The article analyzes reforms of organizational structure of Russian science in the post-Soviet period. The authors suggest a new model of organizing research groups with the aim to increase international competitiveness of Russian science. The development of possible versions of organization of such groups was based on unfocused interviews with prominent Russian scholars and representatives of Russian-speaking research diaspora. Major principles of functioning of new laboratories are analyzed, including the linkages with host institutions, financial, human resources, and governance aspects, as well as procedures for monitoring and evaluation.

The article deals with the relation between assumptions of economic theories and their politicval implications. Two canons of economic science are analyzed according to the degree of abstraction. A hypothesis is that the more abstract formal canon is connected with a liberal kind of economic policy whereas the more concrete canon presupposes an active state involvement in economic affairs. Several attempts at integrating both canons are studied separately (Marshall, Schumpeter, Eucken). Historic evidence is more or less consistent with the hypothesis stated above, but there happens to be one important exclusion: the general equilibrium theory is so abstract that it can imply opposite policies.

Paper discusses a number of hypotheses as potential explanations of the spatial income distribution in Russia. The hypotheses include the increasing return hypothesis, the institutions hypothesis and the simple and sophisticated versions of the geography hypothesis. According to the existing evidence, the sophisticated geography hypothesis fits best Russian data. This suggests that the changes in spatial income distribution follow the changes in local geographical characteristics and in their economic value.

Revelation of the factors of corporate innovation activity and measurement of efficiency of innovations are vital topics in studies of modern economy. A character of innovative process has led to an increasing popularity of CDM approach. This allows to analyze the influence of innovative activity on firms economic performance. This paper is a review of the main empirical studies made within the CDM approach.

The paper provides an explanation for widespread student employment in Russia. The main difference between Russia and Western countries is considered to be the following: student employment during the period of studying is widely used as a signal about the quality of human capital for the future employer. The authors show that in Russia more productive students start working earlier and employment is more often connected with the future profession than in the Western countries. They suggest that the system of communication between education structures and employers should be established in order to inform the latter about the quality and features of education acquired.