Zlokazova Yulia V.

The article describes researchers’ theoretical perceptions about shadow economic phenomena in the higher education system. The research relevance referrs to the hidden economic activity not only in the Russian higher education, but also in the educational systems of other countries in the world; the desire to counteract the education shadowization in the absence of the adequate theoretical explanations of these processes. Definitions of the shadow economy in higher education, formulated by representatives of various scientific schools, are considered. Shadow phenomena are shown as destructively affecting the society and nation, with their consequences having a definitely adverse impact on the well-being, development and opportunities of both individuals and the society as a whole. A retrospective review of the shadow economic phenomena in higher education provides for the conclusion that quite a number of criminal activities have existed since this level of education emerged. The research shows that the current scale of the shadow phenomena - the scope of distribution in the countries of the world, the measure of penetration into public relations - makes it possible to conclude that the influence of the shadow economic phenomena on individual, social and national security is quite serious. Subsequently, the conclusion is made on the lack of the unified and integral approaches to identification of the emergency causes of shadow economic phenomena. Owing to this, the need to generalize and systematize the theoretical concepts in the form of a unified explanation of shadow economic activity is actualized. The results obtained in the article explain the need for scientific research of the shadow economic phenomena in higher education. In particular, overcoming ideas fragmentation - through systematizing theoretical knowledge, developing a relevant research methodology - reviewing the existing methods and procedures of measuring and estimating the shadow phenomena.

The article discusses the influence of financial awareness level of the population of individual municipalities of St. Petersburg city and their irrational motives on the rational choice of goods. It is assumed that awareness of basic economic categories and understanding of market laws determine the individuals’ competent use of the available funds. It is emphasized that the level of financial awareness of the population is quite low. The concept of rational and irrational consumer behavior is determined, modern theoretical concepts of rational economic behavior and their specific features are also considered. The author specifies that the choice of an item and the decision to purchase it depend not only on economic factors, but also by non-economic ones the consumer’s preferences, their habits, fashion and others. Based on this, the assumption is made on the interdependence of the financial awareness level, the subjective reasons and the rationality of the choice of goods. A hypothesis is provided of the impact of financial illiteracy, including the inability to rationally assess income and costs, and the individual’s irrational economic actions on their economic security. The following describes the purpose, methods and techniques of empirical research of the given factors and their transformations influenced by the consumer financial awareness. The sample included 100 people living in Petergof town, “Sosnovaya Polyana” and “Admiralty District” municipalities in St. Petersburg, 45% were men. The impact of such variables as: a) financial awareness level and b) irrational consumption indicator is assessed. The research findings demonstrate that the consumers’ financial awareness level affects the rationality of the choice of goods, as well as the strategy of saving and accumulation. The results obtained actualize the need to improve the financial awareness of the population of municipalities in terms of consumer behavior, including in the context of the developing digital (internet) economy of the Russian regions.