Home – Home – Jornals – Region: Economics and Sociology 2014 number 3

The paper discusses what approaches to forming development indicators for a multi-regional system of the Russian Federation provide accurate interregional comparisons. We propose methods to identify stable topological structures in the space of regional indicators, to build an ordered system of regional clusters and to analyze inter-cluster connections. The article formulates principles and methods of elaborating a genetic scenario which depicts how the Russian multi-regional system develops basing on the evolutionary approach. It calculates development vectors of forecasting indicators for regions of the Russian Federation till 2030. We define the regularity with which the cloud of regional indicators changes its configuration, capacity and content of clusters. The methodology described in this paper is a constructive attempt to synthesize certain analysis tasks, forecasts of regional development and measurements of regional differences into a complex technique for assessing spatial transformations of the economy.

The analysis carried out in the paper has identified what major social and economic development problems are faced by the Arctic territory in Eastern Yakutia. The article defines the ways of how to draw the settlements of this area out of a major economic depression within the context of the state program «Social and Economic Development for the Arctic Territories of the Russian Federation till 2020». We suggest a comprehensive territorial megaproject as an approach of how to work out a strategy to modernize the economy of a region. This paper illustrates the fact that a megaproject of this kind could be used as a tool in strategic analysis of resource limitations, as well as for time and space coordination of social and regional projects concerning transport and energy infrastructure with investment projects and plans of mining companies.

The paper defines conditions necessary for a financial base of a local government, proposes a technique to analyze the structure, fiscal sustainability and efficiency of subfederal fiscal policy examined on the basis of fiscal data on Novosibirsk Oblast for the period 2006-2012. We have assessed the structure of the local budget in Novosibirsk Oblast and calculated characteristics of inho-mogeneity of fiscal indicators before and after regional budget allocation. The obtained results indicate that inhomogeneity of budget revenues reduces after municipal governments are funded from the regional budget. We identify territories influencing significantly the differentiation indices taking into account funds from a superior budget. Having assessed the how effective the stimuli increase tax revenues of local budget, we can draw a conclusion that the used stimuli work towards saving and developing tax potential of municipal institutions. In general, subfederal fiscal policy is focused on optimizing local revenue base foundation and execution.

The main sources of the article are the idea of multiplicity of spatial equilibria and the hypothesis of agglomeration economies. Data was analyzed with indices of spatial concentration and economic assessments. This paper shows that the evolution of the spatial distribution of economic activities in Russia unfolds in parallel with its concentration. We are observing how spatial development model changes to the one which has higher concentration of economic activities and, consequently, higher level of interregional inhomo-geneity. There is no outstanding redistribution of production factors and flow of output from the east to the west of Russia. We draw a conclusion that Russian regional policy aimed at supporting «points of growth» and «territories of rapid development» should be seen as ineffective for the moment. Due to agglomeration mechanisms, growing territories are able to improve their dynamics of development independently, without government support. Currently, agglomeration process takes place the length and breadth of Russia, and it is only slightly slower in the eastern part. Under the conditions where interregional competition dominates cooperation, spatial externalities appear to be negative, and government regulation intended to support dynamic economies may lead to further differentiation. Regional policy designed to narrow gaps among regions is a more reasonable solution, which is also supported by restrictions caused by the federal form of government and threat of separatism.

The paper analyzes social and economic subfederal development plans. It discovers peculiar analogical spatial projections: forms in which socio-economic processes are reproduced and variable-based correlations; it also assesses their inhomogeneity and the degree of concentration. The results of the analysis are stated in tabular analytical schemes made for every subject of the Russian Federation, which allowed to suggest using identification adaptiveness codes as a descriptive tool for the said schemes. Their relations and further synthesis give an opportunity to use them as a ground for social and economic forecasting of how the federal subjects of Russia will develop.

The paper defines an economic category named receptivity of a region to modernization. We identify and classify its relation to categories of regional development: competitiveness, effectiveness and safety. The article presents the basic methods to assess the level of receptivity of a region to modernization by analyzing constituent parts of this category, and gives an author's assessment of its level in a number of Russian regions. We arrive at a conclusion that the stated assessment should be used as a basis for determining ways to improve strategic government in regions, and suggest using the specificities of development strategies formation in regions as ways to adapt process of its elaboration to conditions of modernization of regional social and economic systems.

Operations of major resource corporations and how they communicate with the federal and regional authorities are becoming more and more significant factor for social and economic development. Russian major resource corporations are growing into being powerful in production and redistribution of added values within the current system of intergovernmental fiscal relations and accepted practice to use «internal corporate tools». Significance of the «corporate factor» in various regions can be indirectly estimated with the concentration of production. Potential effects related to the said factor can be described in a model which differentiates «extraterritorial» effects from the «local» ones. Using the example of two largest resource companies in Russia (Norilsk Nickel and Vankorneft), we show how the corporate factor affects the level of localization of tax income in Krasnoyarsk Krai.

Using the example of Yakutia, the paper studies a region as a subject and an object of social policy. We discover a bond between these two constituent parts of social policy and trends of centralization and decentralization in the context of the federal form of government. The article analyzes the main development trends, specificities of regional social policy and social policy of a beneficiary region in Russia. It is shown how imperfect federal and social standards are, those that define directions of regional social policy and its effectiveness. The paper also presents characteristics and principles of how elements of social protection for regions should develop being a key direction of state social policy which aims to even out social inequality in regions. Having analyzed development trends of social policy, we substantiate the directions of regional social policy implementation.

An extended definition of the term «national well-being» suggests comparing extents to which various social groups have access to social services. Basing on the Complex study on living conditions of the Russian population, this paper gives assessment on healthcare service accessibility. The need to obtain the service is the most important factor for addressing to a medical institution; other characteristics of an individual status are secondary ones. At the same time, territorial differences in the way people request medical assistance are defined rather by the status of a settlement then by regional differentiation. We show how reasons to reject healthcare vary for territorial groups and categories of patients, where the main ones are due to the way the health system functions. In our calculations we use data of Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey — HSE: it has identified the dynamics of addressing to medical institutions for the latest decade and changes in population of patients for various segments of the health system.

The paper examines the ways of how to apply the public-private partnership technique (PPP) in exploration of Siberian natural resources. We summarize the successful PPP projects carried out in populated regions in Russia and analyze possibilities to expand the method in order to create non-productive and infra-structural objects in mineral resources sector. The article shows main risks arising while exploring natural resources using the PPP technique. We conclude that it is necessary to preserve the uniqueness principle for a project in the sphere of mineral resources exploration, as well as the uniqueness principle when drafting the PPP documents. It is shown that due to violation of the basic PPP principles (such as competitiveness when choosing a partner, transparency in project implementation, accessibility of information on whether project implementation is efficient), it is impossible to improve the efficiency of government expenditure in mineral resources sector.

Basing on a systematic approach, the paper analyzes consumption and production of electric and thermal energy in Irkutsk Oblast and shows relations between economy and energy development. Contrast scenarios form prospective fuel and energy balances of the region. We have chosen the model describing how the regional energy development sector should preferably function and have made medium-term quantitative estimation for development levels of energy and heat consumption and the coating structure of electric charge. The article identifies deficit of electric power and proposes ways to reduce it. We consider whether it is reasonable to shift coal-fired stations to a combined (gas and vapor) cycle. The paper also present economic assessment of activities which aim to develop energy and heat supply systems in Irkutsk Oblast. We substantiate long-term development trends in the energy sector.

The article describes the basic methodological and methodical aspects involved in the development of a strategy for environmental protection in a sub-federal region such as Novosibirsk Oblast. A logical scheme shows how strategies for nature conservation are elaborated in this region. We propose a system of environmental measures determined by a need to alleviate or prevent potential environmental problems. We also forecast how air pollution in Novosibirsk Oblast from most common contaminants in stationary pollution sources will be spreading till 2025, taking into account environmental protection measures. The results of the study suggest making a more informed choice on main directions for nature conservation in the said region, which helps to avoid possible threats and make maximum use of available resources. Everything said above assists in defining environmental priorities and elaborating a conservation strategy as a part of a strategy for social and economic development of a region as a whole.

This article analyzes problems of municipal administration basing on a municipal managers comparative survey in Russia and Ukraine. Although the two countries have different social and economic situations, we observe similar weaknesses in local administration. The paper shows how imperfect the current laws and regulations are, because they are limiting the possibilities of local government. We draw a conclusion that it is necessary to devise a science-based concept of municipal reforms which would be relevant to constitutional principles of local government organization and would provide a reliable legal base for municipal administration.

The paper identifies a set of key pricing factors for housing accommodations. We use regression analysis to find out cause and effect relationship in the «pricing factors - price discrimination) system. For cities of Russia, indices that determine accommodation prices to a great extent are as follows: retail turnover, salary level and migration gain. Spatial differentiation of housing accommodation prices from the west to the east of Russia rather reflects how the population is spread across the country and how the demographic and economic potential is shifted to the west, than the difference in prices. We show that among the main axes which depict how accommodation prices vary in regions the «center-periphery» line is the most significant one. Center-periphery differentiation is the most pronounced within urban agglomerations where transport accessibility to their kernels forms its own gradient. We draw a conclusion that the current spatial disproportions on the Russian accommodation market are defined by the general centralization trend taking place in the country and are subject to the natural center-peripheral model on lower hierarchic levels.

The paper analyses ways to develop and premises to reform local self-government in European countries. It shows that the municipal units of the European Union have a right to settle issues of self-government. Reforms in municipal government systems have resulted in further decentralization of state power. The dual model used in delegation of authorities has led to the fact that cities and villages started to fulfill a series of functions delegated by the state along with their own ones. As a consequence, in a few countries of the EU there have formed quasi-federal structures of municipal government.

The article investigates the ways to make the oil and gas complex of the Republic of Kazakhstan more competitive by forming regional clusters. We show which role this direction plays in increasing performance of oil companies and prove the need to create regional clusters based on the available raw material supplies, production and labor potentials.