The paper considers the main directions and results of the scientific and organizational activities of the Institute of economics of the CS MES RK for 2018-2020. The material reflects the topics of the Institute’s programoriented and grant research. The main results of scientific research conducted over a 3-year cycle included the following areas: assessment of the factors of the formation of a knowledge-based economy and the development of a methodology for its analysis and measurement in Kazakhstan; analysis and assessment of the export potential of knowledge-based products in Kazakhstan; development of forecast scenarios for the development of traditional and new industries in the knowledge-intensive economy; justification of the directions of export diversification in Kazakhstan; determination of localization prerequisites and development of methods for assessing the potential of local knowledge-intensive sectors; identification of the features of the formation of innovative human capital in Kazakhstan and ensuring its professional renewal; development of priorities for a new quality of life of the population in the conditions of an innovative economy and modernization of public consciousness; development of sectors and industries of the knowledge-based economy in the context of the third technological modernization and Industry 4.0; development of the digital infrastructure of research and development; justification of the digital social research model of the Institute of economics, creation and testing of a prototype of an information system, etc.

The purpose of the study is to develop institutional approaches to managing the quality of life of the population in the Republic of Kazakhstan. To achieve the goal of the study, there is carried out a theoretical and methodological substantiation of institutional mechanisms for improving the quality of life of the population in the work. Along with indicators for assessing the effectiveness of institutions, it is proposed to use additional criteria that reflect specific rules for the functioning of institutions. Institutions and their instruments of influence on the quality of life of the population are systematized. At the same time, the main attention in the article is paid to the study of the role of the state in regulating the quality of life of the population. The components of the system of state regulation of the quality of life are shown, its main mechanisms are described. To assess the social policy in the field of improving the quality of life of the population, an analysis of state programs and strategies was carried out. To fill the identified «gaps», proposals, priorities and prerequisites of institutional mechanisms for improving the quality of life of the population of Kazakhstan, adapted to modern conditions, were developed and substantiated.
The results of the study can be used by the relevant government bodies in the process of improving legislation in the field of implementing the social policy of the Republic of Kazakhstan, as well as by scientists, doctoral students and undergraduates engaged in researching the problems of improving the quality of life in Kazakhstan.

Today, the global world is characterized by active development and widespread penetration of information and communication technologies into various spheres of life. This trend has also influenced the ways and formats of doing business: today, e-commerce is already actively developing, which has provided new development prospects for business in the form of savings on transaction costs, the ability to access global markets without the need to be present on the spot, etc.
The purpose of the article is to identify barriers to the development of the e-commerce market in the Republic of Kazakhstan and develop proposals for their elimination. The article examines the problems and reasons for the insufficient level of development of e-commerce in Kazakhstan by analyzing the state of the e-commerce market and the main factors that determine the pace of its development. The reasons for low entrepreneurial activity in the investigated market are identified, with the definition of legal, infrastructural and other barriers to development. The research results can be used as a basis for regulating the e-commerce market. In particular, they results can be used to develop and implement programs to stimulate entrepreneurial activity in the e-commerce market and improve its infrastructure.

The purpose of the study is to explore existing literature on quality management tools applicable in higher education and identify major critical factors of TQM adapted from the business sector. A major part of the research focuses on an exploratory literature review of the most well-known existing business quality management tools applicable to higher education.
Design/methodology/approach – An exploratory literature review was conducted using a well-known, highly respected database “Web of Science Core Collection”.
Findings – The presented study offers a deep literature analysis of effective practices for implementing quality management tools in higher education.
The practical value of the paper is university administrators and quality managers can apply it as guidelines in selecting the best cases of quality techniques applicable in their organizations for strategic development, university performance and quality improvement.
The originality of the paper - is it can serve as a theoretical guideline for regional academics, scholars and university managers and administrators to define an appropriate quality management tool to meet requirements of external stakeholders (employers).

The development of the tourism sector in Kazakhstan can be facilitated by the optimization of its management on the basis of public-private partnership, as one of the most effective forms of mobilizing the state and business to solve the problems of tourism development.
The article provides a comprehensive analysis of the theoretical foundations of the mechanism of public-private partnership and the specifics of public-private partnership in tourism, in particular. Based on the analysis of foreign, Russian and domestic sources, a number of approaches to the formulation of the term «public-private partnership» were identified. The advantages of partnership for the state and business in the field of tourism are determined.
The purpose of the study is theoretical review of the role and significance of public-private partnerships for the development of the tourism industry and the design of a conceptual model of public-private partnerships in tourism.
The result of the research was the design of a conceptual model of public-private partnership for the tourism industry, which can serve as a theoretical and methodological basis for the implementation of a strategic course for the development of the tourism industry. The research results can be used in the development of state and regional programs for the development of the tourism industry.

The article examines the current state and economic trends in the functioning of the tourism industry of Pavlodar region. The object of the research is the economy of the Pavlodar region. In the course of the study, attention is focused on the dynamics of the nominal and real contribution of the tourism industry to the regional economy, the territorial distribution of tourism services and their structure in the context of types, trends in employment and labor productivity in the industry, production capacity and the state of their fixed capital. When assessing the real contribution of the tourism industry to the development of the regional economy, the dynamics of demand for tourism services from individuals and legal entities was investigated. For the development of the tourism industry in the region, an integrated analytical assessment of strategic investments has been made. Implementation of the developed investment policy makes it possible to significantly increase the volume of tourism services in the region, to strengthen the trends in the industry’s contribution to the economy. The results of the research can be used in the system of activities of regional, regional departments of tourism and sports in the Republic of Kazakhstan.

The article discusses modern trends in the formation of economic and organizational foundations for the construction and development of the digital economy in Kazakhstan considering the ongoing market reforms. The object of the research is the trends in the digitalization of the economy. The subject of the research is the economic and organizational foundations of digitalization. Particular attention is focused on the fundamental foundations of the transformation of the economy from a traditional type to an economy based on digital information, the production of Internet of things. As part of the research, the trends in the functioning of the leading subsectors of the digital economy, such as the production of computers, digital equipment, digital goods and services, and software have analyzed. The assessment of the direct contribution of digitalization processes to the GDP of the Republic of Kazakhstan and economic growth was also carried out. As the leading organizational foundations for the construction and development of the digital economy, the infrastructural foundations of providing the economy with digital communications are identified and analyzed, the trends in the formation of the institutional foundations of digital business and entrepreneurship based on the use of the global Internet and its derivatives in the system of business processes of Kazakhstani enterprises, firms, companies are discussed. The study, on the one hand, allows us to form a general comprehensive understanding of the current state of formation and functioning of the digital economy of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the types of functioning digital markets, and on the other hand, it allows us to determine the totality of existing potential problems and reserves for the development of digitalization of the economic system in the near strategic perspective. The main research methods were analytical and synthetic, statistical, computational, and analytical research methods, the method of hypotheses.

This paper aims to examine the spread of social tools of Islamic finance before and after the Covid-19 pandemic in Kazakhstan, as the country where Islamic finance is most promoted in the region. As a result of the absence of official and centralized information, the research has been done on an internet-based survey. The results of the research have been based on the stratified sample of 1252 respondents before and after the emergency was declared in Kazakhstan as a result of the global Covid-19 pandemic. The authors applied SPSS statistics and survey-based indicators.
The findings revealed the depth of awareness of social tools of Islamic finance, understanding of the main principles of Zakat and Sadaqah and difference of them. It was found that the age of the respondents has positive effects on the periodicity and amount of the donations. Furthermore, the results showed that the absence of a centralized system of charity in the country and the mistrust of intermediaries inhibit the development of Islamic finance instruments and lead to donations directly to needy people. The major constraints impeding Islamic social finance include the underdevelopment of Islamic finance as a value-based financial system.
Islamic social finance tools could be both a resource and a solution for solving sustainability issues during and after the pandemic period in the country. The authors identified the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the structure of the charity projects, on the increase of the demand for financial assistance by individuals and the income decrease of the donators.

Тhe scientific article considered the scientific and theoretical foundations of small business organization in the economy of Kazakhstan, identified the role of small business in reducing youth unemployment, and conducted an economic assessment of the share of small business in the total number of economic entities.
The methodology for calculating small business indicators defines the main aspects and methods of obtaining official statistical information for calculating indicators that characterize the activities of small businesses in order to assess the contribution of this sector to the country’s economy. The purpose of this methodology is to analyze and evaluate the economic development of small and medium-sized businesses in the Republic of Kazakhstan. This method is used by the Committee on statistics of the Ministry of national economy of the Republic of Kazakhstan and its territorial bodies in the formation of indicators of small and medium-sized businesses, and we found it appropriate to use in this study.
The value of the study lies in a comprehensive quantitative and qualitative analysis of the share of small business and the increasing role of small business in reducing youth unemployment.
The research results include the development of methodological and theoretical provisions on the development of small business in the modern economy, as well as proposals for their implementation.
The authors have defined the methodological basis for the economic assessment of the share of small business, the role and features of small business development in reducing youth unemployment and youth employment.
The purpose of the study is a theoretical consideration of the economic foundations of small business in economy of Kazakhstan, defining the role of small entrepreneurship in reducing youth unemployment, economic assessment of the share of small entrepreneurship number of entities.

The article is devoted to economic category “wealth” in order to understand the necessity to use the fundamental basis, experience of advanced countries, unique opportunities in the development of intangible assets and intellectual property as new sources of socio-economic development of a person, enterprise and world nations including Kazakhstan. The goal of the manuscript is to determine ways of a nation and human wealth creation under the new environment of the Fourth technological revolution. To reach the purpose the analysis of theoretical states in the field, clarification the content of the category “wealth” in modern literature, the methodology for estimating the world wealth, classification of world countries by the level of wealth per capita, the place of Kazakhstan in the international welfare ranking have been shown. Characteristics of the financial well-being of the population, the structure of income in the Republic of Kazakhstan, the role of knowledge in the post-industrial society, nowadays transformation into the factor of production and practical application have been revealed. Correlation of tangible and intangible assets, types of intellectual property for capitalization, the human and social capital in the system of human wellbeing have been proved. The practical and theoretical value of the research described in the article consists in classifying sources of wealth according to existing methodologies, identifying new sources determined by the capabilities of the Internet, computer and digital technologies of post-industrial society.

Financial development, which is considered to be one of the reasons for economic growth, is one of the issues discussed in the literature in recent years. Financial development is defined as the increase in the financial instruments used in a country and the intensity of the use of these instruments. More generally, it is also possible to define the size of the financial system and the change in size and quality and quantity. The history of theoretical and empirical studies on whether there is a causal relationship between financial development and economic growth goes back to ancient times. The concepts of economic growth and economic development are important for both developed and developing countries at the beginning of each period. Because these concepts are not only economic, but also a longterm process involving social and political parameters.
The idea that financial market development can be a policy tool in increasing economic growth accelerated the development of financial markets. However, the relationship between financial market development and economic growth has led to controversy. To reveal the direction of causality between financial development and economic growth is very important in terms of determining policy to increase economic growth. However, although the empirical studies on this issue are different in terms of results, there is no consensus on the direction of causality.
The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between financial development and economic growth for the transition economies through the panel Granger causality test developed by Dumitrescu and Hurlin (2012). The annual data used covers the period 1995-2018. As a result of the study, a one - way causality relationship was found in transition economies from financial development to economic growth. This result shows that the hypothesis of supply prediction in these countries is valid.

This article provides a comparative analysis of the social policies of the EAEU member states during the 2020 corona virus pandemic. The key directions of social policy are considered, a review of the effectiveness of social measures to protect the population is carried out. As part of the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, the governments of the EAEU member states have taken a set of measures to overcome the crisis and provide social support to the population. The authors of the article carried out a comparative analysis of the effectiveness of the social policy aimed at supporting the population during a pandemic. A comparative analysis of the social policy pursued by the EAEU member countries during the pandemic showed the presence of a single set of social support measures. These are, first of all, payments for unemployment and disability, payments to families with children, subsidies for housing and communal payments, and preferential loans. The country specificity is characterized by the amount of benefits provided and the criteria for selecting the objects of granting benefits. The need to provide support measures for the population for a long time, due to the general situation with coronavirus in the world, puts significant pressure on the state budgets of countries and can lead to an increase in public debt and aggravation of general economic problems.