Financial Journal

p. 15-29

Authors: Mariya A. Mihailova, Andrey V. Obynochny, Kristina V. Shvandar

Rapid socioeconomic development has produced a widening gap between economic theory and reality. As a result, it has become increasingly difficult to objectively assess whether financial regulatory policies adopted by nations worldwide are aligned with the fundamental objectives of stimulating financial market growth and promoting competition, and whether these policies are based on a realistic market picture. Such policy assessments have become particularly challenging for the payments industry and in regards to the regulation governing emergent financial market players from other industries (e.g. Big Tech). Coupled with the radical shift in the role of regulators themselves, this phenomenon raises a variety of scientific questions. Over the past few years, participants in the financial industry, primarily in the payment segment around the world, have, in practice, faced changes in the approaches of central (national) banks to market regulation. In our opinion, the key change lies in the new role that regulation is acquiring: now it not only reacts to market changes by setting a regulatory framework for them, but also becomes the central source and determining instrument of market changes. In this article, we substantiate an approach to the study of the directions of changes in the functions of macroregulation as a single mechanism in relation to a single object, in contrast to the studies available in the scientific literature within the framework of individual segments or infrastructures as well as the practice of regulation. The payment market used as an example is due to the fact that, by now, it is on this market that the changes studied manifest themselves to the greatest extent.

p. 43-58

Authors: Victor L. Dostov, Pavel M. Shoust, Gleb V. Alekseev, Svetlana V. Krivoruchko

The goal of this paper is to identify relevant (general and particular) elements of electronic money regulation in Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Belarus and Armenia. For the purposes of comparative analysis, the paper first introduces the methodology by outlining such factors as the legal status of electronic money issuers (including prudential requirements), differentiation of customer due diligence requirements in e-money systems, e-wallet usage rules, and division between the issuing and e-money transfer functionalities. Second, these factors are analyzed for each country, based on current regulatory acts. Finally, synthetic conclusions regarding major regional trends for regulation of e-money as a financial service are made. In most countries, e-money issuers are subject to licensing for the purposes of financial stability. Yet, approaches to differentiating functions of e-money actors vary across countries: in some of them, regulation recognizes “e-money operators” which transfer e-money but do not issue it. However, actual effects of this differentiation merits additional research. Almost all countries have implemented remote (simplified) identification which underlines the role of e-money as a “simplified” product aimed at financial inclusion. All countries except the Republic of Belarus and the Kyrgyz Republic still recognize non-personified electronic wallets. The research confirms that electronic money is still a specific instrument aimed at supporting financial inclusion and satisfying demand for instant cashless payments. More research is required to assess the actual effects of different regulatory approaches on the development of the e-money market.

p. 75-85

Authors: Alexey V. Maslov, Yulia A. Maklakova

This paper examines the evolution of merchant acquiring in Russia. Initially, the term was purely professional and meant the involvement of “service points” in accepting cards. Today it denotes the whole range of business for the creation and development of the infrastructure of non-cash settlement and cash services in trade and service enterprises using payment cards. Technological innovation has spurred the development of acquiring tools. However, today, when the number of non-cash transactions is steadily growing and has almost reached the number of transactions using cash, the issue of acquiring fees is still a burning issue between retail and banks. The authors consider the positions of the two parties to the dispute, and also draw conclusions about the possible consequences if the requirements of retail or banks are satisfied.

p. 99-113

Authors: Alexander D. Andryakov, Evgeniy A. Dombrovskiy

Two possible directions of fiscal measures aimed at improving Russian territories’ economic development are discussed in the paper: one at the level of largest agglomerations and another one at the regional level. It is widely accepted that agglomerations are “engines” of economic growth. The Strategy of Spatial Development of the Russian Federation until 2025 pays special attention to the development of agglomerations. However, the latter process has not only natural limitations, but also institutional ones arising from low fiscal independence of municipalities which form agglomerations. To overcome the institutional limitations, the paper proposes a set of fiscal measures, including a redistribution of tax revenues and expenditure obligations between the center of a given agglomeration and the region that contains it. The current fiscal mechanisms of stimulating economic development of Russian regions are analyzed. A mechanism of additional stimulation for regions to develop their own revenue base is proposed; it includes the transfer of receipts of VAT levied with a reduced rate of 10 % to regions in exchange for centralization of some part of corporate income tax in the federal budget. Different scenarios of this exchange are analyzed. It is shown that centralization of the corporate income tax amount corresponding to the 1 % rate in the federal budget in exchange for the transfer of VAT levied with a rate of 10 % to regions with a compensation mechanism within the transferred amounts is neutral to the federal budget and to budgets of the regions which receive equalization grants.

p. 10-25

Authors: Zhanna A. Mingaleva

The article is devoted to analyzing the main institutional mechanisms of the process of financing the programs for the least developed countries’ adaptation to negative climate change, implemented within the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The paper presents the results of the analysis of basic institutions designed to support the financing processes for sustainable development and adaptation to negative climate changes developed at the international level. The analysis covers two stages of creating and developing a system of financial institutions for international support: the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement. The reasons behind the need for further transformation of institutional mechanisms for financing adaptation programs are identified. As a result of the study, it is concluded that the key obstacles to the successful implementation of financial adaptation mechanisms are their weak institutional basis and the presence of conflicts in international documents on climate regulation and sustainable development. Based on the institutional analysis, it is shown that the institutions that form the core of international financing mechanisms are characterized by internal and external contradictions and have low implementability as well as low attractiveness for investors. It is concluded that limited access to financial capital is one of the key reasons for the slow resolution of the problem of combating environmental pollution and negative climate change as well as achieving the corresponding goal of sustainable development.

p. 37-51

Authors: Elena P. Fedorova

Problems related to green finance exist in all the countries of the world. Those problems are especially acute in the developing countries, whose economic growth depends on recovery of hydrocarbon fossil fuels. To research the history of issues related to green finance and identify the key reasons hampering its development, this article presents a systematic literature review; it applies a systematic analytical approach to researching green finance. The paper considers the key notions and the world expertise gained in the resolution of problems related to green finance; it also presents a statistical analysis of data provided by websites of international institutions and financial organizations. This article analyzes a number of problems that are unique for green finance: disagreement in interpreting the concepts of “green finance” and “green economy sectors”; difficulties related to assessment and evaluation of the external effect exerted by green finance; institutional reasons hampering the development of green finance; information asymmetry; and problems related to estimation of credit and market risks. The paper considers innovations in the financial sector that are typical for long-term investment, such as green bonds, asset-backed security, and yield cos. As a result, the article concludes that cooperation between the government, international institutions, and business companies is necessary to resolve the issues of green finance. The government ought to play the key role in that cooperation — it must inform, coordinate, stimulate, and control activities related to green finance.

p. 69-84

Authors: Vladislav N. Rutskiy, Maria V. Osipenko

These days many countries declare saving natural resources and reducing anthropogenic pressure on the environment as being among their national priorities. They place importance on sustainable development and the transition to a green economy model. However, the problem of assessing the effectiveness of the green economy and the competitiveness of related technologies is still open to debate. The paper examines approaches to measuring the green economy and presents an empirical analysis of the relationship between labor productivity in the manufacturing industry and green economy factors for a number of European Union countries, characterized by high performance in the global rankings of the green economy. Studying approaches to the identification and measurement of the green economy, the authors identify trends in the realization of a new environmentally sustainable development model in the countries of the European Union and the dynamics of key indicators of the green economy. The paper develops an empirical correlation and regression model that defines, along with other factors, the influence of green economy factors on labor productivity in manufacturing. An assessment of the model specification based on panel data from the manufacturing industries of seven European countries shows a significant positive effect of investment in equipment and plant for pollution control on labor productivity in the industry. The results indicate the relevance of further studies, in particular, the possible attractiveness of private investment in the formation of a green economy in various sectors of the economy in both developed and developing countries.

p. 101-116

Authors: Irina I. Prosvirina, Natalya S. Dovbiy

Russia has been gradually expanding the principles of green development in the national economy. The article examines the state of methodological and institutional support for green investments, and analyzes the problems that hinder the financing of the best available techniques. The leading role of the state in eliminating institutional gaps between the individual interests of investors and the collective problems of society is established. The authors have investigated various criteria for selecting sources of financing and concluded that it is appropriate to develop green lending relationships in Russia, taking into account regulatory restrictions and ESG risks. In the theoretical (methodological) aspect, the authors have identified specific features of green financing as a trinity of elements: “Object–Subject–Institutional Environment”; each of the features must meet the principles of green financing. The necessity of further formation of the institutional environment for green financing is justified. In practical terms, statistical data-based modeling has been carried out for entities from a list of 300 polluting enterprises that need to update their fixed assets based on the best available techniques. This study has provided answers to the questions of what factors influence the growth of non-current assets, including factors related to the sources of their financing. It is determined that first of all enterprises solve the problem of current management and working capital adequacy, and only then begin to direct financial resources to updating the fixed capital. Based on the results obtained, the main problems are formed and the main tasks of the nearest development of green development principles in the Russian economy are shown. When writing the article, the authors used modern methods of systemic and statistical analysis as well as economic and mathematical modeling.

p. 8-27

Authors: Marina Yu. Malkina, Igor A. Moiseev

The article deals with the endogeneity of money supply in the Russian economy in the context of the changes made to the rules of monetary regulation. We summarized and analyzed the basic concepts of the modern theory of endogenous money, and described the approaches of various researchers to studying the impact of financial innovations and changes in the principles of monetary regulation on money supply endogeneity. In the empirical part of the research, in order to test the hypothesis on the endogenous origin of the money supply in the Russian economy in 2010–2018, we applied the Granger causality test and the Johansen cointegration test as well as VAR and VECM models. The study was based on the monthly data for the monetary sphere (M2 monetary aggregate, monetary base, and money multiplier), the banking sphere (loans, deposits, and interest rate) and the transactional sector of the economy (wholesale and retail turnover). We split the time series into two intervals: 2010–2013 and 2014–2018, because the monetary regime was being changed significantly throughout 2013–2014. As a result, the hypothesis of money supply endogeneity has not been rejected for both periods of time, and evidence of structuralism has been revealed. In the short term of 2010–2013, it was mainly commercial banks that reacted to an increase in money demand (through money multiplier); however, in the long run the Central Bank of Russia prevailed (through changing the monetary base). Nevertheless, in 2014–2018 the Bank of Russia demonstrated an efficient adjustment of money supply toward money demand, which had been reflected in the response of the monetary base in the short term. Meanwhile, in this period the role of commercial banks in lending was increased through operational managing of their own resources, which was reflected in the reaction of the money multiplier to the growth of business activity in the country. These changes indicated an amplification of money supply endogeneity in the Russian economy. In addition to passive adaptation, we revealed a particular activism in the monetary sphere, when the initiative of money emission came not so much from the monetary authorities as from commercial banks fighting for a market share in the face of intensified banking competition and reduced bank margins.

p. 48-59

Authors: Irina V. Kiviko, Nina I. Malis

The entry of the Republic of Crimea into the Russian Federation created problems of the republic’s adaptation to the budget and tax legislation of Russia. Most of these problems have already been resolved, but a number of questions still remain. The application of the Russian tax legislation in Crimea initially led to a fall in the regional budget’s own revenues, but gradually the situation began to improve. In order to develop business in the territory of the Republic of Crimea, it was necessary to apply a flexible tax mechanism, including the creation of a free economic zone and varying tax rates for special tax regimes, and this task is being consistently solved. The main objective of the present time is to reduce the shadow economy through tax administration as well as to introduce a tax on professional income and a mechanism for registering real estate. The proposed abolition of the single imputed income tax, making up a substantial income for local authorities, cannot be offset by a patent tax form or other sources. It is necessary to change the budget legislation on the distribution of tax revenues between local budgets according to both basic taxes and special tax regimes—even in the face of increased personal income tax revenues as a result of growth in the tax base and the inclusion of separate divisions in regional taxpayers.

p. 76-90

Authors: Denis V. Bryzgalov, Julia V. Gryzenkova, Alexander A. Tsyganov

Subject matter. Insurance and insurance activities in the digital economy. Topic. The relevance of the topic is due to the need to determine the specifics of insurance in the digital economy as well as to conduct a study to assess the practical application of new digital technologies in the Russian insurance market. In the existing works by Russian and foreign authors, the problems of practical use of digitalization processes by Russian insurers have not been systematically considered. Goal. Theoretical justification for changes in the insurance category in the context of economy digitalization and the study of practical implementation of digital technologies in the Russian insurance market. Method. The paper considers the results of a market study of 30 leading Russian insurers on the digitalization of the insurance market, aimed at identifying the problems and prospects of this process in Russia. Results. The theoretical definition of digital insurance is given, and its duality in the digital economy is shown, associated with the insurance of specific digital risks and with the introduction of new digital technologies (digitalization). Digitalization indicators of insurance activities have been developed and calculated—in particular, the indicator of the use and penetration of digital technologies. The results of a study on the demand for new digital technologies for business processes among insurance companies are reviewed and explained. Digital risks are classified, and the features of the implementation of cyber risks as well as the risks of artificial intelligence and the Internet of things are shown. The prospects for the use of digital technologies by insurers in the near future are estimated. Scope. The results of the study can be used by insurance companies to assess the competitive environment in terms of the use of digital technologies and in the strategic planning process, as well as by government bodies to assess the state of affairs and prospects of the insurance market's participation in digital economy formation.

p. 102-113

Authors: Sergey A. Perekhod

The article is devoted to the study of the risks of external corporate debt and instruments for leveling current shocks (sanctions, global recession due to the COVID-19 pandemic and low oil prices) for macroeconomic stability. A detailed decomposition has been carried out, and an analysis of probable vulnerabilities has been performed; a conclusion is drawn about the most important aspects, namely the redistribution of obligations on public finances. Based on a sample of debt dynamics for 2006–2019 (56 observations), a more active increase in borrowing by state-owned companies is revealed (compared with the private sector), and the concept of “state support option” is introduced. The definition of financial stability in the context of debt sustainability is clarified. The strategy is based on issues related to threats to countries. The micro- and macroprudential approaches are compared with the features of their application in an open economy.

p. 9-24

Authors: Boris I. Alekhin

Robert J. Barro developed a theory in which the government borrows to smooth the tax rate over time and thus reduce welfare losses due to changes in the tax rate. Any positive model of fiscal policy must use tax smoothing as a benchmark. Is this so in Russia? The author of the present paper has used a sample of official data on tax and non-tax revenues and expenditures of the Russian government for 2000–2019 (79 quarterly observations) to test the tax smoothing hypothesis (TSH) by performing random walk, unit root, cointegration and Granger causality tests. The overall tax rate and permanent expenditures are found to be cointegrated only if structural breaks in the data are accounted for, and permanent expenditures Granger-cause the overall tax rate. An auxiliary finding is that the tax rate based on revenues from oil and gas exports are not found to be cointegrated with permanent expenditures, and permanent expenditures do not Granger-cause this rate. These results are interpreted as evidence in support of TSH, because (rephrasing Barro) the finding that a particular category of taxation is not cointegrated with permanent expenditures would not invalidate the central thesis. Overall, the Russian government seems has pursued tax smoothing. Permanent changes in expenditures were followed by tax rate revisions with transitory fiscal imbalances covered by combination of borrowed funds and oil and gas revenues. Lower level of cointegration seems to show that the Russian economy has incurred losses due to incomplete and inconsistent tax smoothing.

p. 39-56

Authors: Mariya A. Shchepeleva

Topicality. After the global financial crisis of 2008–2009, research on the impact of financial variables on the real sector has intensified. According to the theory of monetary transmission, a change in the short-term interest rate affects the volume of investment in both direct and indirect ways, through a change in the balance sheet indicators of creditors (bank lending channel) and borrowers (balance sheet channel of monetary transmission). Analysis of various transmission channels provides relevant information for the regulator, allowing for a more accurate estimation of monetary policy’s consequences. This paper aims to assess the extent to which the balance sheet channel was at work in Russia throughout 2010–2017. By applying both micro- (panel dataset) and macroapproaches (time series), we establish that there are certain signs of the balance sheet channel in the Russian economy, though it is not fully compatible with the traditional transmission chain. Our analysis provides evidence that there is a statistically significant link between short-term interest rate and investment. Still, we do not find robust empirical support for the remaining linkages in the transmission chain. Further research is needed to provide more precise quantitative estimates of the linkages within the balance sheet channel and compare its significance with other channels of monetary policy transmission.

p. 69-95

Authors: Natalia S. Matveeva

Financial control is a major part of the financial management system. Its increasing importance in the contemporary world is reflected in the Lima Declaration of Guidelines on Auditing Precepts, according to which financial control is an integral component of public finance management. The relevance of the topic is also associated with the strengthening of the role of financial control in developed countries and the search for ways to increase the effectiveness of its implementation. The article aims to identify the main development trends of state financial control in advanced countries and to analyze the standardization process. Despite the fact that the system of state financial control is based on different principles in different countries, depending on the prevailing historical, economic and regulatory traditions of a particular country, further directions for the development of this sphere are determined by general trends toward decentralization of control and the standardization of control activities. In addition, the current level of development of state financial control in the Russian Federation and the possibility of adapting international experience in our country in order to increase the effectiveness of financial control are described. In this article, the analysis of foreign experience has been carried out at three levels: general control over public finance; government and parliamentary control; and internal control and internal audit as special areas of financial control. In regards to standardization, the standards of external state control have been found to be formed and approved by the national control and accounting bodies of the country, taking into account the requirements of INTOSAI standards. At the same time, national standards include legally established features of the state financial control organization in a given country as well as the national practice of conducting state audit. Requirements for the organization and implementation of internal financial control can be set by supreme audit bodies or ministries of finance, whereas requirements to organize and carry out internal financial audit are often provided by law.

p. 111-119

Authors: Makar I. Kudelich

Due to the growing needs of compensation and protection of insured persons’ rights, improving the mechanisms of legal regulation of subrogation are becoming particularly urgent. The purpose of this article is to identify and systematize currently existing basic theoretical and scientific legal problems of subrogation. The results of the study include proposals for legal framework improvement regarding problems associated with the insurance of civil liability and the risk of losses from business activities, with the assignment and offset of claims in subrogation, with the ratio of the size of the insurance payment and subrogation claims as well as subrogation and reinsurance. In addition, the findings can be used to improve the norms of Russian civil law in order to eliminate the conflict of rules related to persons responsible for losses and persons responsible for the occurrence of an insured event, as well as to establish a ban on the use of subrogation in relation to the insured and his relatives.

p. 9-26

Authors: Vladimir V. Vagin, Natalia A. Shapovalova

The article examines current issues in initiative budgeting (IB) development in the Russian Federation on the basis of empirical data accumulated during the monitoring of IB development since 2015. The methodology for organizing monitoring and analysis of the received data, developed at the Initiative Budgeting Center of the Financial Research Institute of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation, makes it possible to assess the development dynamics by key indicators, to identify trends, and to formulate current problems in IB development in the Russian Federation. The accumulated information on initiative budgeting provides ample opportunities for constructing analytical variables calculated through aggregation of the data from the primary mass of information. The article outlines approaches to examining various forms of initiative budgeting, and provides some results of a comparative analysis of various types of practices used in the Russian Federation’s regions to involve citizens in budgetary decisions. One of the challenges in the monitoring organization is the need for regular adjustments of the measurement procedure considering current changes in legislative regulations and the practices of initiative budgeting implementation. As part of the monitoring, a separate study area of municipal IB practices is beginning to take shape. The authors review documents that legitimize IB issues in the Russian Federation and in the Russian regions, in particular, presenting the results of an analysis of state programs in the Russian regions. The article summarizes the current agenda and outlines the development of institutional support for initiative budgeting. The conclusions formulated by the authors include a wide range of proposals for improving the initiative budgeting programs and practices in the Russian regions and the Russian Federation as a whole.

p. 41-57

Authors: Vladimir V. Gromov

The article is devoted to the analysis of tax competition as a phenomenon that began to rise with the transition of Russia to a market economy and manifested itself in different ways in the evolution of the national tax system. The analysis shows the features, reasons, scale and forms of tax competition prior, during and after the well-known Russian tax reform. Being an integral part of Russian economic reality, regional tax competition comes from fiscal federalism and changes depending on the tax autonomy of subnational governments. In addition, it is explained that unregulated tax competition can become harmful and lead to adverse economic consequences. The solution to the problem lies in the field of balance between regional tax autonomy and reasonable federal restrictions, promoting fair tax competition among subnational governments. Systematization of the path traveled plays a key role in many aspects, including understanding of the current tax legislation, harmonization of tax policy at the federal level, and improvement of regional taxation in Russia.

p. 68-86

Authors: Andrey V. Korytin

Promotion of foreign investment attractiveness, including tax incentive measures, for the purpose of economic development of a country and its particular industries is an important economic and tax policy problem. This article presents the results of construction and estimation of an empirical model that describes the influence of the capital tax burden indicator (average tax rates calculated for Russian economic industries using the OECD methodology) and the rate of return along with other industry characteristics on the distribution of FDI flows among Russian economic industries. Practical limitations derived from capital and investment market imperfections as well as data availability are discussed during the model development process. The results of estimation of various specifications of the constructed model on industry data for 29 Russian industries for the period 2006–2015 through the pool regression method show a generally significant negative effect of the tax burden indicator on foreign investment inflow into industries. For the full model specification, elasticity of FDI flow with respect to the tax burden indicator is equal to 0.88.

p. 105-116

Authors: Yury A. Spletukhov

The article deals with the issues related to the use of modern information technologies in the insurance market of the country. In particular, the directions of their application are identified, and the characteristics of modern practice of introduction of such technologies are given. Much attention is paid to the prospects for the use of digital technologies, as well as to the analysis of problems that need to be solved in order to remove obstacles to their wider dissemination. Among the areas of use of information technologies in the insurance market, the following ones are highlighted: delivering information about insurers and their services to customers; preparation of proposals of insurance products and their sale; collection of information about policyholders; assessment of insurance risks; settlement of the consequences of insurance cases; implementation of document management; accounting and reporting; and interaction with the insurance supervision authority. It is concluded that the use of digital technologies makes it possible to increase the volume of insurance transactions, improve the quality of insurance services, reduce the costs associated with the implementation of insurance activities, and ultimately enhance the effectiveness of insurance as a method of risk management. At the same time, the opportunities offered by digital technologies have not yet been fully realized in the insurance sector, hampered by both objective and subjective circumstances. Among the latter are the material and financial capabilities of insurers as well as a number of existing legislative and infrastructure restrictions in the country.