Maksym Bryukhanov

Maksym worked, graduated (1999), defended his PhD (2006) and received the title of docent (2011) at Sumy State University. In parallel, he worked at Sumy National Agrarian University (2004-2006). The most important result of the work of that time was the preparation of two monographs devoted to the socio-economic problems of the information society.

He continuously improved his knowledge in summer schools (HESP, EERC). Higher School of Economics (Moscow) was an important step in his academic career. There, he quantitatively studied the relationship between the innate, parental and acquired factors in the economic behaviour of individuals. His works were published in such journals as Economics and Human Biology, Personality and Individual Differences, and Journal of Contemporary Religion.

Among Maksym’s pedagogical experiences, one could note the active teaching of the basics of economics using computers. His students won republican conferences (Kyiv School of Economics) and international competitions (People’s Friendship University of Russia), and were graduates of international Fulbright programs.

Returning to Sumy, Maksym found himself at an academic crossroads. How persistent are inequalities? Can education reduce not only the demand for government regulation, but also the gap in social capital between post-Soviet countries and the developed Western world? Does religion pacify preferences?  Some of the issues have already been solved, and the results have been published in the Journal of Gender Studies and the Scandinavian Journal of Economics. However, some research questions are still waiting for answers.