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The paper considers a method for studying panel data based on the use of agglomerative hierarchical clustering — grouping objects based on the similarities and differences in their features into a hierarchy of clusters nested into each other. We used 2 alternative methods for calculating Euclidean distances between objects — the distance between the values averaged over observation interval, and the distance using data for all considered years. Three alternative methods for calculating the distances between clusters were compared. In the first case, the distance between the nearest elements from two clusters is considered to be distance between these clusters, in the second — the average over pairs of elements, in the third — the distance between the most distant elements. The efficiency of using two clustering quality indices, the Dunn and Silhouette index, was studied to select the optimal number of clusters and evaluate the statistical significance of the obtained solutions. The method of assessing statistical reliability of cluster structure consisted in comparing the quality of clustering on a real sample with the quality of clustering on artificially generated samples of panel data with the same number of objects, features and lengths of time series. Generation was made from a fixed probability distribution. At the same time, simulation methods imitating Gaussian white noise and random walk were used. Calculations with the Silhouette index showed that a random walk is characterized not only by spurious regression, but also by “spurious clustering”. Clustering was considered reliable for a given number of selected clusters if the index value on the real sample turned out to be greater than the value of the 95% quantile for artificial data. A set of time series of indicators characterizing production in the regions of the Russian Federation was used as a sample of real data. For these data only Silhouette shows reliable clustering at the level p < 0.05. Calculations also showed that index values for real data are generally closer to values for random walks than for white noise, but it have significant differences from both. Since three-dimensional feature space is used, the quality of clustering was also evaluated visually. Visually, one can distinguish clusters of points located close to each other, also distinguished as clusters by the applied hierarchical clustering algorithm.

The article examines the impact of non-market actions of participants in oligopolistic markets on the market structure. The following actions of one of the market participants aimed at increasing its market share are analyzed: 1) price manipulation; 2) blocking investments of stronger oligopolists; 3) destruction of produced products and capacities of competitors. Linear dynamic games with a quadratic criterion are used to model the strategies of oligopolists. The expediency of their use is due to the possibility of both an adequate description of the evolution of markets and the implementation of two mutually complementary approaches to determining the strategies of oligopolists: 1) based on the representation of models in the state space and the solution of generalized Riccati equations; 2) based on the application of operational calculus methods (in the frequency domain) which owns the visibility necessary for economic analysis.

The article shows the equivalence of approaches to solving the problem with maximin criteria of oligopolists in the state space and in the frequency domain. The results of calculations are considered in relation to a duopoly, with indicators close to one of the duopolies in the microelectronic industry of the world. The second duopolist is less effective from the standpoint of costs, though more mobile. Its goal is to increase its market share by implementing the non-market methods listed above.

Calculations carried out with help of the game model, made it possible to construct dependencies that characterize the relationship between the relative increase in production volumes over a 25-year period of weak and strong duopolists under price manipulation. Constructed dependencies show that an increase in the price for the accepted linear demand function leads to a very small increase in the production of a strong duopolist, but, simultaneously, to a significant increase in this indicator for a weak one.

Calculations carried out with use of the other variants of the model, show that blocking investments, as well as destroying the products of a strong duopolist, leads to more significant increase in the production of marketable products for a weak duopolist than to a decrease in this indicator for a strong one.

The article considers the problem of forecasting the number of employed and unemployed persons in a multisectoral labor market using a balance mathematical model of labor force intersectoral dynamics.

The balance mathematical model makes it possible to calculate the values of intersectoral dynamics indicators using only statistical data on sectoral employment and unemployment provided by the Federal State Statistics Service. Intersectoral dynamics indicators of labor force calculated for several years in a row are used to build trends for each of these indicators. The found trends are used to calculation of forecasted intersectoral dynamics indicators of labor force. The sectoral employment and unemployment of researched multisectoral labor market is forecasted based on values these forecasted indicators.

The proposed approach was applied to forecast the employed persons in the economic sectors of the Russian Federation in 2011–2016. The following types of trends were used to describe changes of intersectoral dynamics indicators values: linear, non-linear, constant. The procedure for selecting trends is clearly demonstrated by the example of indicators that determine the labor force movements from the “Transport and communications” sector to the “Healthcare and social services” sector, as well as from the “Public administration and military security, social security” sector to the “Education” sector.

Several approaches to forecasting was compared: a) naive forecast, within which the labor market indicators was forecasted only using a constant trend; b) forecasting based on a balance model using only a constant trend for all intersectoral dynamics indicators of labor force; c) forecasting directly by the number employed persons in economic sectors using the types of trends considered in the article; d) forecasting based on a balance model with the trends choice for each intersectoral dynamics indicators of labor force.

The article shows that the use of a balance model provides a better forecast quality compared to forecasting directly by the number of employed persons. The use of trends in intersectoral dynamics indicators improves the quality of the forecast. The article also provides analysis examples of the multisectoral labor market in the Russian Federation. Using the balance model, the following information was obtained: the labor force flows distribution outgoing from concrete sectors by sectors of the economy; the sectoral structure of the labor force flows ingoing in concrete sectors. This information is not directly contained in the data provided by the Federal State Statistics Service.

The paper present a dynamic macro model of world dynamics. The world is divided into 19 geographic regions in the model. The internal development of the regions is described by regression equations for demographic and economic indicators (Population, Gross Domestic Product, Gross Capital Formation). The bilateral trade flows from region to region describes interregional interactions and represented the trade submodel. Time, the gross product of the exporter and the gross product of the importer were used as regressors. Four types were considered: time pair regression — dependence of trade flow on time, export function — dependence of the share of trade flow in the gross product of the exporter on the gross product of the importer, import function — dependence of the share of trade flow in the gross product of the importer on the gross product of the exporter, multiple regression — dependence of trade flow on the gross products of the exporter and importer. Two types of functional dependence were used for each type: linear and log-linear, in total eight variants of the trading equation were studied. The quality of regression models is compared by the coefficient of determination. By calculations the model satisfactorily approximates the dynamics of monotonically changing indicators. The dynamics of non-monotonic trade flows is analyzed, three types of functional dependence on time are proposed for their approximation. It is shown that the number of foreign trade series can be approximated by the space of seven main components with a 10% error. The forecast of regional development and global dynamics up to 2040 is constructed.

Laminar-turbulent transition is the subject of an active research related to improvement of economic efficiency of air vehicles, because in the turbulent boundary layer drag increases, which leads to higher fuel consumption. One of the directions of such research is the search for efficient methods, that can be used to find the position of the transition in space. Using this information about laminar-turbulent transition location when designing an aircraft, engineers can predict its performance and profitability at the initial stages of the project. Traditionally, $e^N$ method is applied to find the coordinates of a laminar-turbulent transition. It is a well known approach in industry. However, despite its widespread use, this method has a number of significant drawbacks, since it relies on parallel flow assumption, which limits the scenarios for its application, and also requires computationally expensive calculations in a wide range of frequencies and wave numbers. Alternatively, flow analysis can be done by using Dynamic Mode Decomposition, which allows one to analyze flow disturbances using flow data directly. Since Dynamic Mode Decomposition is a dimensionality reduction method, the number of computations can be dramatically reduced. Furthermore, usage of Dynamic Mode Decomposition expands the applicability of the whole method, due to the absence of assumptions about the parallel flow in its derivation.

The presented study proposes an approach to finding the location of a laminar-turbulent transition using the Dynamic Mode Decomposition method. The essence of this approach is to divide the boundary layer region into sets of subregions, for each of which the transition point is independently calculated, using Dynamic Mode Decomposition for flow analysis, after which the results are averaged to produce the final result. This approach is validated by laminar-turbulent transition predictions of subsonic and supersonic flows over a 2D flat plate with zero pressure gradient. The results demonstrate the fundamental applicability and high accuracy of the described method in a wide range of conditions. The study focuses on comparison with the $e^N$ method and proves the advantages of the proposed approach. It is shown that usage of Dynamic Mode Decomposition leads to significantly faster execution due to less intensive computations, while the accuracy is comparable to the such of the solution obtained with the $e^N$ method. This indicates the prospects for using the described approach in a real world applications.

The paper considers the basic model of competitive interactions and its use for the analysis and description of social processes. The peculiarity of the model is that it describes the interaction of several competing actors, while actors can vary the strategy of their actions, in particular, form coalitions to jointly counter a common enemy. As a result of modeling, various modes of competitive interaction were identified, their classification was conducted, and their features were described. In the course of the study, the attention is paid to the so-called “rough” (according to A.A. Andronov) cases of the implementation of competitive interaction, which until now have rarely been considered in the scientific literature, but are quite common in real life. Using a basic mathematical model, the conditions for the implementation of various modes of competitive interactions are considered, the conditions for the transition from one mode to another are determined, examples of the implementation of these modes in the economy, social and political life are given. It is shown that with a relatively low level of competition, which is non-antagonistic in nature, competition can lead to an increase in the activity of interacting actors and to overall economic growth. Moreover, in the presence of expanding resource opportunities (as long as such opportunities remain), this growth may have a hyperbolic character. With a decrease in resource capabilities and increased competition, there is a transition to an oscillatory mode, when weaker actors unite to jointly counteract stronger ones. With a further decrease in resource opportunities and increased competition, there is a transition to the formation of stable hierarchical structures. At the same time, the model shows that at a certain moment there is a loss of stability, the system becomes “rough” according to A.A. Andronov and sensitive to fluctuations in parameter changes. As a result, the existing hierarchies may collapse and be replaced by new ones. With a further increase in the intensity of competition, the actor-leader completely suppresses his opponents and establishes monopolism. Examples from economic, social, and political life are given, illustrating the patterns identified on the basis of modeling using the basic model of competition. The obtained results can be used in the analysis, modeling and forecasting of socioeconomic and political processes.

An approach to computation of open-loop optimal Nash–Cournot strategies in dynamical games which is based on the Z-transform method and factorization is proposed. The main advantage of the proposed approach is that it permits to overcome the problems of instability of economic indicators of oligopolies arising when generalized Riccati equations are used.

Studies of the crisis socio-demographic situation in the Russian Far East require not only the use of traditional statistical methods, but also a conceptual analysis of possible development scenarios based on the synergy principles. The article is devoted to the analysis and modeling of the number of employed, unemployed and economically inactive population using nonlinear autonomous differential equations. We studied a basic mathematical model that takes into account the principle of pair interactions, which is a special case of the model for the struggle between conditional information of D. S. Chernavsky. The point estimates for the parameters are found using least squares method adapted for this model. The average approximation error was no more than 5.17%. The calculated parameter values correspond to the unstable focus and the oscillations with increasing amplitude of population number in the asymptotic case, which indicates a gradual increase in disparities between the employed, unemployed and economically inactive population and a collapse of their dynamics. We found that in the parametric space, not far from the inertial scenario, there are domains of blow-up and chaotic regimes complicating the ability to effectively manage. The numerical study showed that a change in only one model parameter (e.g. migration) without complex structural socio-economic changes can only delay the collapse of the dynamics in the long term or leads to the emergence of unpredictable chaotic regimes. We found an additional set of the model parameters corresponding to sustainable dynamics (stable focus) which approximates well the time series of the considered population groups. In the mathematical model, the bifurcation parameters are the outflow rate of the able-bodied population, the fertility (“rejuvenation of the population”), as well as the migration inflow rate of the unemployed. We found that the transition to stable regimes is possible with the simultaneous impact on several parameters which requires a comprehensive set of measures to consolidate the population in the Russian Far East and increase the level of income in terms of compensation for infrastructure sparseness. Further economic and sociological research is required to develop specific state policy measures.

The article proposes a space-time approach to modeling the diffusion of information and communication technologies based on the Fisher –Kolmogorov– Petrovsky – Piskunov equation, in which the diffusion kinetics is described by the Bass model, which is widely used to model the diffusion of innovations in the market. For this equation, its equilibrium positions are studied, and based on the singular perturbation theory, was obtained an approximate solution in the form of a traveling wave, i. e. a solution that propagates at a constant speed while maintaining its shape in space. The wave speed shows how much the “spatial” characteristic, which determines the given level of technology dissemination, changes in a single time interval. This speed is significantly higher than the speed at which propagation occurs due to diffusion. By constructing such an autowave solution, it becomes possible to estimate the time required for the subject of research to achieve the current indicator of the leader.

The obtained approximate solution was further applied to assess the factors affecting the rate of dissemination of information and communication technologies in the federal districts of the Russian Federation. Various socio-economic indicators were considered as “spatial” variables for the diffusion of mobile communications among the population. Growth poles in which innovation occurs are usually characterized by the highest values of “spatial” variables. For Russia, Moscow is such a growth pole; therefore, indicators of federal districts related to Moscow’s indicators were considered as factor indicators. The best approximation to the initial data was obtained for the ratio of the share of R&D costs in GRP to the indicator of Moscow, average for the period 2000–2009. It was found that for the Ural Federal District at the initial stage of the spread of mobile communications, the lag behind the capital was less than one year, for the Central Federal District, the Northwestern Federal District — 1.4 years, for the Volga Federal District, the Siberian Federal District, the Southern Federal District and the Far Eastern Federal District — less than two years, in the North Caucasian Federal District — a little more 2 years. In addition, estimates of the delay time for the spread of digital technologies (intranet, extranet, etc.) used by organizations of the federal districts of the Russian Federation from Moscow indicators were obtained.

The article reveals the necessity of introduction of new economic category such as “insurance capital”. Insurance activity generates a specific kind of capital (as a production factor) – the guarantee fund, which is called “primary insurance monetary capital". The article establishes that, due to its probabilistic and statistical nature, the insurance capital has a number of specific features in addition to conventional characteristics of capital as a production factor. Basing on probabilistic-statistical model author investigates the role of insurance capital in the formation of price for insurance services. In particular, the author exposes that the law of diminishing returns is not universal when talking about insurance capital.