Objective: to analyze the anti-inflationary policy of the leading Central banks of the world economy in 2008-2019; to explain the main postulates and discussions in the field of modern monetary theory; to show the features of the formation of anti-crisis measures and trends in the development of monetary policy of Central banks during and after COVID-19.Methods: a system-functional approach to understanding the modern monetary-credit policy of Central banks, taking into account the influence of various factors of the external and internal environment. This allowed defining and using the necessary set of specific research methods - methodological tools of historical, logical, comparative, empirical and statistical methods of knowledge.Results: the article shows that under the new financial crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, a period of active nationalization and concentration of monetary capital started in the leading countries of the world economy. Central banks are beginning to lose their operational and financial independence, and monetary issues (including credit) in the real economy are likely to be determined not by the market, but solely by the excessive needs of a sovereign government. It is noted that under the increasing sovereign debts, Central banks lose the opportunities for implementing the current anti-inflationary policy. The main elements of the modern monetary theory (MMT) are considered, as well as the features of national economies functioning within the MMT, identified by the authors of this theory.Anti-crisis measures of non-traditional monetary-credit policy were studied, which are implemented by the Central banks of the United States, Europe and Russia in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, and their effectiveness was evaluated. In addition, a possible scenario for the development of monetary policy of Central banks after the pandemic, including the issue of digital currencies, is identified.Scientifi novelty: the article shows that massive anti-crisis measures of governments and Central banks over the next few years will provoke a global economic crisis, the main characteristics of which will be an imbalance of payment and budget systems, a rapid growth of sovereign debt, spending of economic potential by countries, and a sharp increase in infl and devaluation of national currencies. National countries will try to get out of this crisis by total digitalization of the economy, nationalization of network platforms and fi ancial assets. These processes will most likely begin with the issuance of digital currency by Central banks. Practical relevance: the main provisions and conclusions of the article can be used to specify the target mandates, tools, channels and mechanisms of Central banks’ monetary policy, directly connected with implementation of anti-recessionary measures of sovereign governments and Central banks under the COVID-19 pandemic, and with the radical digital transformation of the entire global monetary-credit system after completion of all predicted stages of the coronavirus outbreak.

Objective: to reveal the consequences of the transition to total distance education in the Russian higher education under self-isolation caused by the spread of the new coronavirus.Methods: qualitative methods, narrative analysis, in-depth interviews, included observation.Results: the process of transition to distance education with a view to combat the spread of the new coronavirus infection in Russia in 2020 is a unique example of simultaneous implementation of institutional and technological innovations. The analysis of this phenomenon requires using the ideas of institutional and evolutionary economic theory, as well as narrative economics and the Austrian school.To determine the main patterns of emergence and strengthening of institutional traps that arise under self-isolation in the higher education system, the authors analyzed the narratives and in-depth interviews of the main actors. In addition, a certain part of the conclusions is formulated based on the included observation of the authors as typical representatives of the higher education sphere. The conducted research allowed identifying the main patterns of the current total introduction of distance technologies in the Russian higher education. It is stated that institutional and technological evolution can lead to the selection and consolidation of inefficient institutions and technologies under the influence of increasing returns. The widespread introduction of distance education demonstrates its defects. Based on the analysis of the results of in-depth interviews, conclusions about the main institutional problems of the educational process digitalization are formulated. Distance education is not a full-fledged substitute for the traditional education, as it impedes the transfer of implicit knowledge, controland feedback during training, ambiguously influences the costs of educational activities, and does not allow relying on the reliability of information and communication technologies. Transition to distant education can be interpreted as a new stage of evoluton of the institutional trap of electronization and digitalization..Scientific novelty: consists in identifying the qualitative characteristics of the process of implementing total distance education while combating the spread of the new coronavirus infection in Russia.Practical significance: is determined by the need to understand the causes of inefficiency and aggravation of contradictions between different groups of actors in the field of education and science while combating the spread of the new coronavirus infection.

Objective: to study the trend of increasing energy efficiency in the modern economy, taking into account the possibilities of renewable energy generation, traditional (fossil) fuels and energy savings; to compare the parameters determining the speed of energy transformation.Methods: to achieve the set objective, a neoinstitutional methodological approach was used, and, in particular, methods of microeconomic analysis.Results: discussions about the advantages and prospects of renewable energy sources relative to traditional ones have been ongoing over the past decades. The performed analysis shows that traditional energy sources will continue to be the main ones for several decades to come. The paper analyzes the possibility of improving the energy efficiency of the economy, taking into account the prospects of renewable energy generation, traditional (fossil) fuels and energy savings, as well as the analysis of the impact of these factors on the speed of energy transformation.The selected tools allowed comparing the marginal costs of energy production and energy saving, and to determine their optimal volumes. Three directions of energy efficiency improvement are identified and analyzed: by activating energy saving as one of the available “alternative energy sources”; by reducing subsidies for traditional energy; and by differentiated taxation of various sources, taking into account environmental effects. Finally, it was shownhow the speed of energy transition is influencedby the impact of cost reduction for renewable energy sources, changes in fossil fuels tariffs, and inclusion of environmental externalities in its price.Scientific novelty: it is shown that the cost of energy saving is optimal for volumes when its marginal cost is equal to the marginal cost of solar energy; the ranking of factors that affect the speed of energy transformation is carried out: reducing the cost of renewable energy sources; various scenarios for the behavior of fossil fuel prices; and accounting for environmental costs.Practical significance: the results obtained can be useful for a model description of the interaction of the main factors that affect the increase in energy efficiency of the economy.

Objective: to describe the development of care economy within the sphere of socio-economic relations as a tool for increasing social capital in society. Methods: abstract-logical and dialectical, phenomenological methods. Results: in the scientific literature, care economy is described primarily as a part of the healthcare sector. The article considers it in the context of a broader range of socio-economic services. The article describes the main content of care economy as a sphere of socio-economic relations providing services that ensure normal life-restoring and/or improving health, improving life quality by maintaining more comfortable living conditions. The main reasons for care economy development are highlighted: 1) aging of the population; 2) high costs of providing care services in specialized medical institutions; 3) shadow services provided in the field of care economy. It is established that in the coming years care economy development will dictate certain conditions for the labor and education market development in this segment. Scientific novelty: it is shown that the main content of care economy is not limited to the sphere of medical care, but can be considered more broadly - including care for children, pets, etc.; the relevance of care economy development as a separate sphere of socio-economic relations is shown.Practical significance: the understanding of the content of care economy revealed in this work makes it urgent to create a state system for providing services in the field of care economy, and creates the basis for further research in this area.

Objective: to study the social portrait of a police officer at the present stage, their attitude to work (promotion, labor intensity, psychological atmosphere), family, marriage, financial status, recreation, and retirement.Methods: dialectic approach to cognition of social phenomena allowing to analyze them in their historical development and functioning in the context of a set of objective and subjective factors, which determined the choice of the following research methods: formal-logical, comparative-legal, sociological.Results: the paper analyzes the social profile of police officers, their views on the future, family, and career. Special attention is paid to the problems of police officers in the service and at home - bureaucracy in the workplace, financial difficulties, situation with housing, attitude to family and marriage. The positive and negative coefficients of police officers’ agreement with the proposed questions are analyzed. The questions with maximum coefficient of agreement were: a) the monetary allowance of employees is the main means of their material provision; b) the life and health of a police officer is insured at the expense of budgetary funds; c) family members of a police officer are proud of their profession. The questions with maximum coefficient of disagreement included the following: a) neighbors are alert when communicating with family members of a police officer; b) I am completely satisfied with the amount of bonuses to the official salary for performing complex tasks; c) a police officer is forced to be friends only with other police officers.Scientific novelty: the paper concludes that currently employees of internal affairs agencies perceive stability and confidence in their position. As positive aspects of their work, the police officers note the high level of professionalism of the team, long vacation, and early retirement. However, there are a number of problems that need to be addressed. These include an excessive amount of paperwork, high stress levels, and financial problems.Practical significance: the main provisions and conclusions of the article can be used in scientific, educational and law enforcement activities when considering issues related to guarantees of social protection of police officers: remuneration, mandatory state insurance, provision of housing for police officers, medical care and other guarantees.

Objective: to assess the compliance of traditional approaches to IT projects legal maintenance with the modern methods of organizing the process of digital products development, to identify the existing problems in this area and suggest possible ways to resolve them. Methods: the research used the logical method and the method of analyzing judicial practice, the inductive method, the method of comparison, and the method of scientific abstraction. Results: digitalization facilitated the development of the services market for IT projects and their maintenance. Legal maintenance of such projects often faces a significant discrepancy between the positions of the customer and the contractor, especially when part of the project is accomplished. Based on the analysis of judicial practice of IT projects using the Agile methodology, the most significant and problematic legal aspects of implementation were identified, and conflict situations between customers and performers of IT projects were analyzed.Scientific novelty: five key problems of IT projects legal maintenance that use flexible management methods are identified. A universal model for implementing legal functions in Agile projects is proposed.Practical significance: the proposed scheme of legal maintenance of IT projects can be used to regulate the legal relationships of their participants and may help to reduce the conflict level and speed up the process of digital products development using the Agile methodology.

Objective: to systematize the main problems of implementing producer’s extended responsibility in the field of waste management and to propose ways to solve them.Methods: when writing the article, we used philosophical and general scientific methods of abstraction, analysis, synthesis, and system approach.Results: producer’s extended responsibility has proven to be an effective tool that affects the development of waste management systems. Since 2015, it has been successfully applied in Russia. The article discusses the concept of producer’s extended responsibility (PER), the principles of its implementation, and its application abroad. The main stages of PER system formation in Russia are determined, the main provisions of the normative acts regulating PER are analyzed, the opportunities and constraints to implement the Strategy of Ecological Safety of the Russian Federation up to 2025 are identified. It is shownthat the current practice of PER fulfillment, namely, ecological fee collection and transfer of funds to the state municipal processor, actually nullifies all attempts to modernize the system for processing industrial waste and, moreover, creates prerequisites for increasing transaction costs of enterprises and the population.Scientific novelty: the first results of the introduction of goods producers and importers’ extended responsibility for the waste generated in the Russian regions are analyzed and conclusions are drawn about the causes of problems with its implementation. It is stated that the original goals of Strategy adopted in 2015 should be returned.Practical significance: the research results can become the basis for further studies of the economic efficiency of waste processing and improving the environmental strategy of the government.

Objective: to identify, systematize and characterize shoplifting as a type of economic loss in food and related products retail chains.Methods: dialectical method of cognition and a set of general and specific scientific methods: comparative legal, formal logical, statistical analysis, system-structural, specific sociological methods (survey, questionnaire), modeling.Results: the performed analysis helped to identify, systematize and characterize shoplifting as a type of economic loss in retail chains. One of the major reasons for the increase in shoplifting is reduction in real disposable income of the population and the implementation of restrictive measures due to the spread of the new corona virus infection and combating the COVID-19 pandemic, such as suspension (limitation) of the activities of organizations and individual entrepreneurs without keeping employees’ wages. The article analyzes the main indicators of the retail chain market. Shoplifting in food segment of the retail market was studied by the example of Saint Petersburg. It was revealed that the number of shoplifts has increased dramatically during the pandemic; the nature of thefts has changed, including the portrait of a thief, product groups and time characteristics of thefts. Changes in shoplifting in foreign retail sector are considered. The article also analyzes the structure of economic losses of retail stores.Scientific novelty: the novelty of the research consists in a systematic analysis of shoplifting as a type of economic loss in retail chains. For the first time, a systematic analysis of the dynamics of shoplifting in Saint Petersburg was conducted, as well as changes in the pattern of theft during the pandemic. The key reasons for changing the shoplifting dynamics are formulated. The key conditions for reducing shoplifting were identified, as well as the prospects for the development of online sales market in the context of corona virus infection, and its role in reducing theft.Practical significance: the main provisions and conclusions can be used in the activities of internal security services of retail chain companies, security and related companies, for development of preventive strategies and implementation of measures to prevent shoplifting.

Objective: to study the Constitution as a stabilizing factor of social development.Methods: dialectical approach to the cognition of social phenomena that allows analyzing them in their historical development and functioning in the context of a set of objective and subjective factors, which determined the choice of the following research methods: formal-logical, comparative-legal, sociological.Results: the article attempts to comprehend the role of the Constitution as a stabilizing factor of social development. The reason for the theoretical analysis was the amendments to the text of the current Russian Constitution initiated by the President of the Russian Federation and approved by the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation. The author proposes a threefold vision of the Constitution, recognizes the probable dissonance between the image of the Constitution in public opinion, the legal and actual (valid) Constitution, and focuses on those fundamental provisions of the Law of the Russian Federation on the amendments to the Constitution of the Russian Federation of 14 March 2020 No. 1-FKZ “On improving the regulation of certain issues of organization and functioning of public authorities”, which reveal the dynamic or static function of law. The Constitution in all its manifestations is conditioned by the statics and dynamics of political and legal life, and science is obliged to discover, again and again, the symbolic (linguistic) means of the harmonious and relatively stable development of the material and ideal.Scientific novelty: for the first time, the article analyzes the provisions of the Law of the Russian Federation on the amendments to the Constitution of the Russian Federation of 14 March 2020 No. 1-FKZ “On improving the regulation of certain issues of organization and functioning of public authorities”, identifies their strengths and weaknesses in view of the upcoming nationwide voting on approval of amendments to the Constitution of the Russian Federation, and formulates proposals on improving the constitutional norms for the progressive development of the Russian society and state.Practical significance: the conclusions and provisions of the article can be used in scientific, law-making and law enforcement activities, as well as in the educational process of higher educational institutions.

Objective: to study changes inenforcement of low-level offenses and felonies in the City of St. Louis, Missouri after the high-profile events in Ferguson.Methods: dialectical approach to the cognition of social phenomena which uses the following research methods based on it: general scientific (analysis, synthesis, induction) and specific scientific methods (formal-legal, systemic, comparative-legal, sociological).Results: as a result of several highly publicized incidents of police killing unarmed Black suspects, many contend that American police are in the midst of a crisis. Police have faced high levels of public scrutiny that some argue has stifled police activities and led to spikes in violent crime. This phenomenon - coined in the aftermath of the police killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri - has become widely known as the Ferguson Effect. This study uses seven years of data and time series analysis to assess whether the events in Ferguson were associated with a reduction in arrests for felonies and low-level offenses in the nearby City of St. Louis, Missouri.Scientific novelty: it is shown that there was an initial reduction in low-level arrests of Whites and Blacks in the wake of Ferguson. Enforcement of misdemeanors and ordinance violations then increased and returned to expected levels, but only for Blacks. Post-Ferguson, felony arrests initially dropped for Blacks, but not Whites, and then climbed for both groups. This work adds to the burgeoning literature on police responses in the wake of a high-profile shooting.Practical significance: the main provisions and conclusions of the article can be used in scientific, educational and law enforcement activities when considering issues related to prevention and elimination crime.

Objective: to study the features of misdemeanor arrests, charges, referrals, and case dispositions of behavioral crisis-flagged incidents in the largest city in the US north-west - Seattle.Methods: the study employs a quasi-experimental design to examine misdemeanor arrests, charges, referrals, and case dispositions of behavioral crisis-flagged incidents to better understand how individuals who are experiencing behavioral crisis are processed through the misdemeanor justice system. A sample of 505 cases of behavioral-crisis flagged incidents in Seattle from 2016-2018 are compared with a matched random sample of 1053 non-crisis cases examining similarities and differences in arrest, referral, charges, and case disposition.Results: misdemeanor offenses often involve individuals experiencing behavioral crises such as mental illness, drug and alcohol addiction, and homelessness. Little is known about how individuals in behavioral crisis arrested for misdemeanors are processed through the criminal justice system. In 2015, the Seattle Police Department implemented a Crisis Intervention Policy that employed a crisis template enabling systematic identifi of incidents fl by law enforcement as involving “behavioral crisis” to improve data collection and police response to incidents involving individuals in behavioral crisis. Implications for crisis intervention, case processing, and managing individuals who commit misdemeanors while in behavioral crisis are discussed. Scientific novelty: for the first time, the work substantiated the conclusion that individuals involved in crisis-flagged incidents are arrested at a consistently higher rate; are more likely to be charged, taken into custody, and incarcerated; and are more likely to be female.Practical significance: the main provisions and conclusions of the article can be used in scientific, pedagogical and law enforcement activities when considering the issues related to prevention and elimination crimes.

Objective: to assess the current trends in the development of the transaction sector in Russia and to identify alternatives to implementing economic policy in the context of restrictions on economic activity.Methods: the research used general scientific methods of cognition; content analysis of literary sources and mass media; comparative discursive categorical analysis.Results: the corona virus pandemic highlighted new challenges for the economies of almost all countries of the world. One of the manifestations of the economic systems’ crisis associated with the pandemic was the reduction of the transaction sector, which determines the need to assess its impact on the Russian economy. Political-economic cause-and-effect relationships of the fight against corona virus and the state of national economies are considered by the example of the “Trump dilemma”. It was found that under strict restrictive measures imposed by most countries of the world, the most vulnerable were transaction sector businesses, primarily in the service sector. By the example of sports as a part of the “impression economy” in Russia and other countries of the world, we consider the range of negative consequences following the cancellation of sports events and the reduction of sports clubs funding.Scientific novelty: the research presents the author’s position on the existing discourse in the Russian literature on the content and scope of the transaction sector. We also recommend a way to update the choice of socio-economic alternatives to solve the problem of economic functioning under restrictions associated with the corona virus pandemic.Practical significance: the results obtained can be used as recommendations for regional authorities when evaluating and developing economic policy alternatives.

Objective: a complete, comprehensive and objective assessment of the PhD (Law) thesis by S. A. Buchakov “Illegal external migration in Russia: criminological situation and counteraction policy”, successfully defended in 2019 in the dissertation Council D 203.010.01 at Federal State Educational Institution of Higher Education “Omsk Academy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation”.Methods: dialectical approach to cognition of social phenomena using general (analysis, synthesis, induction) and specific (formal legal, system, comparative legal, sociological) scientific methods.Results: the advantages of the author’s concept are highlighted, namely, related to a special role of Muslim suicide bombers, to expansion of the range of migration crimes, to transformation of migration from a background phenomenon into a powerful determinant of ordinary and political crime, to the need to transform the domestic migration policy into a purely paternalistic one, etc. At the same time, the traditional understanding of migration as the movement of foreigners and stateless persons only is criticized, as many Russian criminals are also involved in it. The author reproaches the lack of deep interpretation of statistical data and the use of outdated normative sources.Scientific novelty: unlike the most of well-known scientific research on migration, the methodology for studying illegal migration is developed into an independent and very informative chapter; a criminologically based version of Article 322.1 of the Russian Criminal Code is developed; it is proposed to create a specialized scientific council under the interdepartmental group for monitoring the migration situation.Practical significance: the main provisions and conclusions of the PhD (Law) thesis by S. A. Buchakov can be used in scientific, pedagogical and law enforcement activities when considering the issues related to the current state policy to counter illegal migration and prospects for its improvement.