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The article analyzes the peculiarities of export activities of small and medium-sized businesses, shows the high involvement of companies belonging to small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) in the high-tech sector. The contribution of SMEs to the creation of the value of a product/service through the introduction of innovations and their adaptation to different contexts by providing new or niche products that meet the diverse needs of customers is noted. Based on the analysis of the world practice of export activities of SMEs, the author concludes that SMEs can contribute to economic diversification and economic sustainability. This is especially true for resource-rich countries that are particularly sensitive to fluctuations in raw material prices. The emphasis is placed on the analysis of the export activity of Russian SMEs, an insignificant share of SMEs in the total volume of exports in comparison with other countries is highlighted. It is concluded that Russian small and medium-sized businesses are in the process of formation, which makes them vulnerable to the influence of both external and internal threats. It is shown what impact the COVID-19 pandemic had on SMEs. It was emphasized that the main problems for such companies were non-fulfillment of contractual obligations and a sharp decline in demand.

I study how the relative efficiency of high- and low-skill labor varies across countries. Using microdata for countries at different stages of development, I document that differences in relative quantities and wages are consistent with high-skill workers being relatively more productive in rich countries. I exploit variation in the skill premia of foreign-educated migrants to discriminate between two possible drivers of this pattern: cross-country differences in the skill bias of technology and in the relative human capital of skilled labor. I find that the former is quantitatively more important, and discuss the implications of this result for development accounting. (JEL I26, J24, J31, J61, L16, O15)

In addition to the problems caused by money being fiat, most modern money is moreover created not by governments but by the privately-owned banking systems as debt to themselves. This is not only grossly contrary to all traditions of natural justice, it is also unconstitutional. This problem has been understood and publicised by many politicians and writers over centuries, but it is still not widely known due to the financial and political power of the perpetrators. Since it is also the main cause of the continuing increase in inequality in all the rich countries, the “great reset” being advocated by those in charge of the present system is clearly not fit to become the new basis of the economic system.

Some resource-rich countries face challenges when it comes to the socio-economic development of its employees and the community at large. This study seeks to examine Gecamines' contribution to the socio-economic conditions of its employees based in the Lubumbashi area and to some extent the province of Katanga under the rubric of resource curse theory. Through this study, lessons can be learnt from the findings on how state-owned mining companies could work on improving their socio-economic contributions in the interest of the employees and the entire population through generated revenues for the state. The study employed a case study design with a qualitative approach research in its endeavour of exploring Gecamines' socio-economic contribution to its employees in the city of Lubumbashi and the development of Katanga Province as a whole. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with Gecamines' managers, unskilled mine workers, and the Provincial Department of Mines' officers in the city of Lubumbashi. The key findings from these interactions are that the company's low level of production caused by poor management, political interference, corruption, and poor institutions had negative ramifications on the socio-economic conditions of the workers. A remedy to these challenges lies in strengthening the country's institutions to fight corruption and poor management of parastatals. Autonomy of parastatals from political influence and control is also important to enable the company to play a crucial role in the socio-economic development of employees.

The COVID-19 virus has not just changed the mode of operation and way of life of all humanity, but has profoundly transformed the entire world, from the global political structure and economic environment to the models and methods of regional economic development. It has significantly influenced the content and timing of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, impacting the international situation and the implementation of inter-state relations. In this context, China, adhering to the five basic principles of peaceful coexistence, aims to enrich the diplomatic concept of «benevolence, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness» in relations with neighboring states in order to strengthen and deepen them. The article puts a special emphasis on Chinese-Russian relations. It argues that the priority tasks for the leadership of the two countries should include: developing options for generating new production chains; taking into account the widening «gap between poor and rich» countries, as well as changes in the global political landscape. The implementation of these tasks can act as a stabilizing factor for regional and international development, guarantee secure borders and become a shining example of inter-state relations for the rest of the neighboring countries.

When will self-interested vaccine-rich countries voluntarily donate their surplus vaccines to vaccine-poor countries during a pandemic? We develop a game-theoretic approach to address this question. We identify vaccine-rich countries' optimal surplus donation strategies, and then examine whether these strategies are stable (Nash equilibrium or self-enforcing international agreement). We identify parameter ranges in which full or partial surplus stock donations are optimal for the donor countries. Within a more restrictive parameter region, these optimal strategies are also stable. This implies that, under certain conditions (notably a total amount of surplus vaccines that is sufficiently large), simple coordination can lead to significant donations by strictly self-interested vaccine-rich countries. On the other hand, if the total amount that the countries can donate is small, we expect no contribution from self-interested countries. The results of this analysis provide guidance to policy makers in identifying the circumstances in which coordination efforts are likely to be effective.

In early April 2021, China had contributed a vital role in the Covid-19 vaccine export. With the national pharmaceutical company Sinovac and Sinopharm China capable of producing over 250 million doses of vaccine, 118 million have been successfully exported to 49 countries according to Airfinity. The world distribution of the covid-19 vaccine has been deemed a failure by the WHO, from 448 million global doses only 0.1 percent of the vaccine were administered to low-income countries, and rich countries which hold 16 percent of the world's population receiving nearly half a global dose. China is able to answer the world's frustration with the western nationalism vaccine issue, as the EU and USA failed to help low-income countries to provide vaccine access. The nationalism vaccine discourages equality, as 200 million doses of vaccine produced by the United States government had approximately exported only about 4 million doses to other countries. This paper will answer how China gains global geopolitics through vaccine diplomacy? What is the role of diplomacy in promoting China's influence? Currently China focuses on expanding its influence over Asia and South America through vaccine diplomacy, under the BRI initiative this policy is then called the Health Silk Road. Keywords: Health Silk Road, Vaccine Diplomacy, Sinovac, Sinopharm

Today science faces the task of ensuring the innovative development of the mineral extractive sector of the economy in resource-rich countries, in the context of unfolding two opposite trends [...]