Theoretical Approaches to the Regulation of Bioeconomy

The development of science and technology, as well as the introduction of innovations into the production sphere, have led to the emergence of such a phenomenon as the bioeconomy. At the present time, there is no versatile definition of the concept of bioeconomy either at the national level or at the level of interstate integration associations and international organizations. To analyze the key features of the concept of bioeconomy and to identify the main approaches to the essence of this phenomenon. This is important for the understanding of directions of development of the regulatory environment in relation to bioeconomy in the Russian Federation. The article analyzes the definitions of the concept of bioeconomy at the level of the International Advisory Council on Bioeconomy (IACB), the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the European Union (EU), and individual states. The author examines a range of approaches to regulating bioeconomy. The research is based on formal-logical, dogmatic methods, the comparison method and the axiological approach. The paper presents approaches to the concept of bioeconomy as a phenomenon. The author analyzes how bioeconomy relates to the circular economy (closed-loop economy) and the linear (traditional) economy. The article presents a range of approaches to the regulation of bioeconomy through the lens of proactive law and proposes a mechanism for its regulation with the help of a symbiotic regulator. The main elements of such a reg ulator are referred to in the article. They include normative regulation, the presence of ef fectively functioning organizational structures, and properly functioning processes of interaction between organizational structures and entities. The author examines a regulation method entitled ‘ethical licensing’, highlights its advantages and disadvantages, and gives recommendation on the subsequent use of this method. Due to its complex nature, bioeconomy as a phenomenon requires specific approaches to its regulation.