To achieve the goal of the Latvia 2030 strategy – to be the leader in the EU in terms of preservation, replenishment and sustainable exploitation of natural capital –, it is required to address the role of the bioeconomy in Latvia. In order for the Bioeconomy Strategy of Latvia 2030 (LIBRA strategy) of Latvia to be sustainable and ensure efficient use of natural resources, it is necessary to apply an integrated approach to knowledge-based growth as well as to symbiotically integrate the other areas into agriculture, forestry and fisheries, observing the basic principles of a circular (sustainable) economy. Accordingly, under the Bioeconomy Strategy of Latvia 2030 the rural areas and regions have prospects for development. The research aim is to identify the proportion of the bioeconomy in the economy of Latvia at municipality level.

The social economy is a significant component of any economy, which generates economic and social benefits. In Latvia, however, there is no common understanding of the concept of a social economy and the economic actors. The aim is to examine the nature and challenges of the social economy concept in Latvia by giving insight into the historical evolution and nature of a social economy, challenges of defining a social economy and description of the actors of the social economy in Latvia. The study used monographic and descriptive methods, synthesis and deduction for information gathering, logical systematization and classification, as well as statistical analysis to describe the actors of social economy in Latvia. To obtain in-depth information about concept of social economy in Latvia, expert interviews were conducted. The research specifies social economy actors in Latvia context: associations, foundations, cooperatives and social enterprises. Social economy is an important part of economy, yet it is not fully assessed. In 2023 in Latvia, 27305 organizations operated in the social economy, and their number tended to increase in recent years. Most of the social economy actors (88%) represented associations. The social economy actors operate in different fields, yet the main ones were arts, entertainment and recreation (5144), real estate operations (3593) and agriculture, forestry and fishing (1108). However, the classification of associations and foundations by kind of activity does not provide accurate information, as many organizations have not indicated their field of activity or have specified “other services”.

Rabies has been a serious animal and public health threat in Latvia since 19th century. Foxes and raccoon dogs are main rabies virus reservoirs in Latvia since 1963. Oral vaccination of wildlife (ORV) has been recognized as an effective tool to eliminate rabies in several countries in Europe. Despite of the implementation of three different ORV strategies in Latvia since 1991 rabies cases are still detected. The aim of this study was to analyse cost efficiency of ORV strategies implemented in Latvia. The results of our study reveal that only large-scale ORV strategy decreased rabies cases continuously comparing to other strategies and is therefore considered as cost-effective.

The objective of the PhD Paper is to research the main factors, which influence the development of rural tourism and cause risks, and to work out the conceptual programme of risk management applicable in rural tourism enterprises in Latvia. In order to reach the objective, the following tasks are put forward: (1) research and evaluate the theoretical aspects of riskology, (2) analyse and evaluate the development of rural tourism in Latvia, (3) find out the factors, which promote and hinder the development of rural tourism enterprises in Latvia, emphasizing the main factors of risk, (4) work out the conceptual programme of risk management for rural tourism enterprises in Latvia.

The objective of the PhD Paper is to research the main factors, which influence the development of rural tourism and cause risks, and to work out the conceptual programme of risk management applicable in rural tourism enterprises in Latvia. In order to reach the objective, the following tasks are put forward: (1) research and evaluate the theoretical aspects of riskology, (2) analyse and evaluate the development of rural tourism in Latvia, (3) find out the factors, which promote and hinder the development of rural tourism enterprises in Latvia, emphasizing the main factors of risk, (4) work out the conceptual programme of risk management for rural tourism enterprises in Latvia.

The article considers the dynamics of international merchandise trade of Latvia and Ukraine (volumes of export and import of goods) in 2005–2020 with the use of UN Comtrade Database. The volumes of export and import of Latvia’s main international trading partners are given; the shares of partner countries in trade flows in 2021 are calculated. It is determined that Lithuania occupies a leading position among Latvia’s partner countries in export and import of goods. Data on international trade between Latvia and Ukraine, namely export and import of goods in 1994–2021, are presented. It is determined that international trade between Latvia and Ukraine has a steady development trend. The main goods exported from Latvia to Ukraine in 2021 are presented; their shares in the total volume of relevant international trade flows are calculated. The main goods imported to Latvia from Ukraine in 2021 are determined; their share in the total volume of import is calculated. Services are not included in any of the statistics presented here.

If among engineering phenomena exist nonlinear interconnections, they are expressed with help of corresponding nonlinear functions. Teaching the regression analysis for the engineering science students one of the important topic is method of Least Square Method (LSM) and their application in the nonlinear regression analysis. Based on experience at Latvia University of Agriculture, the illustrated approach of teaching of nonlinear regression topics for undergraduate students in engineering applications is presented. Teaching statistics on regression analysis, students usually have problems with interpretation of the transformed regression model parameters significance. The tasks of teaching using LSM in the nonlinear regression analysis are discussed. On the figure 1 regression dependence are shown between such sizes as age of pine-tree and his height. The main species in Latvia is pine-tree (47% from total Latvia forest area); growth of trees motion is stipulated by tips of growth circumstances (Statistical Yearbook of Latvia, 2005).

The solvency of an enterprise is one of the central problems that is tackled by the management of the enterprise during the entire period of doing business by the enterprise. The research aim is to examine exogenous factors affecting the solvency of enterprises in Latvia. The research novelty involves the identification and analysis of exogenous factors affecting the solvency of enterprises in Latvia in the period 2006–2015 by means of pairwise correlation analysis. The research concluded that the global economic crisis affected the solvency of enterprises in Latvia, yet since 2011 the situation has stabilised and the number of proclaimed insolvency cases reached the precrisis level – on average, 84 cases per 10 000 registered enterprises. In tackling insolvency problems in Latvia, entrepreneurs mainly preferred insolvency proceedings, in the result of which the economic activity of the enterprise was terminated. In the period of analysis in Latvia, only 1 % of entrepreneurs who underwent insolvency proceedings and 4 % of entrepreneurs who filed for legal protection proceedings were able to restore their solvency and continue their business. In the period 2006-2015 in Latvia, the solvency of enterprises was affected by: (1) socio-economic factors of the overall development of the country (GDP contraction, increase in unemployment and decrease in the number of the employed), (2) market factors (decrease in imports) and (3) other factors (negative demographic trends).

The PhD work is elaborated in the Faculty of Economics Department of Business and Management at the Latvia University of Agriculture, in a period of time from 2004 to 2007. There are findings of the research done by author from 1996 to 2007 included in this paper. The purpose of PhD work is to analyse the changes in Latvia vocational education system in the context of the Latvia regional development and elaborate methodological propositions for the forming and evaluation the scenarios of the development of Latvia vocational education system. The following tasks are subordinated to the purpose of the doctoral paper. 1. To appraise the theoretical aspects of the vocational education research and macro- factors influenced the development of the vocational education; to appraise the role of the vocational education in the process of the development of the EU. 2. To appraise the dynamics of the development of Latvia vocational education system from chronological as well as regional development point of view. 3. To analyse the changes in labour market in the context of the regional economy. To analyse present situation and changes in forecasting of future changes in labour market. 4. To analyse causality of the problems and tendencies of changes of Latvia vocational education system. 5. To design scenarios of the future development of Latvia vocational education system and develop the criteria for evaluation of these scenarios. 6. To analyse the criteria for evaluation scenarios of the future development of Latvia vocational education, as well as the scenarios. | Promocijas darbs izpildīts Latvijas Lauksaimniecības universitātes Ekonomikas fakultātes Uzņēmējdarbības un vadības katedrā no 2004.gada līdz 2007. gadam. Darbā ietvertie pētījumi veikti laikā no 1996. – 2007. gadam. Promocijas darba mērķis ir veikt Latvijas profesionālās izglītības sistēmas izmaiņu un pārmaiņu analīzi reģionālās attīstības skatījumā, un izstrādāt metodiskos priekšlikumus profesionālās izglītības sistēmas attīstības scenāriju veidošanai un novērtēšanai. Mērķim pakārtoti šādi uzdevumi: 1. Izvērtēt ar profesionālās izglītības pētniecības attīstību un makrovides ietekmi saistītos teorētiskos aspektus, t.sk. analizēt profesionālās izglītības vietu un lomu Eiropas Savienības attīstības procesā; izvērtēt scenāriju veidošanas teorētiskos pamatus; 2. Izvērtēt Latvijas profesionālās izglītības attīstības dinamiku hronoloģiskā un reģionālās ekonomikas skatījumā; 3. Analizēt darba tirgus pārmaiņas reģionālās ekonomikas kontekstā; izvērtēt situāciju darba tirgus kvalitatīvā un kvantitatīvā pieprasījuma prognozēšanā; 4. Analizēt Latvijas profesionālās izglītības sistēmas problēmu cēlonību un pārmaiņu tendences; 5. Izveidot un definēt vairākus profesionālās izglītības attīstības scenārijus, definēt to vērtēšanas kritērijus; 6. Analizēt profesionālās izglītības attīstības scenāriju vērtēšanas kritērijus un novērtēt profesionālās izglītības attīstības scenārijus.

The aim of the paper - to research the development of rural entrepreneurship environment in order to determine the characteristics of a successful enterprise and to choose the most appropriate model for rural entrepreneurs. To realize this aim, the following tasks are proposed: (1) to explore, analyze and evaluate the concept of entrepreneurship and the development of the environment for entrepreneurship in Latvia and in selected EU countries;(2) to organize a Latvia-wide sociological survey to discover the factors that promote successful rural entrepreneurship and the characteristics of a successful enterprise;(3) to ascertain the readiness of rural entrepreneurs in Latvia to cooperate in order to reach common goals;(4) to research and analyze approaches for achieving cooperation among rural entrepreneurs in selected EU countries, Canada and the United States;(5) to compare selected forms of cooperation used by rural entrepreneurs and to choose the most appropriate one for Latvia.