The article discusses the problems of spatial development of the Russian Federation, analyzes the causes and trends of changes in the spatial structure of macroeconomic indicators by federal districts in the period 2008–2015 which witnessed the cyclical nature of economic development in Russia, and assesses the factors of regional growth for the period under consideration and the potential for further development of the Russian federal districts.

The research focuses on the economy of the Russian federal districts in the period 2008–2015 characterized by the cyclical nature of the development of the Russian economy. On analyzing the periods of recession alone, it is almost impossible to obtain detailed information about the factors of economic growth. At the same time, analyzing merely the periods of growth does not take into account the possibilities of crises and their consequences. For a more detailed analysis, the time boundaries of the study were divided into three periods 2008–2010, 2010–2013 and 2013–2015.

The work is aimed at analyzing the changes in the structures of macroeconomic indicators of the Russian Federation by federal districts in the period 2008–2015, determining the reasons and tendencies of their changes, studying the factors of regional growth in 2008–2015, and assessing the potential for further development of the regions of the Russian Federation. 

The research toolkit includes the methods for analyzing structural changes as well as the methods of logarithmic and proportional division. The analysis of structural changes was used both when considering GRP growth rate at constant prices and when studying the factors of growth at total labor productivity. Logarithmic division was used when dividing the yield rises by the rises of each of the factors (e.g. decomposition of GRP rises in current prices). Proportional division was used to assess the impact of regional industries on economic growth as a whole.

In the past few years, in the Russian economy and politics, an understanding has been reached that the health of the population is one of the drivers of economic development. At the same time, there is a shortage of work in the economic literature that investigates the relationship between health capital, health care costs and economic growth; there is no generally accepted model in economic theory that explains the relationship between these variables and is supported by empirical tests for individual countries and regions. This study is intended to fill this gap; its goal is to quantify the impact of health capital and health care costs on Russian regions' economic growth in 2013-2018 within the economic growth model with endogenous technological progress. The authors constructed two specifications of the Arellano-Bond model for the dependent variable “rate of growth of per capita GRP”. The simulation results allow us to conclude that the accumulation of health capital leads to an increase in economic growth in the Russian Federation regions. Simultaneously, an increase in government spending on health care at a fixed level of health capital did not result in 2013-2018. to an increase in the growth rate of per capita GRP. This fact can be explained by a number of factors. We can name the general focus of the PHE on maintaining a favorable epidemiological situation and the industry's infrastructure not directly related to individual health, a possible insufficient level of human capital accumulation in the regions. Future research by the authors will focus on assessing the impact of health capital and health care costs in an extended model to include the level of human capital stock.

The article examines the historical prerequisites for the emergence of the concept of the principle of diminishing returns of production factors. The analysis of the manifestation of this principle in the context of all factors of production. As a result of the analysis of the characteristics of human capital,  an approach is proposed according to which the principle of diminishing marginal return does not apply to investments in human capital at the macrolevel and in the long term. It is shown that human capital at the macro level and in the long term (in the context of long waves of economic cycles) shows a trend  of increasing returns. And it is the increasing return on investment in human capital that prevents the manifestation of diminishing returns on other factors of production. The reasons that determine  the increasing return of human capital, as opposed to the physical, are systematized, among which:  it, during a certain period of the process of use, improves, grows in quality and accumulates; does not disappear without a trace, contributes to the growth of human capital of other individuals, investments in human capital provide positive externalities, the component of human capital is a resource of knowledge, is inexhaustible and shows an exponential growth trend, the process of investing in human capital is greatly influenced by national, historical, psychological and socio cultural factors, investment in human capital, as a rule, provide a high rate of return.

The growing interest in this topic is partly a result of the increasing attention that countries are turning to sovereign monetary systems, payment systems and e-settlements due to international sanctions towards Russia and some Asian countries as well as the necessity to overcome the negative impacts of the COVID-19 crisis. The research focuses on regional and international monetary relations and is aimed at creating hedging mechanisms of financial risks and decreasing volatility of exchange rates to stabilize both balance of trade and current-account balance. The paper investigates the approaches to diversify currency risks of the countries subject to various sanctions and accompanied by the COVID-19 crisis by means of an increasing use of national currencies in cross-border transactions within the regions. The objective of the research is to develop recommendations for Asian and Russian fiscal and monetary policy authorities and central banks in the form of analytical materials that would systemize the operations of the national currencies’ offshore markets. The practical significance of the paper is the opportunities provided by an increasing use of the leading Asian and Russian currencies to incentivize the bypass channels of incoming capital, evading international sanctions and overcoming the COVID-19 crisis. The theoretical relevance of the study is to enrich the toolkit of offshore national forwards for stabilizing exchange rate policy in the context of the COVID-19 crisis. The findings and conclusions bring new insights into the role of offshore markets which allow the sanctioned countries to solve their current problems and overcome the COVID-19 crisis based on the growing pluralism of the world monetary system.

The article proposes a novel model for assessing the quality of technological development which differs from the similar spillovers by introducing a fundamentally new parameter of knowledge selforganization. Unlike spillovers measuring financial R&D flows, knowledge spillover measures structural similarities presented in patents, articles and other quantized units. Being the results of the reactions on the emergence of technological tasks and absorbing new technologies themselves, patents reflect real industrial picture of distribution of new technologies in any particular area. Implementation of selforganizing neural maps unveiled strong self-organized structural patterns distributed across the Russian Federation which were undetectable by means of conventional spatial econometric methods. Furthermore, neural maps exposed serious drawbacks of the Russian knowledge flow system, which is a drastic lack of flow in several high tech areas such as biotechnology. Self-organization indicator can be applied for evaluation of Megascience projects or other programs on both regional and federal levels.   The structure of regional technologies based on 24 technological areas is studied and mapped on neural model, thereby it has been hypothesized that self-organization has an effect on qualitative processes of technological development. The study presents validation model of this hypothesis based on Kohonen’s self-organizing maps. Enhancement of this model on the further spatial studies is shown. Knowledge self-organization variable is developed to indicate technology integration and emergence. 

The article discusses formation of an innovation system within the Volga-Ural macro-region. The scientific novelty of the work lies is the methodology for determining the flexibility of innovative component of the manufacturing industry in the region. The relevance of the research is determined by the need for a paradigm shift to the analysis of horizontal integration of regions, including in terms of innovation. Such integration will create prerequisites for an active flow of knowledge and the spread of innovations. The main properties of the territorial innovation system are formulated, including openness, innovation orientation, structural flexibility, and internal connectivity. The requirements for the functions and regional parameters in such a system are justified, and the advantages of large regions-subjects of the Russian Federation as innovative cores are emphasized.

The main research methods, in addition to structural and spatial analysis and synthesis, were the calculation of structural coefficients in the economy and scientific and applied sphere for the Volga-Ural macro-region (Orenburg, Penza, Saratov, Samara and Ulyanovsk regions and the Republic of Bashkortostan). In particular, we use the Ryabtsev index, the coefficient of specialization (per capita production), and the coefficient of the use of advanced production technologies. The article analyzes structural shifts in innovative production in the manufacturing industries of these regions in the period 2010– 2019. This tool allows us to study the degree of manufacturing flexibility of the RF subjects of the Volga-Ural macro-region and the dynamics of their innovative development (ascending or descending) as well as the degree of its co-directionality.

The analysis shows heterogeneity of the macro-region in economic and innovative terms. The regions that differ most from others in the structure of the innovation industry are identified (Bashkortostan and the Orenburg region). It is shown that the most positive dynamics is typical of Bashkortostan whereas a number of other regions face innovation degradation. The article considers the prospects of Ulyanovsk and Samara regions as generators of knowledge and innovation in the macro-region.

The results of the study can be used in business (identifying the region with the most flexible economic structure as an innovative attractive one) and in state spatial planning (determining the composition of macro-regions). Such research is relevant for any macro-regions in the country.

The article analyzes the problems of implementing national projects at the municipal level. Based on the materials of the next wave of the annual expert survey of heads of municipalities conducted by the authors in March-April 2020 as part of monitoring the socio-economic situation in Russian municipalities. The author assesses the current situation, shows its distinctive features and trends in the context of the dynamics of the last decade, identifies the main problems that arise in municipalities in modern conditions during the implementation of national projects and possible ways to solve them. It is shown that serious barriers to the implementation of national projects at the municipal level, in addition to the wellknown problem of financial support, are the imperfection of the regulatory framework, insufficient methodological and information support, organizational difficulties, as well as personnel problems that significantly complicate the implementation of specific activities. The main obstacles to the implementation of national projects at the local level are weak coordination, inconsistency of actions of various bodies, centralization of managerial influences, as well as limited and insufficient certainty of the powers of local self-government bodies in the implementation of national projects. It is concluded that it is necessary to improve the mechanisms of interaction between regional and local authorities, aimed at significantly increasing the role assigned to local governments in the implementation of national projects. An important basis for decision-making in the development and evaluation of the effectiveness of national projects should be taking into account the opinions of heads of municipalities on the basis  of sociological monitoring of the socio-economic situation and evaluating the effectiveness of measures taken to resolve problems at the municipal level.

Almost any organization can be exposed to risks in cluster interactions. The variety of external and internal factors leads to various adverse consequences. Today, many organizations involved in cooperation within cluster projects and interacting with external counterparties face a serious problem of how to increase the efficiency of their risk control systems. The aim of the research is to formulate and develop the approaches for monitoring the relationship of the cluster’s participants by interested parties on implementing regional cluster policies. The study addresses the development of methodical approaches for improving control measures to identify and manage the specific risks of a separate cluster when implementing regional cluster policy, changes in legislation and the current economic situation, and determination of factors influencing data validity and reliability. The article identifies individual risks of business cooperation projects, specifies methodical approaches for assessing counterparties, given the clarified data validity, and develops a roadmap to improve the control system in a problem solving format. The work has theoretical and practical significance for corporate and state control of cluster cooperation. The use of new control mechanisms and systems is sure to reduce negative impacts of cluster project risks.

The article assesses the place and role of institutional design in the processes of consolidation and restructuring of the assets of defense industry companies (defense industry complex), discusses the possibility of adjusting measures aimed at activating the activities of defense companies in the context of growing geopolitical tensions, forms and methods of effective institutional management of the process of modernization of the main economic entities of the defense industry: Rostec State Corporation, Roscosmos State Corporation, United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC), etc. Its scientific novelty consists in the development of a comprehensive view of the institutional design of the processes of consolidation and rotation of the assets of defense companies in the context of the ongoing sanctions regime. Among the directions of changes in the institutional structure for the development of defense companies are analyzed: the creation and dissemination of common requirements (universality and compatibility) to the processes of design and production of products; the emergence of new leasing programs for technological equipment for various industries with preferential treatment; improving the system of publicprivate partnership (PPP) in certain dominant areas of development (microelectronics, IT-technologies); participation of defense industry companies in investment projects in special economic zones (SEZ) and territories of advanced development (TOP); localization of production within the framework of import substitution; updated approaches to the financial recovery of defense industry enterprises against the background of the preparation of large-scale changes to the bankruptcy law; maintaining a favorable institutional background in the M&A market for defense enterprises, etc.

Social development of single-industry towns of Kuzbass largely depends on the activities of socially oriented non-profit organizations (NGOs). Today, the issues of integrated assessment of NGOs resources and identification of institutional barriers to development seems rather relevant. The article studies these aspects using activity-structural approach based on peer review results (N = 46). The subject of peer review is represented by resources that form the potential of organization’s development in achieving institutional purposes. The interviews of the experts – the heads of non-profit sociallyoriented public organizations from seven municipalities of Kuzbass – were analyzed through the use of interpretive method. As a result, it has been revealed that being financially and materially unsecured and, at the same time, suffering from shortage of professional managers with motivation for public good and the market, the majority of NGOs don’t have significant potential for social development of singleindustry towns in Kuzbass region. Thus, financial, material, personnel, and communication resources are insufficient to ensure high-quality social services to various categories of the population. Interaction with local authorities, businesses, and non-profit organizations has not been institutionalized in the system of social partnership. Institutional obstacles that have a negative impact on the development of the non-profit sector have been identified. The result of the expert survey was specification of urgent support areas for non-profit organizations as well as the development of practical solutions for effective implementation of support measures at municipal levels.