Economy of Russian Regions
The course “Economy of Russian regions” is intended for complementary education of foreign listeners (bachelors, masters, graduate students and teachers), specializing in economic issues of modern Russia and its regions (investment conditions and peculiarities of business development, basic tools for public administration and regional development).
The aim of the course «Economy of Russian regions» is to study the specifics of socio-economic development of the regions of the Russian Federation, the instruments of regional development (in comparison with other countries). The course introduces the special features of natural and demographic conditions for the economic development of Russian regions, main types of regions by economic specialization. The dynamics of inter-regional socio-economic disparities, their main causes, characteristics and consequences are considered. Investment climate and potential, regional specifics of large and small business are analyzed. The effectiveness of the government regulations for regional development in Russia is assessed in comparison with other countries (targeted programs, special economic zones, public-private partnerships, cluster policy, etc.).
The targets of teaching the listeners on the course «Economy of Russian regions» are:
To form an opinion about main types of economic specialization of Russian regions (natural resource and labor potential of their development, modern branch specifics (industrial and agricultural), orientations on internal and external demand);
To study the special features, causes and consequences of regional disparities in the country (the nature of the dynamics of disparities in socio-economic development of Russian regions, the main determinants of regional inequality in Russia, the types of regions of Russia by development peculiarities and socio-economic issues);
To assess the investment climate for further development of the regions’ economy (the parameters of investment attractiveness (potential) appraisal and investment risks, the differences in investment rating of Russian regions and their main types by investment rating, the investment trends of Russian regions in recent years and their causes);
To analyze the characteristics of investment activity and entrepreneurship development in Russian regions (the differences in investment in fixed capital and foreign investment, industry priorities and development strategies of large-scale business, industry-specific problems of small business, peculiarities of joint ventures in Russia);
To identify the specifics, basic tools and practices of regional development administration (traditional measures of government regulation of regional development in Russia (on the example of federal programs and special economic zones)), the government investment activities and public-private partnerships in Russian regions, the trends in economic development administration in the regions of foreign countries.
As a result of the training, the student will:
Know:
- basic development conditions and factors of modern economy of Russian regions;
- main types of industrial and agricultural economy specialization of Russian regions, export-oriented regions;
- features of dynamics and causes of regional disparities in the level of socio-economic development of Russian regions;
- main types of Russian problem regions and principles of their distinguishing;
- basic parameters of the investment rating of the Russian Federation and its regions, and parameters’ trends in recent years;
- industry-specific features and problems of investment activity in Russian regions;
- reasons for disparities in regional development of large and small business, joint ventures;
- peculiarities of regional development administration, basis of government regional economic policy in Russia and mechanism for its implementation.
Be able to:
- make a comparative analysis of regional economic and business development of the Russian Federation on the basis of collection and processing of data from different sources;
- analyze the characteristics and dynamics of imbalances of entrepreneurial activity in the country’s regions;
- assess the investment ratings of Russian regions as a basis for future development of their economies;
- determine the fiscal capacity of the region’s economy;
- critically evaluate the main mechanisms of management decisions on regional development regulations in Russia and in other countries; to explain the proposals for their improvement;
- use statistical and informational material of the Internet for synthesis and critical evaluation of the results, obtained by native and foreign researchers, about the features of economic management and development of Russian regions;
- find the organizational and managerial decisions and justify the implementation of foreign experience in regional development administration for Russian analogs;
- represent the research results in the form of a report and participation in discussions;
Master:
- methods of evaluating the conditions of socio-economic situation in Russian regions;
- basic methods of data analysis for identifying regional differences in socio-economic development;
- modern approaches and mechanisms of regional development administration;
- modern methods and techniques of business investment activity analysis;
- methods of improving investment climate and increasing competitiveness of the country's regions to attract business and economic development;
- methods of regional development administration through public-private partnerships, cluster promotion, creation of special economic zones.
Course contents:
The program «Economy of Russian regions» includes 5 modules:
1. Modern development conditions and major areas of economic specialization of Russian regions
Topic 1.1. Natural resource potential as a condition of economic development of Russian regions
Topic 1.2. Demographic factor of economic development and labor market issues in Russian regions
Topic 1.3. Types of Russian regions by economic specialization and export potential
2. Inter-regional differences in the level of socio-economic development of Russian regions
Topic 2.1. The dynamics of regional disparities in Russia: main factors and features
Topic 2.2. Typology of Russian regions on the basis of their economic development
Topic 2.3. Types of problem regions: international experience and Russia
3. Investment climate of Russian regions as a basis for economic development
Topic 3.1 Investment climate of Russian regions
Topic 3.2. Measures for improving the investment climate in Russia
Topic 3.3. Investment activity in Russian regions and regional development
4. Regional features of business development in Russia
Topic 4.1. Entrepreneurship in modern Russia
Topic 4.2. Large business in Russian regions
Topic 4.3. Small business in Russian regions
Topic 4.4. Joint ventures and cross-border cooperation in Russian regions
5. Regional policy of Russia: features, instruments and problems
Topic 5.1. Modern features of Russian regional policy
Topic 5.2. Instruments of the federal regional development policy in the Russian Federation
Topic 5.3. Special economic zones as tools for regional development: regions and implementation issues.
Topic 5.4. Global experience of regional economic policy
Leading lecturer: Marina N. Mironova, PhD (Geography), Associated Professor
Lecturers: Alyona R. Massarova, Teaching Assistant
Veronika N. Kholina, PhD (Geography), Associated Professor
Contacts: Marina N. Mironova, PhD (Geography), Associated Professor (mirmar@yandex.ru)