2022 Vol. 14 №1

In the radically new economic conditions of 2020, the Government of the Russian Federation selected supporting non-resource and non-energy exports as one of the four factors of sustainable economic growth. Achieving this target is a challenge, but the absence of sufficient conditions for a systemic diversification of Russian exports also poses a substantial problem. This situation lends urgency to developing a methodology for the normative institutional reflection of non-resource non-energy targets in regional legislative acts. This article aims to improve the methods for embedding non-resource non-energy export targets in regional strategies (the targets are expected to serve as an institutional factor prompting economic diversification). This research is exploratory; methodologically, it stands out for using qualitative and quantitative content analysis with elements of computer-assisted frequency analysis of legislative acts and regulations. The study classifies, for the first time, the non-resource non-energy export targets, contributing to the regional export strategy theory. Analysis of strategies for socio-economic development confirmed the hypothesis that, in some north-western Russian regions, the priorities and targets of non-resource non-energy exports are at odds with federal law. The practical implication of this study is recommendations on adapting strategies for regional socio-economic development to the updated non-resource non-energy export targets.

Balancing out uneven regional development and territorial disparities is an urgent task. Solving it requires considering the geo-economic features of various parts of Russia’s spatially structured territory. This study aims to describe trends in the economic space transformation and structural changes in the economies of the North-Western Federal District. Exploring the economic space transformation, the paper draws on economic theory and geography, the concepts of cluster and power generation cycles, regional economics and other theories. It presents the results of the institutional and economic research of income capitalization and the role of the institutional factor, along with regional gross value added (GVA) analysis by activity types. The study investigates the movement of capital (rent) in the economic space. There are several noticeable trends: the Arkhangelsk and Murmansk regions, the Komi and Karelia Republics have diversified their economies by developing manufacturing and mining, while the Murmansk and Pskov regions did that by stimulating agriculture. Regional factors generating rent at significant transaction costs are found to be affected by institutional factors. The paper concludes that structural changes in the economy of the Russian north-west regions are wavelike in nature. The indexes of regional GVA and industrial market development point to the existence of a transition zone between the structural phases of the wave, with the transition mostly taking place in 2014. The trigger for the second phase of the wave, along with new structural changes, was international sanctions and growing confrontation reducing capital outflow and contributing to further structural changes in the regional economy.