ASSESSMENT AND MECHANISM OF REGULATING INTER-REGIONAL SOCIO-ECONOMIC DIFFERENTIATION (CASE STUDY OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION)

Elena GUBANOVA

Doctor of Sciences (Economics), Professor, Head of the Finance and Credit Department, Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution of Higher Education “Vologda State University”, Russia

gubanova_elena@mail.ru

Nikolai VOROSHILOV

Candidate of Sciences (Economics), Research Associate of the Sector for Research in the Effectiveness of Management of Socio-Economic Systems of the Department for Issues of Socio-Economic Development and Management in Territorial Systems, Federal State Budgetary Institution of Science “Vologda Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences”, Russia

niks789@yandex.ru

Abstract

The existence of significant differences in the levels of socio-economic development of Russian regions and the need to determine state impact methods aimed at reducing inequality indicate the existence of territorial differentiation; this is the problem the article authors address. The paper proposes a methodological approach to the assessment of inter-regional differentiation, which helps solve a set of inter-related tasks on the basis of the data of state statistics and expert surveys. To assess the extent and size of territorial inequalities, the variation and Theil indices are used. The correlation and regression analysis discloses a trend to reduce differences among Russian regions in 2005-2017. On the basis of the author’s method, the integral index (aggregating 22 private indicators) is calculated; on its basis, RF subjects are grouped according to a socio-economic development level. The complexity and scale of the differentiation problem is emphasized by the fact that at the end of 2017, 43 subjects belong to the groups with below average and low development levels. The work identifies “backward regions” (18) and “regions with a sign of depression” (13), which should become a priority object of the federal regional policy. The analysis proves the hypothesis about weak influence of the state policy tools of regional development in Russia on processes of territorial development and confirms reduction in the scale and consequences of differentiation. The authors propose a conceptual scheme of the mechanism to manage the process of reducing inter-regional differentiation and overcoming its consequences, which can be used when implementing the Strategy for Spatial Development of the Russian Federation and other strategic planning documents. The results can be used by federal authorities to improve methods and tools for implementing the state policy of regional development, as well as serve as the basis for further research on this topic.

Keywords: Russian Federation, region (RF subject), inter-regional differentiation, gross regional product, convergence.

JEL classification: R1, R5
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ILLEGAL CONSTRUCTIONS IN THE POST-MEMORANDUM GREECE Changes and constants in a chronic phenomenon

Nikolaos YOYAS

Architect NTUA, Msc Environmental Design, Urban Planning PHD Candidate

01@yio.gr

Abstract

The ¨stirring¨ of the problem of illegal constructions in Greece, during the last decade, that followed the issue of five consecutive laws regarding their integration in the country΄s official urban planning in the period 2009-2017, has led to a short-lived race of declaring and legitimizing illegal, constructions on behalf of the hundreds of thousands of popular owners. This institutional reform becomes, increasingly, significant in combination with the contemporary fiscal reform and the relevant tax burdening of realty owners. The timeless popular investment shelter of building ownership, for the first time after WWII, loses its immunity and becomes an unbearable tax weight, transforming popular illegal constructions into the national tool for transforming the country΄s real-estate map. Our ability to translate the outcome of this ¨crisis¨, through our route through all the past time, will define the quality of life in our new urban environment, but most important, our own standard of living and our future.

Keywords: Illegal constructions, urban planning, economic crisis

JEL classification: R0, R5
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OPPORTUNITIES AND LIMITATIONS OF REGIONAL AUTHORITIES’ USE OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION TOOLS FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Galina Yakovlevna BELYAKOVA

Dr. habil. in Economics, Professor, Institute of Economics, Management and Nature Management, Siberian Federal University

vorobieva.t.n@yandex.ru

Tatyana Nikolaevna VOROBYEVA

Ph.D. Candidate (Economics), Reshetnev Siberian State University of Science and Technology, Auditor of the Accounting Chamber of the Krasnoyarsk Krai

vorobieva.t.n@yandex.ru

Abstract

The article outlines the authors’ understanding of the formulation of the regional economic policy. Within the framework of the research, the authors examine regional authorities’ willingness to successfully implement the strategic goals of economic development. The methodological basis of the systematic, logical, and comparative analysis allows examining the opportunities and limitations of regional authorities’ influence on the development of the regional economy. The article highlights the need for improving the existing instruments of public administration (state regulation) that can contribute to the development of the economy. In this regard, the authors emphasize the problem of defining sectoral and consolidated registers of public authorities’ regulatory competencies involved in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, and the formation of the state regulatory policy. The practical significance of the article is related to the possibility of using the research results to enhance regional authorities’ capabilities to influence the development of the economy.

Keywords: public administration instruments; regional economic development; public administration effectiveness

JEL classification: R58, R1, R5, R11, O1, O2, H83, H70
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