Vol. 14 No. 2 (41) (2023)

Continuous productivity growth is an important precondition for sustainable economic growth and social welfare improvement. In this context, it is important to elucidate the interaction of productivity improvement factors and determine its objectives.

The article focuses on the role of business environment and business dynamism as a key factor of ensuring a competitive business environment and productivity growth. According to "Global Competitiveness" report, the market structure in the world has changed over the past decades, and business dynamics indicates a downward trend. Although in 2018-2019 some improvement in business dynamism was shown in Armenia, it is quite low even at the level of the countries of the region. In Armenia, the slowdown trends in labor productivity growth (average growth rate - 5.5%), beginning since 2000, were further deepened as a result of economic shocks in 2020: the average growth rate in 2020, compared to 2019, decreased to 0.95% and it declined to 1.1% up to 2021, as compared with 2020. Under the conditions of inefficient mechanisms for the distribution of added value created in the economy, employees receive salaries below the equilibrium price, whereas they buy goods and services at a price above the equilibrium price.

Here, the total factor productivity (TFP) becomes extremely important as an indicator of the effectiveness of added value distribution among the participants of productivity factors. For an in-depth assessment of the interactions between economic growth and productivity, it is crucial to consider the indicators of GDP and productivity - TFP, labor productivity, as well as the growth rate of real wages in the context of their interdependence. Such approach will help to focus on the deep-seated tasks concerning the interaction between productivity and economic growth, the solution of which is important in the context of the modern imperative of economic development and the improvement of social welfare in RA.

The purpose of this article is to propose a comprehensive process of change implementation and management, taking into account the existing problems of the mentioned process in the analysed commercial banks of RA. In order to achieve the objective, analyses were conducted in 6 commercial banks. As a result of the analyses, the article presents a process for implementing and managing new or changing processes and products with sequential actions, then justifies and presents the mechanism for implementing each action. Given the multifactorial impact of recent geopolitical changes on the banking system, as well as the fact that commercial banks use individual factors of the Burke-Litwin model in the process of implementation and change management, it is appropriate to consider the problem in the context of three-level interrelated factors. Based on the results of the analysis, the fact that commercial banks use individual elements of the above model, considering them effective, it was proposed to implement change management in the banking system using the Burke-Litwin model, as it allows to consider the problem at three levels (transformational, transactional, individual) in a set of interrelated factors, with a systematic approach. Accordingly, the article presents a comprehensive process of change implementation and management.

In this study the relationships between inflation, economic growth, exchange rate and personal remmitancies from abroad in Armenia were estimated. Based on quarterly data of 1996–2023 years the study identifies and evaluates the relationships between the macroeconomic variables using vector autoregressive analysis (VAR) model. The dynamic impact of random shocks on these variables are also estimated. According to the estimations, over the short term period inflation has a positive impact on economic growth: 1% inflation in the current quarter contributes to 0.6% economic growth five quarters later. The remittances from abroad have a positive impact on inflation: a 1% increase in remittances from abroad in the current quarter will contribute to an increase in inflation by 0.03%. Economic growth has a negative impact on inflation: 1% economic growth will reduce inflation by 0.06% after five quarters.

The Granger Test indicates that economic growth and inflation are causing exchange rate fluctuations. In the short term, economic growth and inflation contribute to the appreciation of the Armenian dram. The effect of the economic growth variable's own shock is long-term, while that of inflation and the exchange rate is short-term. The effects of extrinsic shocks are weak. Based on the results of the dipersion analysis, the contribution of the own shock to the variation of economic growth and inflation is large. And the economic growth and inflation have a significant contribution to the variation of the exchange rate.

Complexity economics incorporates factors that are not accounted for in classical economic thought. With this paper, we intend to demonstrate the potential of using the complexity economics frame of reference by revisiting an existing model of the past, especially one that has been proven to be effective and, most importantly, could utilize the recent developments in advanced analytics as a tool to address a more realistic social milieu. We propose the introduction of more complex dynamics into an already existing model by using Deep-Learning-based NLP analysis of large news article data to fill in the action-reaction matrix for Richardson’s multilateral arms race model. By introducing said complex dynamics we also opened a discussion about the effect that media has on democratic societies’ military spending and concluded at the first level of analysis that media has a significant influence on the electorates’ decision-making of democratic nations in the matter of arms race and defense budgets. Also, we were able to demonstrate the final form of the augmented multilateral arms race model and its predictive capacity. We hope that our findings will encourage the use of advanced analytics in the framework of complexity analysis and improve the existing models’ performance via big data insights.

Over the past two decades, the role and importance of regional economic integration groupings in the world economy has increased. Starting from 2015 the Republic of Armenia is a member of the EAEU and applies the common customs tariffs of the EAEU in foreign trade. In the article the features of Armenia's foreign trade in general and within the framework of the EAEU are presented. In particular, it was substantiated that the application of the common customs tariffs of the EAEU would contribute to the development of local production in Armenia, the need for cooperation between companies of the EAEU member countries was emphasized, and it was also revealed that the Republic of Armenia exports products to the EAEU countries with greater added value than to other countries and regions. Liberalization of the services market within the EAEU can create additional opportunities for the development of the RA’s economy, since international trade in services in the RA is quite developed, this will increase competitiveness of the service sector in the RA. The analysis revealed that, despite all the difficulties, the foreign trade of the Republic of Armenia with the EAEU countries is developing, and membership in the EAEU can ensure stable economic growth of the RA economy in the long term.

The article presents the necessity, goal, tasks, and solutions for the introduction of a transitional experimental platform (regulatory sandbox) of digital technological financial services and products in the Republic of Armenia. Based on very capacious and broad interpretations of fintech, it is proposed to characterize this complex category with a set of characteristic criteria.

The article presents the structure of the regulation of the transitional experimental platform for digital technological financial services and products, and its key components: a) the objectives of the transitional experimental platform, b) mechanisms for launching and testing the provided and supervisory digital financial services and products on platform, c) criteria for implementing the platform regulation procedure, d) the procedure for providing fintech products and services to interested clients on the platform, e) organizational and technical requirements for the inclusion of fintech products and services for testing on the platform, f) regulations for reporting on digital financial services and products tested on the platform, g) the format of the conclusion based on the results of the evaluation of the regulation and supervision of digital financial services and products on the platform. The introduction of a regulatory sandbox will help reduce expected regulatory uncertainties and clarify issues related to the implementation of regulatory and supervisory functions.

In recent years the process of performance of any country in internal and external markets, as well as development in economic and other sectors, including security issues, the major role plays the application of information technologies (IT). The information technologies and the digitalization process in modern world plays strategic role for every country, including Armenia, because it creates the preconditions for optimal development of internal operating system within the country and its integration with other countries with the aim of co-operation in different spheres. Therefore, taking into account the tendencies of digitalization of economy, provision of measures of conformity with international standards is very important for raising the competitiveness and security of country. Based on this, the priority for any country is development of IT operations in internal and external environment. Specific significance in this context acquires the necessity of digitalization of different processes and operations in economic and business sector, state governance and public services. For that purpose, in scope of necessary measures stated in this article by author, are the following: a. to strengthen the cybersecurity measures in digital economy building operations in order to provide secure data transfer protocols, to create the systems of corelating cyberenvironment, and confidentiality measures. Logically, the main coordinator and responsible for all this process should be The Ministry of HighTech Industry of RA with the provision of correlated financial, technological, human and other necessary resources. b. it is vital to provide the corresponding trainings and explanative work within the society and governmental structures in order to digitalize and make more transparent the activity of importing and exporting business units, which play significant role in GDP and state revenues.