The relationship between objective inequality (income inequality and “unfair” inequality) and political trust in developed and developing countries is analyzed in this paper. The author specifies and estimates multilevel linear regression models and corrects for bias in the coefficient estimates due to outliers. To ensure the comparability and reliability of the econometric results, three alternative sets of estimates for “unfair” inequality are considered: estimates from inequality of opportunity, from intergenerational persistence, and from intergenerational mobility. The main results indicate that there is compelling evidence for erosion of trust caused by income inequality and “unfair” inequality in developed European countries. But in post-Soviet states and other developing countries, objective inequality and political trust are not closely related (“unfair” inequality has a weak negative impact on political trust). In these countries, perceptions of equality of opportunity become a more reliable correlate of political trust. It is also demonstrated that wealthier households are more loyal to political institutions. This is the case for both developed and developing economies. In developed European states, however, the relationship between individual well-being and political trust is mediated by the degree of income inequality and “unfair” inequality. The author concludes that in developed European countries the relationship between income inequality and political trust does not depend upon the level of “unfair” inequality.

Enrollment of youth in higher education varies greatly between countries despite efforts to unify and align systems of higher education worldwide. The performance of university graduates in the labor market is one of the factors that affect demand for higher education. The author postulates that the dynamics observed in the proportions of the employed with high, medium and low skills reflect changes in demand for labor and influence the rate of enrollment in higher education. The aim of the research is to analyze the influence of the structure of employment by skill level on the rate of enrollment for higher education in developed and developing countries. Panel data regression analysis of 218 countries and dependent territories from 1989 to 2019 indicates that an increase in demand for low-skilled labor contributes to increased demand for higher education in developed countries by facilitating employment while studying in order to pay tuition. The influence of these factors on rates of enrollment in higher education differs between the samples from 1989 to 2004 and from 2004 to 2019 in developing countries. The estimates of the coefficients from the earlier samples are consistent with the stylized fact of growth in enrollment that outpaces growth of demand for labor. During the second period, expansion of higher education is driven by economic growth and increased national income as measured by per capita GDP. This analysis supports a forecast that the trend toward polarization of jobs and the growing popularity of remote work will retard the growth of university enrollment in developed countries. Overall growth of national prosperity in developing countries will contribute to recovery of the growth in demand for higher education.

This article assesses how compatible Russia’s legal regime for digital data is with the implementation of international standards and best practices. Data is a key resource for developing a digital economy, and therefore the conditions provided for access to data and data sharing become factors in the well-being of an information society and in the qualitative development of competitive digital markets. As an illustration of the applicable international standards, the article provides legal analysis of the OECD Recommendation on Enhancing Access to and Sharing of Data from 2021, which is concerned primarily with ensuring the trustworthiness of the data ecosystem; and the essential element for that is a reliable legal regime protecting data. Governments should therefore provide balanced measures for facilitating both access to and sharing of data in order to allow more freedom for data to circulate while maintaining the legal guarantees of the data regimes. As an illustration of the best international regulatory practices, the article analyzes the recently adopted EU Data Governance Act, which addresses three main topics: the reuse of protected data in the public sector, the configuration of providers of data sharing services, and the introduction of what is termed data altruism. The authors examine the main gaps and shortcomings in Russian legislation pertaining to personal data in order to identify ways in which implementation of international standards and practices might be hindered. The article concludes with the authors’ argument that amendments to Federal Law No. 152 “On Personal Data” are necessary to improve the ability of personal data subjects to manage their data, as this is an essential condition for the development of a trustworthy data ecosystem in Russia.

The Russian federal legislation on digital financial assets and digital currency (Law No. 259-FZ dated July 31, 2021) makes provision for additional federal acts regulating the issuance and circulation of private virtual currencies in Russia. The Ministry of Finance has proposed positive (non-prohibitive) regulation, while the Bank of Russia has announced a counterinitiative that would ban cryptomining and activities facilitating cryptocurrencies in Russia. The article discusses the dilemmas and distinctive features of regulating virtual currencies — one of the “families” in the taxonomy of cryptoassets. Economic use of cryptocurrencies is hindered by lack of a way to bestow value on them so that they may serve as a tender of payment. (They are completely walled off from the set of debt relationships that gave rise to the official fiat money units now in use.) That the law does not recognize them in this capacity is a secondary consideration; however, the basis for any legislative initiatives in Russia has been laid out by the provisions of Article 14 of Law No. 259-FZ, which prohibits the acceptance and offer of digital currency as payment for real items (goods and services). Although it would be justifiable to regard cryptomining as a socially worthless consumption of electricity and computing capacity to create a speculative product, an outright ban could prompt a counterproductive “withdrawal into the shadows,” and therefore positive regulation would seem to be the preferred alternative. That the goal of regulation is not to create comfortable conditions for cryptomining, but to thoroughly protect the rights and legitimate interests of consumers (users) should be clearly understood. The existing or planned legal acts in other countries (Mexico and the European Union) described in the article could be useful examples from which to develop a Russian approach to regulation.

This study provides a quantitative analysis of the mortality factors affecting traffic accidents in Russia and offers practical policy recommendations for reducing mortality on public roads. Although the posted speed limit is one of the main factors governing the severity of damage in automotive accidents, setting it lower will tend to reduce the rate of economic growth. Therefore, devising policy instruments that will reduce mortality without compromising economic development should have a high priority. The literature traditionally distinguishes five sets of factors that affect the likelihood and severity of an accident: the characteristics of traffic on a given road network, the maintenance of the road network, weather conditions, driver characteristics, and the condition of the vehicle. Logit models used for quantitative econometric analysis of traffic accident data in Russia from 2015 to 2019 have identified several groups of manageable factors that are highly correlated with the probability of a fatality from an accident. The primary factors among them are road condition, correct operation of vehicles, and observance of traffic rules by drivers. If any of these factors are less than optimal at the time of an accident, the likelihood of death increases. To reduce the probability of traffic fatalities, unsatisfactory road conditions should be eliminated, additional special road structures (such as pedestrian crossings and regulated intersections) should be arranged, liability for certain types of traffic violations should be more stringent and preventing serious types of malfunctions should be a focus of scheduled vehicle maintenance.