conditions of the pandemic, the authors analyze the 2019 - 2020 indicators and conduct an expert survey of the heads of cultural institutions of various types located in both capital and small towns, and rural areas in all federal districts. The analysis of the budget financing of cultural sector in 2020 compared to 2019 in Russia, as a whole, and in the Russian Federation regions showed a noticeable slowdown of growth rates of expenses for culture and a decrease in the share of these expenses. The analysis of the dynamics of GDP per capita (in constant prices) and the share of household expenditures on recreation and cultural events in total household expenditures made it possible to predict a further reduction of these expenditures and, as a consequence, revenues of cultural organizations and extra-budgetary revenues of state and municipal cultural institutions. The analysis of the dynamics of the number of employees in cultural organizations by forms of part-time employment showed that in the conditions of coronavirus expansion, cultural organizations sought to keep jobs for their employees, but they also used various forms of part-time employment. The expert survey of cultural executives and managers confirms the deterioration of financial support for cultural institutions,including the emergence of difficulties associated with the failure to meet the indicators established in the state assignment, and the cultural infrastructure lagging behind modern requirements for online formats. Specific measures are proposed to improve the situation in the cultural sector.

The collection publishes materials of the Thematic Conference "Economics of Culture" IV of the Russian Economic Congress "REC-2020. The articles cover the sphere of culture, financing of culture, cultural heritage, theatrical arts, tourism and cultural industries in Russia.

Due to the threat of the spread of COVID-19 in accordance with Federal Law No. 68-FZ of December 21, 1994 "On protection of population and territories from natural and man-made emergencies" in the first quarter of 2020 a high alert regime was introduced in the subjects of the Russian Federation. In accordance with the Decrees of the President of Russia from March 30 till May 8, 2020 there were established days-off with preservation of the employees' wages. At the same time, back in March 2020 Rospotrebnadzor decided on the requirement to limit the holding of mass events, including those in the sphere of culture. These measures could not but affect the functioning of cultural organizations, since, in fact, their activity during this period, as well as the subsequent period of the gradual coming out of the self-isolation regime, was actually blocked.

In order to assess the economic consequences for the sphere of culture, the dynamics of the budget financing indicators was analyzed, the expenditures of households for recreation and cultural events were considered, as well as the changes in the structure of the number of employees of cultural organizations by forms of part-time employment were investigated.

In order to broaden our understanding of the ongoing situation directly within cultural institutions, a qualitative study was conducted a sociological survey of the heads of cultural institutions of various types, located in both large cities and small towns and in rural areas from all federal districts, which showed the range of opinions and assessments about the impact of the pandemic on their activities.

Based on the results of the study, proposals were made for the development of alternative options for the provision of services.

The article analyzes the resource potential that ensures the integration of education and culture to form the modern competencies of the younger generation. Based on a study of the volumes and dynamics of financial flows directed to additional education, both from budgetary and non-budgetary sources, trends of growth in the share of paid services are revealed while maintaining the volume of budget aryfunding. At the same time, the possibilities of increasing the participation of families in co-financing this sector are almost exhausted. The authors substantiate the findings that, in a resource-limited environment, the integration of education and culture improves the quality and diversity of additional education. The article summarizes the best practices of cooperation between cultural organizations and schools.

It is substantiated that creativity is a key competence in the transition from a commodity to an innovative economy. It is shown that intellectual property (IP) becomes the basis of the capitalization of creative potential. It is concluded that Russia's regions are not involved in the commercialization of IP rights. Breaking down barriers and dampening negative trends requires legal support and the advance of IP training programmes at regional universities.

The relevance of support for creative industries is due to the increased attention of the state and society to the development of human capital and to increase Russia's international competitiveness in the knowledge economy. In recent decades, the concept of human capital has expanded significantly, and World Bank experts include the expenditures of the state and families on education, health and culture. The challenges facing the Russian economy at the current stage are due to the emerging negative trends of the outflow of highly skilled young professionals to countries with the possibilities of applying for work in the sphere of creative industries and creative self-fulfillment. Russia's international image degrades to the image of a third world country that is a supplier of raw materials, not unique brands, technologies and knowledge. On this basis, assessing the economic potential of the cultural sphere and the prospects for the development of Creative Industries in Russia is an urgent task.

The article analyzes the existing differentiation in the consumption of benefits in higher education. It is substantiated that there is a deep differentiation of access to higher education in the areas of training depending on the income of families. The high level of science and computer science training and the ability of families to pay for tutors give applicants a better chance of studying at the expense of budget funds compared to applicants from low-income families. Education in the creative professions and design sector directly depends on the income level of families and develops extremely unevenly, both in the regions of Russia and in the areas of training. The current conditions of the coronavirus pandemic and the impending economic crisis have exacerbated the problem of access to higher education for low-income families to the limit. The integration of financial instruments that provide direct support to both educational institutions and students and their families at the expense of budgets could be a promising model for maintaining the accessibility of higher education for applicants from low-income families. Personalized funding allows students to participate in the possession of some of the “guardian benefits” through educational budget certificates.

The issue analyzes the resource potential that ensures the integration of additional education, sports and culture to form the modern competencies of the younger generation. Based on a study of the volumes and dynamics of financial flows directed to additional education, both from budgetary and non-budgetary sources, trends of growth in the share of paid services are revealed while maintaining the volume of budget aryfunding. At the same time, the possibilities of increasing the participation of families in co-financing this sector are almost exhausted. The authors substantiate the conclusions that in the context of resource constraints, the integration of education, sports and culture improves the quality and diversity of additional education, the results of testing of personalized mechanisms are given funding for additional education in Russia’s regions.

This article analyzes the evolution of theoretical approaches to the role of leisure in  transition to innovative economy. Assessment of the economic potential of cultural and leisure sectors is based on a comparative analysis of household demand for recreational and cultural activities, government support measures to the cultural sector, and the creative industries development in Russia, including the export-import balance. The results of the study reveal a significant gap between a high effective demand from families with new requirements for modern cultural environment and the financial state support, providing advanced development of culture and tourism in Russia, stimulating demand in the creative sector, and the development of citizens’ creative potential. Hence, this gap leads to the supply-demand imbalances, increasing outbound tourism, and a sharp interregional disparity in the creative potential development. Underdeveloped sector of creative industries and limited opportunities for creative self-expression reduce the market capacity of culture and leisure supply, and result in a negative trade balance in creative industries, and outflow of qualified youth to foreign countries.

The purpose of this work is to reveal the presence (absence) of the impact of the preferential mechanisms introduced by the subjects of the Russian Federation for socially beneficial services providers (hereafter SBSP), on the increase of the budgetary funds allocated for subsidizing non-profit organizations (hereafter NPOs) in social sector.

To identify the dependence, we develop a methodology correlating the legal acts adopted by the subjects of the Russian Federation to introduce preferential mechanisms for SBSP and the volumes of subsidies to NPOs.

The results of the study showed that although it was not a long time since the adoption of the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation No. 398 dated August 8, 2016, approving the priority areas for the socially beneficial services provision, some sub-sectors of the social sphere experienced positive effects of the introduced preferential mechanisms for SBSP. The study identifies the budget areas where the largest number of the Russian Federation subjects increased the share of subsidies for NPOs in the total amount of expenditures for the corresponding area, as well as the changes in the Russian regions rating according to this indicator.

To expand the engagement of NPOs as SBSP, it is proposed to amend regional legislation and establish specific preferences for SBSP, as well as to include this issue in the Methodological Recommendations on the implementation of support mechanisms for socially oriented non-profit organizations, introduced by the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation for public authorities and local governments.