This article is devoted to investigation of role of financial literacy and socio-psychological factors in borrowing and debt behavior. Topicality of the problem is caused by necessity to understand the causes, except economic, leading to delays in debt repayment and therefore increasing debt burden. This work presents the basic theoretical approaches to the problem of debtors, debt behavior concepts and connections between debt behavior, financial literacy, social and demographic characteristics and personality traits in accordance with the results of international research. Results of empirical investigation are presented, which reflect differences in financial literacy and socio-psychological characteristics of non-borrowers, borrowers and debtors. In conclusion, debtors do not differ from borrowers, who pay their bills in due course, by social and demographic characteristics, but there is a significant difference in their psychological characteristics. Debtors demonstrate higher tolerance to debts and irrationality in debt behavior and lower level of conscientiousness than non-borrowers and borrowers/payers. Non-borrowers do not differ significantly from borrowers/payers in psychological characteristics but differ significantly from them in socio-demographic characteristics and financial literacy. Results got by the authors are in agreement with the data obtained in Russian and foreign scientific researches.

This contribution aims at charting the topicality of gold in the shaping of US foreign financial and commercial relations from the Great Slump (Great Depression 1929-1939) through to the US balance of payments in the second half of the 1950s up to the eve of the international gold crisis of 1968. Through an analysis of the US foreign economic policy, the paper dissects this interrelation between US foreign trade and gold policy. Unlike the interwar years, the post-war decades from the 1950s to the 1960s were marked by a negative correlation between transnational gold movements, the US balance of payments deficit, the teetering of the US currency in international exchange markets, and international trade and monetary integration.

This essay suggests replacement of all current monetary theories with a “Price Theory of Monies” (PTM). The PTM specifies four monetary functions: (1) Medium of Exchange, (2) Unit of Accounting, (3) Store of Value, and (4) Measure of Relative Values. The first three functions correspond with macroeconomic textbook counterparts. The Measure of Relative Values function, in contrast, corresponds with money in microeconomic analysis. Combination of all four monetary functions yields a theory without need for the microeconomics-macroeconomics dichotomy characteristic of conventional economic theory since the early 20th century. It is impossible for any single money to simultaneously fulfill all four monetary functions because the “Measure of Relative Value” is restricted to an intangible money, whereas the other three monetary functions require tangible monies. Application of the PTMs to monies today reveals that monies and credit instruments are distinct. In addition, non-credit-monies are distinct from credit-monies. Finally, trust plays a critical role in establishment and maintenance of market values of all tangible monies as well as market values of all credit instruments.

The continuing cold war due to oil (its politicization and the profound military involvement), subsequently, the re-grouping of nations based on ideology was inter-changed with re-alignment among producers and transit states either in alliance with Russia as resource broker versus the umbrella group of American and Western conglomerates. Fuel conflict in current parlance - as nations of limited resources must secure supply at all cost (part of national security); EU, in particular, in jittery over Russian supply cut-off wants to partly replace with Caspian and Middle East oil transiting via the Mediterranean, Black Sea and Indian Ocean. Second, as nations of bountiful reserves are in competition to dominate world energy trade and the intention to manage market demand; in particular, petro-state Russia shall sustain supplier status or energy card (supply, transport, distribution) to reassert regional power after Cold War defeat. Third, powers’ volition to secure enormous supply to establish leadership among worldwide energy buyers (indirect hegemony), America, in particular, struggled for supply security and pursued unilateralism -to sustain her ‘informal empire’ on finance, control of raw materials and international trade; hence, the control of the world energy spigot and transit routes which entail solid alliance among re-transit and consuming states, i. e. Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Israel, Georgia, Ukraine rallying under American flag aspired to weaken Russian fuel business.

The question of the exit of Britain from the membership of the European Union has become widely discussed for the last two years, because the leading and developing countries are interested in this issue from both political and economical sides. The purpose of the given work is the analysis of probable economic consequences of “Brexit” for Britain and also for Asian countries, such as China and Japan. The result of the work is the conclusion that Britain has stumbled on the duality in problem solving of the exit from the European Union; we can find drawbacks and advantages in all searching spheres of this topic. Economic measurements collapsed after the day of referendum and it is unknown what else the British economy and the whole world economy can expect after the exit the country from the European Union. The main tool of my research was the informational agency Bloomberg, which has the huge amount of data on this subject.

This article discusses the tax reform in the DRC with respect to value added tax, which has replaced the sales tax, otherwise known as turnover tax. The author highlights the advantages and disadvantages of VAT from the point of view of different opinions.

In this research we try to explain the dual character of the monetary system of the Luso-Brazilian Empire brought about by the introduction of a parallel, or complementary, currency in Brazil by the end of the XVII century. The simultaneous circulation of ‘provincial’ and ‘national’ coins can explain why these units of exchange did not act as both store and standard of value. Money had not only a hierarchy character according the value of payments (gold, silver and copper) but also the mint policy varied in the different areas of circulation. This implied that not all these coins were hoarded or obtained the same status on international market. Nevertheless, since the 17th century we have an evolution that we need to recognize and understand. This implied that ‘provincial’ money as a concept had an evolution and other attributes to make this money broadly acceptable as units of exchange. Which are the convergence of mechanisms that explain the emergence and consolidation of a money economy in the Portuguese Empire? We will analyse the monetary relations between Brazil and Portugal and the time span is since the 17th century until the 19th century.