Economic and Socio-Demographic Effects of Global Climate Change

The article discusses the main challenges and threats of global climate change and their impact on economic and socio-demographic processes in the countries most exposed to climate change. In world politics the topic of global climate change is not new, and every year more countries participate in international programs to reduce the impact of climate change on social, economic, demographic and even geopolitical processes. The problem of climate change is not local in nature and affects the entire group of countries and even continents. According to the intergovernmental group of experts of the UNPO, in the period 1880 to 2012, global average temperatures have risen by 0.85 degrees Celsius (The official website of UNPO, 2015). At the same time, every year more and more countries feel the consequences of climate change. According to the world organization for migration, in 2014, more than 19,3 million people were forced to change their place of permanent residence in connection with climatic factors (Gemenne et al., 2015). The loss of the world economy is measured in billions of US dollars. Keywords: economic processes, economic consequences of climate change, social instability, demographic threat JEL Classifications: J10, J19, Q5

Transformation of Labor Markets of the Southern Caucasus Countries in New Geopolitical and Economic Conditions

The paper considers key issues of the labor market condition and operation in such Southern Caucasus countries as Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. It has revealed the peculiarities of labor forces formation and the structure of their allocation. It has also fixed general peculiarities and significant distinctions in operation and tendencies of development. So, the paper sets significant influence of international labor migration to labor markets of the Southern Caucasus that exerts influence starting from the collapse of the USSR. The high level of self-employment of the population is a uniting element of the whole labor market of the Southern Caucasus countries. One more element of similarity of labor markets of the considered countries is the considerable specific weight of unpaid employees of family business concentrated in agriculture and services industry. At the same time, certain political events in some countries of the Southern Caucasus have mostly changed the labor market structure. Color revolutions which took place in some former countries of the USSR, besides the political line of policy, have also changed an economic vector of development. Rose Revolution, happened in 2003 in Georgia, has cardinally changed both domestic and international policies of the country. Orientation to closer integration with the western countries and military-political blocks predetermined the main strategy of development of the country that was inevitably reflected both political and economic ties with Russia. Because of fears concerning radical opposition formation the leadership of Armenia on the contrary was targeted to closer integration with Russia that greatly affected the labor market. Azerbaijani self-sufficiency in natural raw material resources, first of all, in oil with support of Turkey, allow the leaders of this country to conduct own policy without reference to some one country or integration group. Keywords: Southern Caucasus, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, labor market, employment, unemployment, economic development JEL Classifications: E20, E29, F6

Methodological bases for assessing socio-demographic and migration consequences of man-made disasters

The purpose of the research is to develop methodological bases and principles for assessing the socio-demographic (including migration) consequences of man-made disasters. A method of rapid assessment of possible outgoing migration flows that may occur in the event of a man-made emergency of various scales is proposed. The initial data for this method are quantitative statistical register data on housing stock and population, as well as operational data on the scale of destruction obtained using contactless methods of information collection. The author summarizes the legal acts regulating the work on prevention and elimination of consequences of man-made and other emergencies in Russia, as well as establishing the principles for assessing their consequences. The author proposes a rearrangement of the set of consequences of man-made disasters, including three main directions of the impact of emergency situations on various spheres: demographic (including damage to life and health, as well as the migration component), socio-economic, and natural and environmental. Indicators reflecting the consequences of the disaster have been developed for each of th

Economic efficiency of the nuclear power industry and social aspects of its development

The article attempts to develop a system of parameters for an objective and comprehensive assessment of the efficiency of the nuclear power industry in terms of its contribution to the country’s economic and social development, as well as its environmental well-being and its geopolitical position. Currently, nuclear power industry makes up a significant part of the energy supplies in the developed countries throughout the world. However, in the developing economies, including those of East and Southeast Asia, it plays a less prominent role. Nevertheless, in recent years, China has been the leader in commissioning new atomic facilities, thanks to the consistent implementation of its state program for the development of the nuclear power industry. Forecasts indicate that in the near future, the share of atomic energy will remain stable and account for about 10 % of all global energy capacity, which is confirmed by the estimates made during the study. However, in the long term nuclear energy cannot be ignored as an economically efficient and environmentally friendly source of energy, as well as a factor in improving the quality of life of the population when developing a strategy for the sustainable development of a country. The article examines the already existing assessment criteria for the economic efficiency of nuclear power plants (NPPs), and proposes new standards for the assessment of its contribution to the development of the community and a country’s stance on the global political stage. The article also identifies the main obstacles to the further development of the industry in the modern world. The research showed that the main specific feature of an NPP operation from the economic point of view is extremely high initial construction and commissioning costs, with relatively low further operation costs, which determines long payback lines and liquidity shortages reducing the attractiveness of such projects for potential investors. These peculiarities determine the leading role of state authorities in the launch, operation and modernization of nuclear power facilities

ТЕОРЕТИЧЕСКИЕ, МЕТОДОЛОГИЧЕСКИЕ И СТАТИСТИЧЕСКИЕ ПРОБЛЕМЫ ИЗУЧЕНИЯ ЭКОЛОГИЧЕСКОЙ МИГРАЦИИ

The increase in the number of natural disasters that has been observed in recent decades around the world under the influence of increasing anthropogenic impact on the environment, not only often causes significant damage to the economy and infrastructure of the territories, but also causes people to die and their mass migrations. In the light of these trends, the environmental situation is increasingly becoming the subject of scientific interest of researchers of various specialties: not only climatologists, but also economists and demographers. However, despite the increasing publication activity, in particular, on problems of population migration caused by climate change and environmental problems, there are significant gaps in the theoretical and methodological aspect. Our analysis of the scientific discourse (mostly English-speaking) showed that the discrepancies concern not only the question of which immigrants should be classified as environmental or climate migrants, but also the very term “environmental migrants”, as well as the legal issue of the necessity and legality of providing such persons of refugee status. It has been established that at the moment “environmental refugees” do not actually have and never had refugee status, either in accordance with the relevant UN Convention or in accordance with the national legislation of any country. The article attempts to systematize and analyze the existing theoretical and methodological approaches to this problem and, on its basis, gives recommendations regarding their application. The features of statistical accounting for environmental migrants are established. The main difficulties of identifying and identifying those migration processes that resulted from changes in the environment are identified, since along with natural factors, a combination of other socio-economic factors, such as low living standards or poverty, often influence decision-making on resettlement. The principles that should be followed when organizing environmental migration statistics at the national level are given. Two groups of existing international sources of quantitative data on environmental migration are described: a bibliographic database containing materials and publications on environmental migration, as well as a database of quantitative data that provide information on the number of displaced persons. The relationship between climate change and the impact on the quality of life of the population has been identified. The negative impact of climate change on the level and quality of life of the population was identified primarily in rural areas, which led to an increase in the scale and deepening of poverty, and also caused the migration of the rural population.El aumento en el número de desastres naturales que se ha observado en las últimas décadas en todo el mundo bajo la influencia del creciente impacto antropogénico en el medio ambiente, no solo a menudo causa daños significativos a la economía y la infraestructura de los territorios, sino que también causa la muerte de personas. y sus migraciones masivas. A la luz de estas tendencias, la situación ambiental se está convirtiendo cada vez más en tema de interés científico de investigadores de diversas especialidades: no solo climatólogos, sino también economistas y demógrafos. Sin embargo, a pesar de la creciente actividad de publicación, en particular sobre los problemas de migración de la población causados por el cambio climático y los problemas ambientales, existen importantes lagunas en el aspecto teórico y metodológico. Nuestro análisis del discurso científico (en su mayoría de habla inglesa) mostró que las discrepancias se refieren no solo a la cuestión de qué inmigrantes deben clasificarse como migrantes ambientales o climáticos, sino también al término “migrantes ambientales”, así como a la cuestión legal de la necesidad y legalidad de proporcionar a tales personas con estatus de refugiado. Se ha establecido que en este momento los "refugiados ambientales" en realidad no tienen y nunca han tenido el estatus de refugiado, ya sea de acuerdo con la Convención de la ONU pertinente o de acuerdo con la legislación nacional de cualquier país. El artículo intenta sistematizar y analizar los enfoques teóricos y metodológicos existentes para este problema y, sobre su base, ofrece recomendaciones sobre su aplicación. Se establecen las características de la contabilidad estadística de los migrantes ambientales. Las principales dificultades para identificar e identificar aquellos procesos de migración que resultaron de cambios en el medio ambiente se identifican, ya que junto con factores naturales, una combinación de otros factores socioeconómicos, como bajos niveles de vida o pobreza, a menudo influyen en la toma de decisiones sobre el reasentamiento. . Se dan los principios que deben seguirse cuando se organizan estadísticas de migración ambiental a nivel nacional. Se describen dos grupos de fuentes internacionales existentes de datos cuantitativos sobre migración ambiental: una base de datos bibliográfica que contiene materiales y publicaciones sobre migración ambiental, así como una base de datos de datos cuantitativos que proporcionan información sobre el número de personas desplazadas. Se ha identificado la relación entre el cambio climático y el impacto en la calidad de vida de la población. El impacto negativo del cambio climático en el nivel y la calidad de vida de la población se identificó principalmente en las áreas rurales, lo que llevó a un aumento en la escala y la profundización de la pobreza, y también causó la migración de la población rural.O aumento do número de desastres naturais que tem sido observado nas últimas décadas em todo o mundo sob a influência do crescente impacto antrópico sobre o meio ambiente, não só causa danos significativos à economia e infra-estrutura dos territórios, mas também faz com que as pessoas morram e suas migrações em massa. À luz dessas tendências, a situação ambiental é cada vez mais tema de interesse científico de pesquisadores de várias especialidades: não apenas climatologistas, mas também economistas e demógrafos. No entanto, apesar da crescente atividade de publicação, em particular, nos problemas de migração populacional causados pelas mudanças climáticas e problemas ambientais, existem lacunas significativas no aspecto teórico e metodológico. Nossa análise do discurso científico (principalmente em inglês) mostrou que as discrepâncias dizem respeito não apenas à questão de quais imigrantes devem ser classificados como migrantes ambientais ou climáticos, mas também ao próprio termo “migrantes ambientais”, bem como à questão legal de migrantes. a necessidade e a legalidade de fornecer a essas pessoas o status de refugiado. Ficou estabelecido que, no momento, os “refugiados ambientais” não têm e nunca tiveram status de refugiado, seja de acordo com a Convenção da ONU ou de acordo com a legislação nacional de qualquer país. O artigo procura sistematizar e analisar as abordagens teóricas e metodológicas existentes para esse problema e, com base nisso, dá recomendações sobre sua aplicação. As características da contabilidade estatística para os migrantes ambientais são estabelecidas. As principais dificuldades de identificar e identificar os processos de migração que resultaram de mudanças no meio ambiente são identificadas, pois juntamente com fatores naturais, uma combinação de outros fatores socioeconômicos, como baixos padrões de vida ou pobreza, muitas vezes influenciam a tomada de decisões sobre o reassentamento. . Os princípios que devem ser seguidos ao organizar as estatísticas de migração ambiental em nível nacional são fornecidos. Dois grupos de fontes internacionais existentes de dados quantitativos sobre a migração ambiental são descritos: uma base de dados bibliográfica contendo materiais e publicações sobre migração ambiental, bem como uma base de dados quantitativos que fornecem informações sobre o número de pessoas deslocadas. A relação entre as mudanças climáticas e o impacto na qualidade de vida da população foi identificada. O impacto negativo da mudança climática no nível e na qualidade de vida da população foi identificado principalmente nas áreas rurais, o que levou a um aumento na escala e aprofundamento da pobreza, e também causou a migração da população rural.Увеличение числа стихийных бедствий, которое наблюдается в последние десятилетия во всем мире под влиянием усиливающегося антропогенного воздействия на окружающую среду, не только часто наносит значительный ущерб экономике и инфраструктуре территорий, но и приводит к гибели людей и их массовой миграции. В свете этих тенденций, экологическая ситуация все чаще становится предметом научного интереса исследователей различных специальностей: не только климатологи, но и экономистов и демографов. Однако, несмотря на растущую публикационную активность, в частности, по проблемам миграции населения, вызванной изменением климата и экологическими проблемами, в теоретико-методологическом аспекте имеются значительные пробелы. Проведенный нами анализ научного дискурса (в основном англоязычного) показал, что расхождения касаются не только вопроса о том, какие иммигранты должны быть классифицированы как экологические или климатические мигранты, но и самого термина “экологические мигранты”, а также юридического вопроса о необходимости и законности предоставления таким лицам статуса беженцев. Установлено, что в настоящее время “экологические беженцы” фактически не имеют и никогда не имели статуса беженца ни в соответствии с соответствующей конвенцией ООН, ни в соответствии с национальным законодательством какой-либо страны. В статье предпринята попытка систематизации и анализа существующих теоретико-методологических подходов к данной проблеме и на ее основе даны рекомендации по их применению. Установлены особенности статистического учета экологических мигрантов. Выявлены основные трудности выявления и идентификации тех миграционных процессов, которые обусловлены изменениями в окружающей среде, поскольку наряду с природными факторами на принятие решений о переселении зачастую влияет сочетание других социально-экономических факторов, таких как низкий уровень жизни или нищета. Принципы, которые следует соблюдать при организации статистики экологической миграции на национальном уровне. Описаны две группы существующих международных источников количественных данных об экологической миграции: библиографическая база данных, содержащая материалы и публикации по экологической миграции, а также база количественных данных, содержащая информацию о числе перемещенных лиц. Выявлена взаимосвязь между изменением климата и воздействием на качество жизни населения. Негативное влияние изменения климата на уровень и качество жизни населения было выявлено прежде всего в сельской местности, что привело к увеличению масштабов и углублению бедности, а также вызвало миграцию сельского населения