Economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic for the cultural organizations in Russia

To assess the economic impact of COVID-19 and to study the specifics of functioning of cultural institutions in the conditions of the pandemic, the authors analyze the 2019—2020 indicators and conduct an expert survey of the heads of cultural institutions of various types located in both capital and small towns, and rural areas in all federal districts. The analysis of the budget financing of cultural sector in 2020 compared to 2019 in Russia as a whole, and in the Russian Federation regions showed a noticeable slowdown of growth rates of expenses for culture and a decrease in the share of these expenses. The analysis of the dynamics of GDP per capita (in constant prices) and the share of household expenditures on recreation and cultural events in total household expenditures made it possible to predict a further reduction of these expenditures and, as a consequence, revenues of cultural organizations and extra-budgetary revenues of state and municipal cultural institutions. The analysis of the dynamics of the number of employees in cultural organizations by forms of part-time employment showed that in the conditions of coronavirus expansion, cultural organizations sought to keep jobs for their employees, but they also used various forms of part-time employment. The expert survey of cultural executives and managers confirms the deterioration of financial support for cultural institutions, including the emer-gence of difficulties associated with the failure to meet indicators established in the state assignment, and the cultural infrastructure lagging behind modern requirements for online formats. Specific measures are proposed to improve the situation in the cultural sector

The pitfalls of differentiation in the financing of Russian universities

Objective to identify the causes and consequences of the increasing stratification of higher educational institutions by the volumes and sources of financing as well as by the areas of training. Methods during the research we used methods of statistical and economic analysis of the results of the universitiesrsquo activities. Using econometric models the relationships were estimated of the resource base of higher education industrial and economic potential of Russian regions an empirical analysis of factors influencing the increasing public demand for higher education was conducted. Results the trends of structural changes in the demand for higher education in Russia during the period from 2001 to 2014 were described the regional differentiation of financial provision of higher educational institutions in the transition to effective contract work was evaluated. The major risks were identified associated with the structural mismatch of the demand for higher education from families and the offer of admission quotas for the budgetfunded education with increasing regional differentiation which provokes the separation of the Russian universities by the volumes and sources of financial provision with high commitments to increase the salaries of the teaching staff leading to a shortage of funds for maintenance of the property complex and ensuring of the educational process which jeopardizes the quality of educational programsrsquo implementation. Scientific novelty basing on the empirical analysis using econometric models the tendencies are identified of structural changes in the demand for higher education in the Russian regions the impact is assessed of the economic crisis and the payable demand of families on the financial provision of universities risks are identified and justified in the differentiation of Russian universitiesrsquo financing. Practical significance the main provisions and conclusions of the article can be used by experts in the field of Economics and Management in designing financial provision and development strategies of higher educational organizations. nbs