2015 Issue №3(25)

Balanced economic and demographic development is vital for ensuring the dynamic and proportional development of the regions. However, Russia as a whole and the exclave region of Kaliningrad as its integral part demonstrate significant disproportions between the need for human resources and their availability. This article aims to assess the balance between the components of the regional system of demography, education and economy system. It also explores the possible solutions to the problems revealed. The study relies on a modified concept of regional eco-nomic and demographic situation that supplements traditional analysis of the connection between the demographic characteristics of regional population and economy with the ‘education’ component. The author identifies disproportions in both quantity (lack/excess) and quality (level of training and occupational structure Vs. the needs of the region) of human resources. The number of specialists in the humanities trained at universities heavily outweighs that in engineering and technology. The number of skilled workers trained in the region is insufficient. Frequent changes in the economic specialisation complicate an accurate forecast of the need for human resources. The rectification of disproportions requires comprehensive interdisciplinary studies within the demography/education/economy system at all territorial and regional levels, which will make it possible to produce a reliable forecast for each element of the system.

This article focuses on the principle models of international research and academic cooperation. The author divides international academic cooperation into periods and analyses the evolution of the connection between foreign policy and international cooperation in education and research aimed at raising the prestige and improving the position of a state in the international arena. The author focuses on the non-linear nature of periods stemming from the fact that different states are characterized by different (non-linear) time cycles resulting from the differences in cultural and historical backgrounds and dissimilar foreign policy contents and formats. Through comparing a variety of foreign policy approaches (including that of the Russian Federation), the author answers the question about the contribution of universities to the development of mechanisms of cooperation and mutual understanding in the modern world — a world increasingly influenced by information and communication technologies.

The so-called “compression” of social and economic space has been the subject of quite a few studies in the past decades. There are two principle types of compression: communicative, that is, associated with the development of transport and information systems, and physical, manifested in the rapid decrease of the number of new territories to explore. While physical and communicative compression are interrelated, they have different spatial expressions depending on geographical conditions, economic, environmental, historical, and political characteristics of the re-gion. The authors identify the patterns of communicative and physical space com-pression using comparative mapping, statistical and historical research methods, and a model showing the spatial differentiation of regional socioeconomic charac-teristics in the Northwestern Federal District. The study focuses on border areas, where the following key manifestations of compression have been identified: trans-port connectivity, level of agriculture development, and depopulation. All these indicators of space compression process are studied at the municipal level. The authors identify the key features of socioeconomic space compression for the border areas of the Russian Northwest.

The Baltic region consists of coastal areas of nine countries — Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, and Finland. The region’s hubs are the port cities located along the Baltic Sea coast. However, Peter Taylor and Saskia Sassen’s classification identifies higher status cities and ‘global cities’, which are to be considered in the global context. Seven coastal regions are distinguished within this region, whose organising centers are the global coastal cities of Stockholm, Copenhagen, Helsinki, Riga, Tallinn, St. Petersburg, and Malmö. The concept of a “global city-region” (Sassen) can be used as a methodological framework for analyzing this connection. Within this hierarchy, the dominant alpha group global city is Stockholm. The authors argue that, as a global coastal city, St. Petersburg forms the St. Petersburg coastal region, which can be defined as a typical "global city region". The index method shows that the position of St. Petersburg in the system of global coastal cities of the Baltic region is relatively favorable in view of its transport, logistics, and demographic potential and the advantageous geo-economic situation. St. Petersburg has certain competitive advantages in the region brought about by its demographic potential, port freight capacity, and the favorable geo-economic position of the "sea gate" of Russia. However, the level of high-tech services and ‘new economy’ development is not sufficient for the port to become a match for the top three cities (Stockholm, Helsinki, and Copenhagen). This is increasingly important because transboundary global city networks demonstrate that global cities are functions of global networks. Saint Petersburg is just starting to integrate into these networks through the Pulkovo airline hub and seaports of Ust-Luga, Primorsk, and Saint Petersburg.

The need for maritime spatial planning is articulated in the Strategy for Marine Development of the Russian Federation until 2030. However, Russian legislation contains no provisions regulating this field. This article presents the results of a study aimed to devise a methodology for developing the model structure of a maritime plan for the Baltic Sea. The study methodology is based on current regulations on marine use and na-ture management as well as international maritime planning practices. Since marine planning is closely connected with spatial planning, the study pays special attention to their convergence in developing maritime plans. The authors stress the need for legislative efforts aimed at integrating marine planning in the current legal framework for the regional authorities of different territorial levels. The structure and contents of the maritime plan and the methodological framework for suggested measures are based on relevant regulations, publications, and maps. The main result of the study is the identification of functional offshore areas of federal, regional, and local significance. The research significance of this study is associated with the further development of strategic planning, namely, marine planning. Its practical significance is in devising the legal and methodological framework for marine spatial planning.

The aim of this study is to search for a mechanism for implementing large investment projects of crucial economic importance in the modern economic conditions characterized by the sanction policy of foreign states, limited public investment, and a mass exodus of foreign investors. An example of a large-scale investment project is the construction of a multipurpose multimodal complex — the commercial seaport of Ust-Luga. This is one of the most recent large projects in seaport infrastructure development. This article estimates the project’s significance for the development of the Baltic region and presents a competitive analysis of the seaport position in comparison to the largest European ports. The authors analyze the strengths of the seaport construction project, namely, the favorable natural environment and climate, advantageous geographical position, strong political will demonstrated by the federal and regional authorities. The article also considers the challenges the project faces — unfortunate geopolitical situation, growing competition from other seaports, and lack of investment. Based on the analysis of challenges, it is concluded that there are significant risks associated predominantly with lack of investment. In these conditions, a large investment project requires the enhancement of public-private partnership, which will ensure the timely implementation of such projects

The economy of the Kaliningrad exclave is not sufficiently stable and is heavily affected by external factors. This work aims to estimate the current economic situation in the region and explore possible ways to increase the stability of regional economy. The study employs economic statistical methods and identifies factors affecting regional development. The author analyses the dependence of the manufacturing industry on customs and tax privileges under the law On the Special Economic Zone in the Kaliningrad region and federal programmes supporting the development of manufacturing and social infrastructure. The article stresses that the abolition of customs privileges in 2016 will result in a significant reduction in industrial output, since a lot of production is heavily dependent on imported raw materials and components. It is expected that the companies enjoying customs privileges to produce goods for the national market will receive government support for reequipment. Effective use of the allocated funds would require setting up a regional programme identifying priority areas of regional economic development thus ensuring economic stability. There is also a need to support companies ensuring the economic — including food — security of the region.

This article addresses the task of creating a regional Social Accounting Matrix (SAM) in the Kaliningrad region. Analyzing the behavior of economic systems of national and sub-national levels in the changing environment is one of the main objectives of macroeconomic research. Matrices are used in examining the flow of financial resources, which makes it possible to conduct a comprehensive analysis of commodity and cash flows at the regional level. The study identifies key data sources for matrix development and presents its main results: the data sources for the accounts development and filling the social accounting matrix are identified, regional accounts consolidated, the structure of regional matrix devised, and the multiplier of the regional social accounting matrix calculated. An important aspect of this approach is the set target, which determines the composition of matrix accounts representing different aspects of regional performance. The calculated multiplier suggests the possibility of modelling of a socioeconomic system for the region using a social accounting matrix. The regional modelling approach ensures the matrix compliance with the methodological requirements of the national system

Based on the census data from 1989, 2002 and 2010, the article analyzes the evolution of the ethnic structure of the population of the post-Soviet Russia from the territorial perspective. The stability of the ethnic structure of the “Russian mega nucleus” and indigenization of the national regions are considered in view of the differences in migration trends during the two inter-census periods and the socioeconomic situation in the regions. The urbanization rate of major ethnic groups is an indirect indicator of the prospects of traditional “primordial” ethnic identities in different ethnic groups. Special attention is paid to new trends — an increase in the number of people refraining from answering the question about their ethnic identity or giving an unclear answer. Alongside serious census errors, this phenomenon can be a result of growing complexity of the ethnic identity structures and the processes of modernization, which occur at different rates in Russian and national regions. Based on the 2010 census data, the article analyses the differences in polyethnicity between the rural and urban population, which are accounted for by the historical background, particularities of regional development, settlement features, and migration processes of the past two decades.

This article considers major trends in the spatial and sectoral structure of national production and analyses the patterns of transformation of industrial systems into integrated industrial complexes, which show higher efficiency in transit condiétions. The author presents a new approach to studying the structural transformation of industrial systems during the transition of the national economy, which will make it possible to identify major trends in national production. The article seeks to draw attention to the methodology of developing and implementing industrial policy and devising an algorithm of effective transition of Russian industries in the modern conditions of international division of labor. The modernization and transnationalization of national production rests on a number of methods that make it possible for the corporate management to react rapidly to changes in the global market situation. These methods include strategic segmentation, analyzing the ability to adapt to the expected conditions, devising a company’s entrepreneurial strategy, and changes in the spatial and industrial structure of production. The transformation of national industry is associated with the introduction of mechanisms of industrial integration structures using single organizational production modules capable of rational combination and transformation of the elements of national production structure to create competitive transnational production associations, such as clusters and other production forms serving as ‘growth poles’ and becoming elements of the emerging framework for national production. This methodology makes it possible to develop new approaches, methods, and principles for analyzing the transformation of the national spatial and industrial system during economic transition. Current factors, features, patterns and trends in the transformation of national industrial systems are identified; a mechanism for devising and implementing a more structured industrial policy in Russia is developed