In the second half of 2010s territorial mandatory health insurance (MHI) funds faced the rapid growth of spending on medical care provided outside the insurance territory. In 2021–2022 federal regulators introduced a series of amendments to interregional settlements (IRS) mechanism to prevent shortfall in territorial MHI programs. The study aims to assess the impact of 2021–2022 reforms on financial burden related to IRS. Using data from acts on territorial MHI funds’ budget implementation author evaluates regional expenditures and revenues in 2019–2024. To analyze the causes of the changes in spending territorial MHI funds experts’ publications were taken. The findings show significant reduction in both national and regional financial burden. The total spending on IRS fell from 4,9 to 3,7% of subvention for territorial MHI funds. The number of regions with high levels of financial losses (> 5% of federal subvention) decreased from 15–18 in 2019–2020 to 3–6 territories in 2022–2024. A significant contribution in spending lowering came from the transition to direct financing of federal medical organizations.
The insurance (underwriting) cycle – the periodic alternation of ”soft” and ”hard” markets – has long remained outside the framework of systematic theory, although the practical consequences of cyclical behavior are obvious: from the profitability of insurers to regulatory strategies. The purpose of this article is to systematize the evolution of theoretical concepts of insurance cycles, highlighting the changing paradigms, their determinants, methodology and limitations. Based on an integrated methodological approach combining historical and analytical, systemic and comparative analysis, the article proposes a periodization of scientific paradigms explaining cycles: risk distribution (XIX – 1920s), market endogeneity (1950s –1980s), financial and institutional complexity (1990–2010) and hybrid system cycles (2011 – present). The novelty lies in the author’s periodization of insurance cycle paradigms. The rest of the results obtained – a systematization of modern drivers divided into direct and indirect indicators, a description of the regulator as an active participant in cycles, a description of the mechanism of shock imposition using the examples of COVID-19, cyberattacks of 2020–2023 and sanctions of 2022 for Russia – are analytical generalizations and do not claim to be independent novelty. It has been shown that after 2011, an incomplete recovery after one shock reinforces the next, putting the market in a mode of pulsating volatility.
Introduction. In the context of budget constraints and a highly volatile economic environment, managing balances in the Single Treasury Account (STA) is becoming not just a source of additional revenue but also a critical factor in the state’s financial stability. The existing state cash management system, having proven its effectiveness, faces institutional and technological barriers that hinder its further development. The main goal of this article is to explore the architecture of the “universal service” concept as an evolutionary development of the Single Treasury Window model, aimed at overcoming these barriers. Materials and Methods. The study is based on a systems approach. Critical and comparative analysis, a generalization of liquidity management practices, and elements of economic and mathematical modeling were used to substantiate the proposed solutions. The theoretical basis was an adapted Baumol-Tobin model, supplemented by principles of the Federal Treasury, the Russian Ministry of Finance, and an analysis of regional practices. Results. The architecture of the universal service concept proposed in the study was a logical continuation of the authors’ earlier publications, which proposed a Single Treasury Window model aimed at solving key problems that limit the effectiveness of state cash management. The architecture of the universal service includes four main modules: a single data portal, a forecast module for CEN balances based on AI, a placement optimization module and a digital risk audit module. Unlike existing models — such as the Miller-Orr model used to optimize cash balances or traditional treasury budget execution models — the proposed service involves adaptive customization for users with different levels of digital maturity. Conclusions. The proposed universal service architecture makes it possible to move from reactive liquidity management to proactive, based on predictive analytics and automated risk management. The implementation of the service will help reduce cash gaps, increase the transparency of management and generate additional income from the placement of temporarily free funds due to more accurate forecasting of CEN and the effective use of available financial instruments. Further research will be aimed at developing algorithms for the forecast module and assessing the economic effect of the service implementation.
Impact investing is increasingly regarded worldwide as a contemporary instrument for delivering key national socio-economic and environmental priorities. In Russia, impact investments are also being made despite the absence of a clearly defined legal and regulatory status for this type of activity. The purpose of this study is to develop proposals for establishing the financial and institutional conditions required for the development of the impact investing market in Russia, based on an assessment of retail investors’ readiness to engage in impact investing and an analysis of ongoing impact projects as potential investment targets. Continuing the discussion in the academic literature on terminological clarity and the scope of concepts describing various forms of socially responsible investment, the article proposes criteria that capture the essence of impact investing. Drawing on an original questionnaire survey of retail investors conducted via the Google Forms platform, the authors identify and statistically confirm their readiness to participate in impact investing and describe respondents’ behavioural patterns with respect to impact investing and the use of financial instruments. A comparative analysis of Russian and international practices in the implementation and financing of impact projects (252 and 201 projects, respectively) demonstrates the readiness of economic agents to pursue such projects in the Russian economy and makes it possible to identify priority directions for scaling them up. The study develops proposals for the development of the impact investing market, grouped into two areas: institutional and financial. The institutional block includes formal recognition of the status of impact investing; the creation of a registry of impact projects using platform‑based solutions; the establishment of state infrastructure to support impact projects; and the formation of an information and communication environment to promote impact investing. The financial block comprises the creation of specialised financial institutions and the introduction of public financial support measures for organisations implementing impact projects, institutional investors raising capital to finance impact projects, and private, including retail, impact investors.
The article discusses the application of clustering methods to form an optimal investment portfolio that allows the investor to achieve an effective risk-reward ratio. Three popular clustering methods, K-Means, MeanShift, and DBSCAN, are examined. The article focuses on the DBSCAN clustering method and highlights its advantages over other clustering methods in the context of financial data analysis. DBSCAN is particularly useful for identifying clusters of arbitrary shapes, being resistant to noise and eliminating the need to pre-define the number of clusters. The article presents a comprehensive approach to forming an optimal portfolio. The first step involves preparing the data and clustering it based on historical data on returns, volatility, and correlations using a programming language. The second stage involves further ranking by assigning integral scores that take into account a variety of criteria and allow for the identification of the stocks most attractive for investment within each selected cluster. After completing these stages, an optimal portfolio is formed with the highest Sharpe ratio, Sortino ratio, and other metrics that outperform the weighted average portfolio and the MOEX index. To validate the results, Monte Carlo simulations are used to assess the portfolio’s resilience in various market scenarios, including periods of volatility and crises. The study fills a gap in the study of the application of clustering methods for optimizing an investment portfolio, proposing a practical algorithm that can be adapted for individual and institutional investors. The findings highlight the potential of applying clustering methods to form an optimal investment portfolio.
This article examines financial innovations in the Russian corporate bond market as a response to structural changes in the economy following 2022. The tightening of monetary policy has led to prohibitively high interest rates for domestic companies, while the sanctions have closed access to external capital markets. Despite these constraints, Russian firms have successfully adapted to the new environment and even increased the volume of primary bond issuances. The study shows that financial innovations played a significant role in this adaptation process. Using a large dataset on corporate bond issuances after 2022, we identify the changes in the patterns of bond issuance. Three main types of financial innovations are highlighted: floating-rate bonds, new locally denominated currency bonds, and exotic instruments such as discount notes and convertible bonds. Our findings indicate that financial innovations after 2022 contributed to preserving and expanding corporate bond issuance while supporting the recovery of liquidity in the Russian bond market. In some cases, the new instruments reduced borrowing costs and partially substituted for market segments that became unavailable after 2022. At the same time, the recovery of the bond market cannot be attributed solely to financial innovations, but also reflects broader economic stabilization, market adaptation to the new institutional environment, and the development of domestic market infrastructure.
In a highly volatile financial market, investors in mutual funds frequently encounter a discrepancy — a gap — between their actual personal investment returns and the fund’s time-weighted performance. This study aims to quantify the magnitude of this gap and identify its primary drivers within the Russian market. The research is based on a sample of 506 open-ended equity and bond funds covering January 2005 to August 2025 and 83 exchange-traded equity and bond funds covering January 2021 to August 2025. The findings indicate that in open-ended equity funds, investors underperformed the funds by an average of 0.87 percentage points (p.p.) per annum, while in open-ended bond funds, the gap amounted to 0.29 p.p. Market timing was identified as the predominant explanatory factor for this gap in open-ended funds, with its scale significantly influenced by market volatility, fund size, and the RUONIA rate. While timing effects were central, the influence of past returns also exerted a negative impact on investor outcomes. Conversely, in exchange-traded funds, investor returns averaged higher than fund returns (yielding negative gaps of −0.31 p.p. for bonds and −1.39 p.p. for equities), a phenomenon potentially attributed to market-maker activities. A comparative analysis of capital allocation strategies over time demonstrates that money-cost averaging and value averaging are the most profitable and resilient strategies, consistently outperforming observed irregular investment patterns. The study concludes that irrational behavior and speculative market-timing attempts lead to systematic return losses. When underlying assets are highly volatile, long-term investors are advised to employ regular contribution strategies to mitigate behavioral risks. Information about the return gap can be used to promote more rational investment behavior.
Regional development is an important component that determines the quality of economic growth in a federal state, and the problem of its financial support requires a comprehensive solution. The study aims to analyze the international experience of financial support for regional development in countries and associations that have developed effective approaches to solving sub-federal level problems. The analysis focuses on the European Union, the People’s Republic of China, the Republic of India, and the Federal Republic of Germany. Their experiences can provide insights into approaches to solving intergovernmental budgetary issues, stimulating economic growth in regions, and financing strategic infrastructure and environmental projects. The results of the study show that successful practices of financial support for regional development programs are determined by a complex of interrelated mechanisms of interbudgetary alignment, the creation of targeted funds for the implementation of strategic projects, the promotion of competition and economic reforms at the sub-federal level, and the integration of sustainable development goals into regional policy. The use of international experience, considering country and regional specifics, is advisable when forming an optimal Russian model of financial support for socio-economic development at the sub-federal level.
The article examines the acute and systemic problem of the lack of a unified, transparent, and reproducible approach to prioritizing budget expenditures in the Russian Federation, despite the formal existence of a well-developed architecture of strategic and program-oriented planning. A critical analysis of the existing instruments for allocating budget funds is carried out, including state programs, national and federal projects, socio-economic development initiatives, and preserved federal targeted programs. The key drawbacks of these mechanisms have been identified: weak alignment with strategic planning documents, the predominance of current expenditures over project expenditures, fragmented management, as well as a significant amount of reserved allocations that distort the real picture of priorities. Particular attention is paid to the limitations of existing methods for evaluating the effectiveness of programs, which do not allow us to assess the degree of strategic importance of specific expenditures. Based on the analysis, an original methodology for ranking and grouping federal budget expenditures is proposed, focused on practical application at the stage of budget drafting. The methodology is based on a comprehensive assessment of each type of expenditure based on three complementary criteria: value, feasibility, and feasibility. Additionally, the financial potential is taken into account — the share of expenditures in the total budget of the department, which avoids overestimating small but formally “priority” items. The need for a systematic implementation of the “zero-based budgeting” approach, increased transparency of cost assessment procedures, and a transition from inertial budgeting to a managed, results-oriented, and strategically coordinated allocation of resources is emphasized. The proposed methodology can become the basis for improving the effectiveness of budget policy, strengthening the responsibility of agencies, and achieving national development goals in the face of severe budget constraints.
The article provides a comprehensive analysis of approaches to improving revenue management within the budgetary system of the Russian Federation, using the administration of revenues from administrative fines as a case study. The study focuses on the unification of procedures and the adoption of digital instruments, including the further development of the Unique Accrual Identifier (UAI) and the use of modern information technology platforms. It demonstrates how these solutions affect transparency, traceability, and the automation of key stages of fine administration, including accrual, payment, and accounting. The research identifies major systemic constraints that reduce administrative effectiveness, namely pronounced interregional disparities in the level of digitalization and insufficient interagency coordination. These factors impede data consolidation and undermine the timeliness of managerial decision-making. A comparative analysis of practices across the constituent entities of the Russian Federation shows that the implementation of automated solutions is generally associated with higher collection rates and stronger control over revenue inflows. On this basis, the article highlights common information-system integration issues and barriers that are particularly typical of economically less developed regions. International experience is also reviewed, confirming a broad trend toward the digitalization of fine administration while revealing substantial differences in implementation models and observed outcomes. These differences are driven by the level of economic development, the state of infrastructure, and the characteristics of public governance. Based on the findings, the article formulates a set of practical recommendations aimed at unifying administrative procedures and increasing the level of automation across Russian regions. Implementing the proposed measures would support the creation of a unified digital space in the public finance sector, reduce administrative costs, improve the transparency and effectiveness of accounting for administrative fine revenues, and enhance the quality of public services.
In this article the authors aim to determine the place and role of methodological guidelines within the system regulating internal state financial control. The research holds both theoretical and applied significance, as a scholarly interpretation of this issue has not been previously undertaken and its examination will enable the full potential of the studied methodological guidelines to be realized in practice. The research is based on a review and analysis of theoretical approaches to defining the social purpose of regulating public relations. The article provides a brief description of the components of the public administration mechanism and the scholarly understanding of the role of recommendatory norms. Considering their practical application, the authors elucidate the essential characteristics of methodological guidelines for the implementation of internal state financial control.
Liquidity is the second most significant characteristic of bonds following credit quality. According to trading data from 2017 to 2024 for secondary ruble-denominated local bonds, it has been revealed that in recent years, the overall liquidity of the Russian bond market has significantly increased. However, trading volumes remain at a negligible level compared to the nominal issue volumes. Relative trading volumes significantly decrease in the initial weeks of trading, by 66% in the second week relative to the first week and by 36% in the third week relative to the second week. Then throughout the life of the bonds, these volumes do not recover. Additionally, the impact of the issuer’s creditworthiness on liquidity is taken into consideration. It has been established that the most accurate predictor of the bid-ask spread (BAS) is the number of transactions. In this respect, the riskiest securities have a more liquid bid-ask spread, due to the retail nature of bondholders. The paper examines various measures of liquidity, based on which a proprietary measure is proposed — the adjusted bid-ask spread (ABAS). This measure takes into account the size of the transaction, the size of the issue, and the volume and frequency of secondary transactions in the analyzed security. ABAS, when applied to transactions of 1 million rubles or more, reduces the proportion of securities with a bid-ask spread below 20 basis points in the sample from 39 to 24%, while increasing the proportion of those with a spread above 200 basis points from 5 to 22%. Although the article reveals a counterintuitive effect of liquidity parameters on bond prices, their contribution to the final spread is negligible. Meanwhile the level of illiquidity significantly influences price dynamics: lower liquidity leads to greater volatility in secondary market prices, and negatively affects the financial outcome of the deal through the transaction cost channel.
The subject of the study is the customs risks of foreign trade projects, identified by the stages of their implementation. The purpose of the study is a preliminary assessment of the impact of customs risks on the economic development of the state, as well as the subsequent development of a scientifically based classification of foreign trade project risks and the development of strategies for managing these risks in the current conditions. Using the canonical correlation method, the role of customs risks in the economic development of the state was assessed. Risks were classified depending on the stage of the life cycle of a foreign trade project. The essential characteristics of customs risks of participants in foreign trade transactions are considered. The sources of customs risks are identified: adjustment of the customs value of goods; change in the classification code of goods; obtaining documentation when carrying out export and import operations. Variations of general approaches to choosing a customs risk management strategy are proposed. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the identification of the specifics of customs risks, revealed through their multifaceted classification and applied in strategies for managing such risks during the implementation of foreign trade projects, as well as in the development of the author’s two-stage methodology for determining the relationship between indicators of customs administration and the economy of countries.
The subject of the study is the impact of tax preferences granted to residents of territories with a special economic status on the achievement of the national goals of socio-economic development of the Russian Federation. Special attention is paid to assessing the effect of tax incentives on investment activity, employment, and income levels of the population in the regions. The aim of the work is to quantify the impact of tax preferences granted to residents of special economic zones, territories of advanced socio-economic development, technoparks, industrial parks, the Arctic Zone, and the Free Port of Vladivostok zone on the achievement of national goals of regional development. The study employs methods of analyzing the dynamics and structure of tax preferences, as well as econometric modeling based on panel data for 71 constituent entities of the Russian Federation for the period 2019–2025. The use of regression models made it possible to identify quantitative relationships between the volume of tax incentives provided and key socio-economic indicators. The results of the study show that the volume of tax preferences in Russia increased significantly over the period under review, but its growth is uneven depending on the type of territories with special economic status. It is established that tax incentives granted to residents of special economic zones have the greatest positive impact on fixed capital investment, household monetary income, and job creation. For other types of territories, the statistically significant effect is either absent or only partially manifested. Conclusions: The study confirms that the effectiveness of tax preferences varies depending on a combination of factors, such as the level of development of transport and engineering infrastructure (availability of energy resources and transport accessibility), the presence of management companies and the quality of administration, the level of resident concentration, and the size of the regional market. The proposed approach allows for quantifying the contribution of tax incentives to the achievement of national goals, identifying differences in their effectiveness, and forming well-founded directions for adjusting state policy. The research results can be used in the formulation of state policy in the field of territorial development, including adjusting the parameters of tax preferences, redistributing support measures between types of territories, as well as developing approaches to assessing the effectiveness of tax expenditures.
The article presents a comparative analysis of student initiative experience in the Republic of Crimea versus different regions of Russia. It provides a brief overview of secondary and higher education institutions in the Republic of Crimea, offering insight into the study fields of students in vocational secondary education (VSE) and higher education institutions (HEI) in the Republic of Crimea, as well as their needs. The article analyzes the specifics of interaction between Crimean educational institutions and relevant institutions in other Russian regions, as well as interactions within the republic. The obtained results allowed for the formulation of key economic and social problems affecting the activity of VSE and HEI students and educators. The choice of project implementation directions is analyzed across all options provided by regulatory documents. Possible ways to activate the participation of VSE students with branches in several cities of the republic in the participatory budgeting program are considered.
Financial education is one of the tools for improving financial literacy and shaping the financial culture of the population. The transition from financial literacy to financial culture requires combining the capabilities of all participants in this process. This article is devoted to the study of aspects of the universities’ activities in implementing the mechanism of population’s financial education. As a result of the study, the authors clarified the meaning of the financial education mechanism. The areas of university participation in the implementation of the financial education mechanism for the population are identified. These include: training specialists in the field of financial education; developing methodological support for financial education; organizing the process of educating citizens in the area of personal finance management; ensuring the development of the system and financial education’s infrastructure; and training volunteers for financial education. As a key result, the article presents a draft model for organizing a Consulting and Financial Education Center for the population, as well as the organizational foundations for its establishment on the basis of a regional university (I.N. Ulyanov Chuvash State University).
The purpose of the article is to assess the degree of relationship tax revenues growth on the increase in investment activity and value added in the context of types of taxes, regions of the Russian Federation and types of economic activity (sectors of the economy). As an indicator of investment activity is used the volume of investments in fixed assets according to the Central Bank of the Russian Federation. The correlation of this indicator with the indicators of the tax system and its individual elements is considered both for the entire economy and for various sectors, as well as at the level of specific regions. For comparison, the correlation with the GDP indicator is also additionally presented. In addition to the indicators of tax revenues, the indicators of the tax base are considered, since it is the tax base that is crucial for steps to minimize tax security risks. Additionally, the methodological features of the study are the deflation of indicators and the displacement of arrays when calculating correlations in order to identify the most stable correlation. The hypothesis of the study is that the tax policy as a whole does not limit the growth of investments in the country. The question of whether tax increases or decreases stimulate economic growth and investment activity to a greater extent remains controversial. The examples show that an increase in the taxes for taxpayers is not an impediment to economic development, and an increase in tax revenues is one of the sources of investment growth, since government investments and budget subsidies financed by tax increases are effective tools for improving the efficiency of using limited resources. As a result of the analysis, in most cases, the dynamics of tax revenues and investment volumes do not have a significant statistical relationship, which means that the current tax policy does not limit investment growth in the country, and there is no negative impact of the growth of budget tax revenues on investment growth.
Over the past decade, Russia has witnessed a sharp shift in the structure of sub-federal borrowing. The study aims to identify the contradiction between market discipline (sub-federal bonds) and budget support (budget loans) and assess their debt efficiency. Methods: Based on Russian Ministry of Finance data for 2014–2025, a modified market index (Rt*) to quantify the shift toward centralized financing. A proprietary metric was developed to measure how changes in the volume of specific debt instruments impact debt service costs. Results: The share of budget loans in regional debt increased from 7.1% to 79.3%, while the share of market instruments fell from 65.8% to 18.6%. The market index Rt* dropped from 0.314 to 0.091, confirming the weakening of market discipline. The efficiency comparison showed that only 5 out of 36 regions that used bonds achieved higher efficiency with them than with budget loans. These regions increased their bond volumes and resorted less actively to budget loans (2.2% of GRP vs 3.5%). Conclusions: The wide availability of budget loans creates soft budget constraints, suppressing the motivation for market borrowing and reducing its efficiency. Regions oriented towards bonds demonstrate greater financial independence.
The challenges that Russian economy faces affect the financial behavior of citizens and require the transformation in financial literacy. This is especially important for young people, who are exposed to the risks of irrational financial behavior to a greater extent than the adult population. This, in turn, determines the importance of studying the characteristics of financial knowledge and financial behavior of modern Russian youth. We summarize the results of a review of modern academic literature on financial literacy and financial behavior of young people in countries around the world, based on which we develop a model of formation of financial literacy of youth. We present the results of a comparative analysis of the financial competencies of the adult population and young people in Russia and we identify the features of financial knowledge and financial behavior of Russian youth and their consistency with trends in countries worldwide. Based on the results of the study we determine areas for improving existing programs and practices in order to increase the financial literacy of young people in Russia. They include the continuous updating of the formation of financial competencies of young people; the continuous approach to the development of youth’s financial literacy with the possibility of a step-bystep education; the expansion of units on investments and medium- and long-term financial planning in financial literacy programs; the strengthening the behavioral component of programs, focused on the emotional aspects of financial decision-making; the participation of young people in financial consulting of citizens. We also provide examples of current practices of St. Petersburg State University focused on improving the students’ financial literacy.
The development of Russia’s technological sovereignty is one of the priority tasks of the Russian Government. To stimulate and support companies in developing sovereignty, the state applies various state support measures, including tax concessions and preferences. Identifying two main stages to achieve technological sovereignty, the article considers tax concessions and preferences in the field of research and design and the production of products in the manufacturing industry. The purpose of the study is to systematize, analyze tax concessions and preferences and develop proposals for their improvement. In terms of research and design, "Skolkovo" regimes and an innovative scientific and technological center, accounting for expenses with increasing coefficients, and a regional and federal investment tax deduction were analyzed. Special economic zones, special investment contracts and benefits for the radio-electronic industry were considered as incentives for the production of products. The authors concluded that these support measures were individual and unrelated and, perhaps, as part of a single project involving both stages of sovereignty, their effective application would be difficult. The authors proposed to develop a single preferential regime to support technological sovereignty projects, which will combine best practices in the design of tax concessions and preferences, taking into account the specifics of technological sovereignty projects.
