Stepan Zemtsov Speaks on the Regional Development Factors in Russia
Stepan Zemtsov Speaks on the Regional Development Factors in Russia
On 25 October, at one of the sessions during the scientific seminar on global and regional economies held by the Moscow School of Economics at M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University, Senior Researcher of the Innovation Economics Department Stepan Zemtsov outlined the main factors responsible for regional development in Russia.
In his presentation, he pointed out the significant differences between Russia’s regions in terms of the level and speed of their socioeconomic development. At a first glance, it appears that such disproportions are caused by inequality in their possession of natural resources. However, some regions — Leningrad Oblast, Kaliningrad Oblast, Belgorod Oblast, Kaluga Oblast, Rostov Oblast, Tambov Oblast, Sverdlovsk Oblast, Novosibirsk Oblast, the city of St. Petersburg, etc. — have managed to improve their situation compared with the other regions while having no access to big hydrocarbon deposits.
The study goal was to identify the regional development factors for Russia over the period 1998—2014 based on an analysis of successful regions and econometric methods.
On the whole, according to Stepan Zemtsov, development in the regions has been determined by their naturally evolving conditions – advantageous geographical location, availability of raw materials, and climate and weather conditions beneficial for agricultural production; but the actual realization of their potential was also strongly dependent on the regional government policies and their efficiency in reducing investment risks and relying on available human capital.
Besides, the participants in the seminar put forth a number of recommendations, based on the study findings, for shaping regional policies designed to develop infrastructure, bring down investment barriers, and attract human capital to big cities.
The results of the study will be published in the next issue of the Journal of the New Economic Association.
The presentation by Stepan Zemtsov can be viewed here