• A. Zaostrovtsev — Liberal Political Economy and Philosophy of James Buchanan
• R. Khaitkulov — Economic Theory and Ethics: The Problem of Intertemporal Justice

• V. Gimpelson, R. Kapeliushnikov — To Live in the Shadows or to Die in the Light: Informality in the Russian Labor Market
• I. Starodubrovskaya — Delivery of Public Services on Intensively Depopulated Territories: Is There Any Solution?

• E. Ivanova — Russian Professional Associations: Sleeping Beauties, Guardians of Stability or Facilitators of Societal Development?

• N. Kurakova, L. Tsvetkova, O. Eremchenko — Scientometric Parameters of Russian Economic Science: General State and the Evaluation of Thesis Boards

• K. Fursov — World-System Analysis as a Basis of a Textbook on Economic History (On the book by G. D. Gloveli "Economic History: Textbook for B.A. Students. Advanced Course ")
• T. Koval — Human Approach to Human Capital (On the Book by N. M. Pliskevich "Human Capital in Transforming Russia ")

Abstracts

The article describes the methodology for identifying and analyzing economic cycles, which are based on historical spectral approach that combines the advantages of the historical and economic analysis and spectral method of the study of economic series. The proposed approach is used to isolate and analyze both their own regular fluctuations of economic dynamics inherent in the developed­ economies and the vibrations induced by technological and external economic shocks. The analysis has been carried out on the basis of data on the dynamics of the post-war U.S. economy as the main driver of world cycles, and of Russia’s economy from 1861 to 2012 using the latest research on the reconstruction of the time-series of its economic dynamics. Finally, conclusions are drawn in relation to the state economic policy in the conditions of the global cyclical development.

JEL classification: B41, E23, E32, N64, N22.
Keywords: economic dynamics, cycles, challenges, investment, innovation, economic crises.

The article examines the scientific legacy of the Nobel Prize-winning economist James Buchanan (1919—2013). The focus is on the evolution of his views on constitutional political economy. The article shows the displacement of Buchanan’s preferences from the expansion of inclusiveness of collective choice rules and the number of constitutional constraints to the generality principle — a non-discriminatory democracy as a means to counteract majoritarian democracy failures. It is concluded that finally Buchanan adopted radical subjectivism of the Austrian economic school and post-Keynesianism embodied in the concept of constitutionally limited evolution.

JEL classification: B25, B31, B40.
Keywords: Buchanan, constitutional political economy, contractarianism, generality principle, constitutionally limited evolution.

The article deals with the interconnection of ethics and economics, focusing on the long-term economic modeling. Economic models that pretend to be positive often contain implicit normative assumptions of intertemporal justice. The evolution of ethical assumptions in economics is analyzed and the overview of different justice theories is given.

JEL classification: B22, D6, I31.
Keywords: ethics, normative economics, time in economics, intertemporal justice, intergenerational justice.

The paper presents major findings from the multi-year study of informality in the Russian labor market conducted by the CLMS—HSE. The authors argue that the concept of informality though it seems to be intuitively clear is neither conceptually straightforward, nor easily measurable, nor univocal in terms of economic and social implications. The article explores the issues related to definitions, measurement, evolution, profiling, impact of institutions, mobility, earnings and inequality. All findings and conclusions are supported by special econometric studies and large data sets.

JEL classification: J08, J31, J42, O17.
Keywords: labor market, informal sector, informal employment.

The article discusses responses for the strategic challenges related to delivery of public services (education, health and culture) on intensively depopulated territories, which are characterized by outflow of population, degradation of human capital, lack of finance. The analysis is based on field studies in four Russian regions and deals with successes and failures in their practical experience. The research shows that not all the possibilities of producing services of better quality and higher efficiency on intensively depopulated territories have currently been utilized. Possible ways to improve the situation are proposed.

JEL classification: H41, I00.
Keywords: periphery territories, public services, human capital, depopulation.

The relationships between state, business and society in contemporary Russia are illustrated drawing on the example of the Russian professional associations. The empirical evidence for the present study has been collected by expert interviews and a survey of the executives of the membership-based professional associations conducted by the author in 2011—2013. In the present work the particularities of the Russian context, which shaped formation of these organizations have been outlined, the key functions that professional associations fulfil have been identified and the typology of this kind of nonprofit organizations has been proposed.

JEL classification: D71, L31, O17.
Keywords: Russian professional organizations, membership-based organizations, civil society, NGO.

The paper analyses the publications of Russian authors in various fields of economics indexed in Web of Science and Russian Science Citation Index. The authors claim that the scientometric parameters are only in a limited way applicable in evaluating the performance of expert and thesis boards in economics in Russia. The authors also put forward the approaches in order to improve Russia’s positions in the international citations indexes in economics.

JEL classification: A11, A19.
Keywords: scientometrics, economics publications, Russian Science Citation Index, economics in Russia.

The article deals with the problem of the world-system analysis as a methodological basis for writing a textbook on world economic history for universities. An attempt is made to formulate what a textbook on such a basis should be. Strong and weak points of this scientific approach are distinguished. A conclusion is made that the author of the textbook under study has successfully achieved the goal — to present a panorama of economic history from the ancient times to the early twenty-first century consistently using the world-system paradigm.

JEL classification: N01, N90.
Keywords: world-system analysis, economic history, world economy, capitalism.

The article analyzes the results of investigation of human capital. The validity of broad approach to assessment of human capital using qualitative methods is shown. In the framework of this approach it is necessary to take into account the influence that the results of revolutionary breaks of socio-cultural fabric of society produce on human capital as well as the impact of its inner institutional structure, first of all the system of "power-ownership" (or "natural state" according to D. North).

JEL classification: I10, J17, J24.
Keywords: human capital, qualitative methods of assessment, qualitative assessments, social capital, modernization.