Home – Home – Jornals – Region: Economics and Sociology 2009 number 3

The paper explores correlation between the structure of a mesa-economic system and institutional features. Having analyzed the spatial context of small business and having compared the innovation company clusters of different managerial types, we can state that institutional environment and a type of mesa-economic system proved to be interrelated. We also identified the factors and models of business clusters.

The paper considers the methodology of systemic regional studies including the peculiarities of the object and method of analysis; identifies the reasons of mismatching a basic model of regional studies and the most critical regional problems, and describes the contradiction between the new objectives of regional development, on the one hand, and Russian regional policy, on the other hand. The paper analyses the relation of regional and economic policies, and the issues of how to ensure the adequate information support for studies and to provide the management of regional development processes.

Proceeding from a view that a municipal level of governance seems to be a matter-of-course basis both for federate relations and an effective decentralized decision-making system in modern economy, we consider the development issues of municipal units and population settlement patterns. We also discuss what informational base is required to make good strategic decisions on of population settlement patterns, and try to identify what threats the recessionary events, which are progressing in Russian economy, may pose to municipal units and what capacities municipal units have to resist.

The paper analyses the statistical assessments concerning Russian regional development in 2007-2008, and gives a forecast of the socio-economic regional development for the period of time up to 2011. The scale of the recovery growth by 2012 is presented here as well as the basic trends in spatial structure. Our calculations show that most RF regions, within the framework of an experts' moderately optimistic scenario of possible development in the Russian Federation, will overcome an active phase of their economic recession by 2012.

The paper analyses how the regional differentiation of real sectors of the economy and intergovernmental relations changed over the last few years. We consider the links between economic growth and regional differentiation as well as the trends of how regional fiscal equilibrium changes including those changes caused by regional merging processes.

We assess some indicators of regional economic activity which can show the competitiveness of a region, and analyze key factors which are of importance for their higher competitiveness and which we consider to be an empirical basis for assessing regional competitiveness. Factors and impetus to higher regional competitiveness are classified. To illustrate our conclusions, we compared some competitive positions of the Novosibirsk Oblast with those for other regions of the Siberian Federal District.

The intersectoral instruments proposed to assess disbenefits of a project being implemented in a region allow analyzing not only the effect of the project on a local economy, as a limited number of contiguous and visible links are taken into consideration, but also its effect on a national economy. To illustrate this, we applied here the natural gas development project for Yamal peninsula. In our opinion, the intensive implementation of this project is required even if the world's demand for gas drops.

The paper analyzes the regional legislative improvements of external economic relations made by the Sakhalin Oblast's authorities, and shows that this process should be intensified since the potential of the region, being a frontier one, has not been fully realized despite its positive dynamics in foreign trade and foreign investments.

This sociological research is devoted to the analysis of labour market and educational services in the Novosibirsk Oblast, and shows employers' demand both for professional training (types and levels) and employees' competences (professional and social).

We show how the labour behaviour and stuffing models are shaping in an innovation sector of the economy as well as the incentives and factors of such shaping. We also assess to what degree the educational, professional, labour and personality potential of the professionally trained youth is presently utilized.

The paper shows what the project connecting the Trans-Korean and Trans-Siberian railways contributes to the Russia-Republic of Korea cooperation aimed at the development of the Far East and Siberia natural resources. We identified the alternative variants of implementing the project as well as the advantages that the Republic of Korea would have in comparison with other potential parties of the project. We consider the project to be of high risk.

The paper considers the dynamics of cargo traffic and its servicing by the Khabarovsk Kray transportation system. The ratio of the today and prospective cargo traffic being served by different modes of transportation and in basic transportation hubs are assessed allowing for the transit traffic. The development of this regional transportation system is considered within the framework of a long-term national transportation strategy (up to 2020).

We consider the problem of how to select an investment project according to a two-criterion technique and illustrate this issue by the transportation-and- logistic center project for the Novosibirsk Oblast. We also analyze how regular the investments are made and show the minimal discounted costs and an algorithm and the mechanism to select Paretto's optimal investments.

The problem of the oil-dissolved gas utilization remains urgent for Russian oil-and-gas sector. Tens of billions of the gas cubic meters continue to be burnt in flares, and the tendency of less utilization has been observed. In prospect, the oil-producing regions could have the significant socio-economic benefits by developing the oil-dissolved gas utilization industries as the negative ecologic effects would be minimized, the higher employment would be attained, the higher tax payments to budgets and more diversified economy would be and etc.

The author presents his theoretical considerations concerning the building of tools to manage efficiency of a regional enterprise which combine the potential of intersectoral and international sources of improvements and the different types of benchmarking.

The crisis has had a negative effect on small and medium business in the Republic of Kaskhstan. We analyze basic factors which impede the development of small and medium business in the Republic and the ways which would stimulate the development in this sector.

This paper examines the impacts of social capital on Aboriginal educational attainment in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. We developed a synthesis looking for patterns and distilling the role of social capital. In writing our results we chose programs and policies of countries targeted that illustrated our synthesis.