The article deals with the basic concepts of the formation and development of higher education system of the Republic of Kazakhstan. As well as the policies of redistribution of responsibilities of management in higher education system and its gradual decentralization that will not only distribute power and responsibility, but also introduce a more democratic form of government. Expand the autonomy institutions of higher education and ensure active public participation in the management of higher education institutions and the quality of its educational programs. One of the fundamental factors is to attract students to identify the competencies of employers, academic communities, graduates. Learning objectives at the same time should be determined in accordance with the professional requirements of the labor market.

The article analyzes the state and problems of cluster development in the real sector of the region based on the materials of the Pavlodar region. The main problem of innovative development of the Pavlodar region, as well as in all regions of Kazakhstan, in general, is the lack of innovative activity of enterprises, which is reflected in the volume, frequency and efficiency of their innovations. At the same time, most of the enterprises belonging to the real sector of the economy have sufficient resources for the development of innovative activity. However, the prospects for their interaction with enterprises in other sectors and sectors of the economy for the purpose of technology transfer are insignificant, which, in general, doesn’t meet the principles of balanced spatial development of the territory formulated by the program for the development of territories of the Republic of Kazakhstan until 2020. One of the ways to solve this problem is formation and development of a cluster approach and interaction of business entities. The article assesses the efficiency of the cluster’s functioning as an institution of regional development. On the example of the metallurgical cluster of Pavlodar region, the main ways and methods of forming cluster initiatives in the regional economy are considered, a SWOT analysis of the development of the metallurgical cluster of the region is given, and its main problems are identified; identifies priority directions of clusters’ development (metallurgical cluster, including the production of final products, the cluster of railway engineering, agri-food cluster), the realization of which in the region could create the conditions for the emergence and full development of a number of new highly specialized sectors such as cluster chemistry, cluster of road and construction machinery, transport logistics cluster, cluster of modern production technologies and engineering, cluster of manufacturing components for machinery and equipment and cluster of industrial electrical engineering and equipment for power engineering. The authors also noted that the realization of regional development strategies of cluster initiatives can potentially lay the foundations for clusters “future days”, such as: cluster of resource efficiency and environmentally processing, the cluster of new energy, the cluster of innovative medicine, tourism and recreational cluster.

The securities market is the most important instrument for financing and developing the economy of any state, including Kazakhstan. The main problem is to attract investments for enterprises in all sectors of the economy, as well as to ensure that enterprises have access to cheaper equity than bank loans. Purpose to identify the main trends in the development of the domestic securities market, to assess the level of its profitability. The article emphasizes the role of the securities market as the most important mechanism for the redistribution of funds between sectors of the economy. The securities market, as an integral part of the financial market, is gaining especially growing importance in the economy of Kazakhstan, as well as in the economy of the entire world community. When writing the article, traditional methods (comparison, description, and measurement), general logical methods and research techniques (analysis, generalization, etc.) were used. The article discusses the main theoretical approaches to determining the essence of the analyzed concept, attempts are made to formulate the main problems in the securities market, presents the results of the analysis of data characterizing the current state of the stock market of Kazakhstan. In essence, the securities market is a macroeconomic regulator of the state, through which opportunities are created to attract foreign and domestic capital. Thus, the securities market as an effective tool for attracting capital contributes to solving socio-economic problems. The author notes that the main theories about the state of the stock market are characterized by a superficial approach, as evidenced by the fact that none of them considers the internal structure of the stock market, which is the main tool for determining the patterns of changes in the value of financial instruments. It should also be noted that the choice of theory depends entirely on the perception and opinion of the relevant analyst. Singling out one theory as the only and most acceptable one would be wrong.