The article provides a critical analysis of approaches to investigating personal situation in the sphere of labor. It is shown that in the context of today when the employer-employee relations become increasingly more sophisticated and flexible traditional job quality indicators focusing mainly on compliance with established standards in the field of income and framework conditions of employment do not sufficiently reflect the multifaceted realities of the new labor market realities. Hence, there is a growing demand for rethinking the methodology of its assessment. The strong sides and weaknesses of approaches from the standpoint of the objectivistic quality of employment concept and the subjective well-being concept are identified, and a conclusion is made about the need for an integrative approach that takes into account both the objective parameters of employment and their compliance with individual preferences and needs of employees. Theoretical models developed in line with this approach are considered, such as the «Job Demands-Resources» model, the «Vitamins» model, as well as the approach from the point of view of the opportunities open to an individual in the sphere of employment, based on the concept of functional capabilities of A. Sen.  Pushing off generalization of the models discussed, the expediency of assessing individual situation in the sphere of labor based on the concept of work-related well-being is substantiated. It is shown that this concept incorporates both the objective parameters of working life quality and the instrumental usefulness of employment, as well as self-assessment by employees of their situation in the sphere of labor. Moreover, it allows assessing the compliance of individual characteristics of employees and the job requirements. The importance of integrating into the methodological apparatus elements of the adaptive rationalization concept, according to which the holders of objectively unfavorable jobs may perceive their employment as acceptable, which distorts the real picture of their well-being is emphasized. Finally, we elaborate methodology for constructing work-related well-being profiles, which is based upon aspect-by-aspect comparison of its objective and subjective micro-level indicators. It is shown that the application of our methodology allows obtaining a comprehensive picture of the situation of the working population in the Russian economy, identifying vulnerable groups of workers, and substantiating priority areas for state intervention and employers' initiatives aimed at promoting an integrated human-oriented approach in the sphere of labor.

The article examines the influence of ideology on the processes of social and economic transformation based on a qualitative analysis of the most cited articles by Russian economists in the scientific electronic library eLibrary.RU for the period 1992-2025. In this article, we are based on the theses put forward by the famous Russian economist V.M. Polterovich spoke about the negative impact of ideologies on the development of reform strategies in "catching up countries", and the thesis that following the dominant ideology leads away from the latest achievements of economic science: The analysis of scientific articles to confirm the theses was carried out in stages over the periods 1992-1997, 1998-2002, 2003-2007, 2008-2012, 2013-2017 and 2018-2025. The thesis about the systemic limitations of ideologically determined reforms leads to a one-sided understanding of economic processes and a violation of an integrated approach to regulation. Special attention is paid to the second thesis – the lag of ideology from modern scientific knowledge. Using the example of China, an alternative approach is shown, where pragmatic ideology played a key role in the successful implementation of market reforms without the use of shock therapy, while maintaining manageability. The Chinese experience shows that ideology can serve as a catalyst for transformation, ensuring political stability by combining market mechanisms and strategic planning. Thus, the article suggests rethinking the role of ideology in carrying out reforms as a flexible tool that, when used pragmatically, contributes to achieving sustainable economic and social results.

The obvious changes that have occurred and are occurring in the global economy and international economic order have led a number of domestic and foreign researchers to believe that these shifts are so great and significant that they require radical shifts in economic science for their study and understanding - from the creation of new economic theories to shifts in its paradigm. The analysis of the validity of these beliefs is the main objective of this article. To solve it, the provisions of the modern theory of science on the causes of changes in theories and paradigm shifts are considered, the established interpretations of the concept of world or international economic order and their inaccuracies and ambiguities are analyzed, proposals are formulated for a clearer understanding of these terms, the comparison of which with the changes taking place in the world economy logically leads to the conclusion that the statements about the need for new theories and even paradigms for understanding the aforementioned changes are clearly exaggerated.

The article is devoted to the comparative characteristics of classical and neoclassical paradigms within the framework of modern political economy, which is not an integrated concept based on uniform foundations, but it is a set of partially competing concepts. The authors identify their advantages and limitations. Classical paradigm characterizes political economy as a science of accumulation and distribution of national wealth. The economic behavior of individuals is analyzed in the context of their belonging to classes. State is considered as a structure whose utility functions reflect the economic interests of classes as well as a relatively independent arbiter of their coordination. On the other hand, neoclassical paradigm characterizes political economy as a science of utility maximization by individuals not only in economic markets but also in the political sphere, characterized by the presence of such resource as "power" in the form of legitimate violence. Their economic behavior is analyzed in the context of belonging to group interests, and state acts as a sphere in which individuals and interest groups realize their preferences through competition for access to resources that are not available within the framework of voluntary market exchange. In general, modern political economy includes both reactualized classical political economy and new political economy developing within the expanded mainstream. At the same time, one can say not only of competition, but also of the complementarity of these areas. It is noted that the protective belts of their research programs contain identical or similar components: overcoming the "gap" between the study of economics and politics; using sociological tools and econometric models; practice-oriented approach within the framework of elaborating normative proposals for the formation of effective options for organizing political and economic interaction.

By their nature, inflation expectations are an unobservable variable. In the framework of economic theory and practice, proxy indicators of inflation expectations (mainly based on surveys) are used as the most important variables for analyzing and forecasting inflationary processes. At the same time, when implementing the inflation targeting regime, regulators primarily focus on managing inflation expectations through monetary policy communications. In this respect, their special, dual character is manifested. Today, the use of alternative estimates of inflation expectations, including search query statistics, continues to grow in popularity. The selection of keywords for quantifying the expectations of the population remains a conceptual issue. The purpose of the study is to develop a methodologically sound approach to selecting keywords for search queries, statistics on which can be used as proxy variables of inflationary expectations. Within the framework of the article, this goal is achieved on the basis of text analysis of communications of the Bank of Russia using machine learning models (especially NLP). Based on the frequency analysis (Baseline approach), as well as the use of advanced NLP models (the T5 family of models ("Text-to-Text Transfer Transformer"), four groups of keywords ("inflation", "Central Bank", "exchange rate", "key rate") were identified using which the regulator can shape the inflation expectations of the Russian population (top-down approach). Due to recent changes in the policy of accessibility of historical data, as well as the popularity of the search network among residents of Russia, special emphasis is placed on the data of the Yandex search network. It is assumed that tracking the dynamics of requests for the "inflation" and "Central Bank" groups provides operational information everywhere, and for the "exchange rate" and "key rate" groups - in crisis and/or changing economic conditions. The results obtained on the search statistics of the selected keywords were tested as proxy indicators in the framework of forecasting inflation at the level of the Russian Federation based on a set of ARIMAX family models. The results indicate that it is advisable to use keyword statistics as explanatory variables to minimize forecast errors within the framework of inflation forecasting models.

This article explores the scholarly legacy of Rustem Makhmutovich Nureev, who published his first conceptual work in 1976 in a volume of the Institute of Economics of the USSR Academy of Sciences and later spent many years at the Center for Methodological and Historical-Economic Studies of the Institute of Economics of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Particular attention is given to the importance of Nureev’s innovative elaboration of the concept of the Asian Mode of Production (AMP) as a way of overcoming the cognitive dead ends of Soviet political-economic scholasticism. Nureev highlighted the parallels between the AMP, understood as the historically earliest model of «power-property», and the administrative-command system of «real socialism», which was based on formal socialization carried out through the total statization of social relations. The article further characterizes Nureev as one of the leading figures of post-Soviet institutionalism, who regarded the diversity of institutional theories as an alternative to the ahistoricism of neoclassical economics, and as offering a promising foundation for the creation of a new “grand theory” of economic development grounded in inter-paradigmatic and interdisciplinary integration.

The article dedicated to the 95th anniversary of the Institute of Economics of the Russian Academy of Sciences is devoted to the theoretical legacy of Yu.Ya. Olsevich, one of the Institute's leading experts on the impact of scientific and technological progress on the transformation of socio-economic systems. Special attention is paid to the developed Yu. Olsevich concepts of the infra-industry. Foreign theories were criticized for not paying enough attention to the main directions of scientific and technological progress in various socio-economic systems. When analyzing the Soviet experience, Yu. Olsevich highlighted the problems of over-centralization, largely due to the permanent confrontation with the Western bloc, which corresponded to the approaches of many Western Sovietologists. The current stage of social development is characterized by the special role of the infra-industry, a subsystem of productive forces that unites various industries. In addition to highlighting the progressive potential of the scientific and technological revolution, Yu. Olsevich noted a number of risks, primarily related to increasing inequality and environmental problems. It is shown that the modern technical and economic system is characterized by an increase in the socialization of production, which implies the development of state planning mechanisms. At the same time, the complexity of production processes implies maintaining the complexity of the economy. The article notes that the development of the legacy of Yu. Olsevich's work is becoming particularly relevant at the present time.

The paper focuses on the transformation of economic education in China in the first half of the 1950s, when Marxist political economy became part of the official ideology. Among Chinese professional economists at that time the majority had degrees from Western universities. The long-standing estrangement between Chinese “bourgeois” and Marxist economists hampered the task of smooth adaptation of old teaching staff to the new requirements. After a brief debate about the applicability of Western economics in China relates courses were excluded from university curricula. Mastering of the Russian language and Soviet academic literature by Chinese professional economists has led to noteworthy studies on the history of Russian economic thought. Imbued with a revolutionary spirit professors of the recently established People’s University of China have contributed to constructing a new model of economic education by comprehensively embracing the Soviet experience. The task was to move from educating a small number of experts in economics to the mass training of teachers of Marxist political economy, and to establish a collectivist educational system. It was not easy to connect Soviet political economy with Chinese reality when Chinese economists had not yet grasped the new theory, while Soviet experts did not fully understand Chinese specifics. The debate in the early 1950s about the factors of productive forces demonstrated the commitment of Soviet lectures to the Stalinist interpretation, which was not accepted by some Chinese economists. Successes in implementing the Soviet model were questioned within China as an unwanted manifestation of “dogmatism”. Through close acquaintance with Soviet political economy Chinese economists formed their own opinion about it, thus moving from copying to paying greater attention to national characteristics.

This article analyzes the interaction between social capital and formal institutions in the context of compliance with restrictive measures during the COVID-19 pandemic in Russia. Developing a theoretical framework based on concepts of social capital and institutional economics, the study tests hypotheses regarding the substitution or complementarity of these mechanisms. Drawing on data from the online survey "RoCIRR 2" (more than 10,000 respondents from 61 regions of Russia in 2024), it examines the influence of generalized interpersonal trust and subjective assessments of the quality of public services (healthcare, police, courts) on the population's degree of intolerance to violations of the self-isolation regime. Hypotheses are formulated about the positive effect of institutional quality  and trust, as well as their interaction as substitution or mutual reinforcement. OLS models with fixed regional effects and controls show that trust has no independent effect but enhances the influence of institutional quality, confirming complementarity. The results contribute to understanding the role of informal norms under conditions of moderately developed formal institutions, which are characteristic of Russia. The conclusions have implications for policies aimed at increasing the population's readiness to follow government directives in crises, emphasizing the need to strengthen both trust and formal institutions.

The article reviews mechanisms of influence that development of social capital may have on subjective well-being at the conceptual and theoretical level as well as at the level of empirically confirmed research practice. The relevance of the study is defi ned by importance of subjective well-being appropriate level increasing and maintaining both for various social groups and the population in general. Th us, identifying and analyzing factors that contribute to positive socio-economic dynamics is signifi cant not only from the point of view of the research discourse development but also in the context of country’s productive development. Subjective well-being is considered as category of quality-of-life research that allows us to overcome limitations of welfare assessment objective parameters focusing on human needs and the degree of their satisfaction. Social capital has been analyzed as a resource of exceptional social signifi cance as it acts both to strengthen social integrity and to enhance efficiency of interactions of various natures. Considerable social capital encourages enhancement of subjective well-being as well as acts as barrier to negative dynamics in life satisfaction. Th e impact of social capital on subjective wellbeing acquires particular significance in periods of turbulence when population faces the challenge of overcoming various shocks.

The Russian economic reforms in the end of XX-th century were conceived and implemented by a wide group of young economists with similar social background and education. They shared common views on the structure and dynamics of the Soviet economy and could well imagine potential pathways to economic reforms. During the nineties the majority of this group joined the Russian government and secured the reform momentum at least until the middle of the next decade. Among the factors which influenced the creation of the group were the mathematical revolution in economics and rapid transfer of these ideas into soviet academic circles. Mathematical economics was widely taught in the universities, supported by the creation of specialized mathematical and language schools. The generation of young economists of the seventies was quite skeptical towards general equilibrium theories and was more institutionally oriented. They perceived the Soviet economy not as a command-administrative monster, but rather as a system of multiple horizontal and vertical informational and informal interactions which would facilitate the preparation and implementation of economic plans. The members of the group got acquainted early in the eighties, when the necessity of reforms became obvious. By the middle of the eighties, the group had a clear vision of the directions and techniques of the future reforms, which was very important for cohesion and efficiency of their activity in the first Russian government.

This article analyzes the results of a sociological monitoring study conducted by the Institute of Sociology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, which is the subject of the eighth book in the «Russian Society and the Challenges of the Times» series. The book's relevance is particularly emphasized, as it examines the state of Russian society during a challenging period—2014–2024. The book analyzes changes over the past decade in both the material well-being of the general population and the dynamics of its ideological preferences. While noting some positive dynamics in respondents' responses in 2024, the authors nevertheless suggest a cautious approach and caution against any significant positive shifts in either the material or ideological spheres. Moreover, the improvement in material well-being itself suggests that by 2024, the population has more or less managed to adapt to the new situation, but their attitude toward it is rather stoic. In other words, the country remains characterized by the dominance of «survival values». A no less contradictory and complex picture is revealed in the study of ideological and value preferences. The features of the ideological segmentation of the general population and its evolution are demonstrated. It is particularly noted that even within the core ideological majority that supports the country's current course, there is no unity. The study reveals fragmentation within both the ideological majority and minority, suggesting risks to the country's social consolidation stemming from the ideological sphere. The article offers several hypotheses related to both the growing number of individuals with individualistic orientations and the dangers of transforming views on the specific nature of domestic socioeconomic development into the mythological ideologeme of a «special path».