Hasil untuk "Regional economics. Space in economics"

Naruki Notsu

Giuseppe Calignano, Trond Nilsen

The study of agency has received increasing attention in recent years. The focus on change processes at the micro-level has brought new insights into the field of regional development. However, in debates about change and regional development, agents and leaders themselves have received far less attention than agency as a process. We provide an analytical model to show how political leaders and their leadership act as drivers of change through what we call actor properties (i.e., knowledge, networks and resources). We discuss how actor properties interact with the institutional context in which leaders operate and the various transitions from a political leader's legitimacy to the legacy of their political action. Empirical investigations of two peripheral regions in Italy and Norway illustrate how political leaders act as agents of change in geographical areas characterised by different socioeconomic and institutional contexts.

Silke Zöllner, Mathias Heidinger, Sebastian Sager et al.

ABSTRACTThis paper challenges the traditional perspective of a territorial core–periphery pattern as an organizing principle of space by introducing a relational perspective through an empirical approach. We study spatial processes of knowledge creation among advanced producer services in Germany between 2009 and 2019. We use a unique longitudinal dataset to analyse if German regions have become more integrated into the intra-firm location networks nationally and globally, and how this translates into the processes of centralization and peripheralization. The current conceptualization of core–periphery in Germany is too static and does not reflect the economic development of the regions. We find that there is no trend of urban areas becoming more integrated and peripheral areas less integrated into these networks. Instead, our research finds a discrepancy between the federal territorial classification and the functional orientation of German regions. Regions classified as peripheral have not generally decreased in connectivity to other regions. In contrast, some have increased their connectivity and have become more central in relational terms. Overall, we identified peripheralization and centralization as a relational process with dynamic, overlapping and trans-scalar networks.

Евгений Владимирович Орлов

В результате анализа научных источников и исследования документов стратегического планирования, принятых в субъектах Российской Федерации и муниципальных образованиях, выявлено, что с момента вступления в силу федерального закона от 28.06.2014 № 172-ФЗ «О стратегическом планировании в Российской Федерации» накоплены значительные проблемы, требующие оперативного решения. Данное исследование направлено на разработку инструментов оценки взаимодействия документов стратегического планирования на региональном и муниципальном уровнях. Для апробации выбран Приволжский федеральный округ, как один из самых крупных субфедеральных субъектов, исследование на базе которого позволит применить предложенные разработки к другим административно-территориальным единицам. Собрана и систематизирована информация о наличии, наименованиях, сроках реализации региональных и муниципальных стратегий и программ. Для обработки данных выбраны такие действия, как определение разности, отклонения, дисперсии. В результате исследования установлено, что сегодня система документов стратегического планирования во многих субъектах Российской Федерации крайне разбалансирована в разрезе сроков действия, количества и наименований, что наталкивает на мысль об отсутствии согласованности в разрезе прочих параметров, в частности, финансовых. Разработаны предложения, внедрение которых позволит существенно улучшить ситуацию в сфере стратегического планирования на уровне регионов и муниципалитетов, получить тот эффект, который заложен в данном инструменте развития. Поскольку в исследовании использованы воспроизводимые без специальных математических знаний инструменты анализа, это позволяет применять их в деятельности органов государственного и муниципального управления, осуществляющих стратегическое управление развитием соответствующих административно-территориальных единиц.

Poppy Ismalina, Eddy Junarsin, Istiana Maftuchah

Designing and proposing sustainable insurance programs to insurance companies that run their businesses in Indonesia have been one of the insurers’ approaches to creating more stable and certain industry climate. Moreover, the Indonesian Financial Services Authority or OJK encourages financial services sector actors in creating, developing sustainable product innovations, and supporting financing of production activities that can create economic growth, social justice and environmental quality improvement. We conduct survey and analyze whether insurance companies in Indonesia are interested in implementing sustainable finance in insurance industry and developing sustainable insurance products. Participants’ responses depict insurance firms’ paradigm on sustainable insurance. In this study a framework is proposed for governing factors that impact the development of sustainable insurance product in the future such as the level of knowledge, readiness, and current sustainable insurance product development. To clarify the relationships, a structural equation model is utilized to examine the framework fit with the hypothesis for the four latent variables of this study. Acceptable goodness of fit is established for validity of the measurement model. The test of validity is accepted for the structural model in this study. The SEM results conclude that an insurer’s knowledge of sustainable finance principles affects the insurance firm’s readiness to implement sustainable insurance. Subsequently, the insurer’s readiness affects its current level of sustainable insurance product development. Eventually, the insurer’s knowledge and current development in sustainable insurance products have a positive effect on the insurance firm’s willingness to develop sustainable insurance products in the future. Thus, this study provides valuable information about factors affecting the development of sustainable insurance products in the future as a key for a successful implementation of sustainable finance in Indonesian insurance industry.

Ilona Pishchalkina, Ekaterina Tereshko, Svetlana Suloeva

Investigation of risk factor assessment and grouping is relevant because ranked risk groups help companies to navigate achieving their strategic development goals while minimizing the impact of external risk factors. Grouping, carried out with neural network modelling, enables the formation of a self-learning model that can be changed by rearranging the vectors of cluster groups under the influence of turbulent external factors. The aim of this research was to develop a risk factor-prioritizing neural network model for a vertically integrated mining and metallurgical company. To attain this goal, the authors identified risk factors by the mining and metallurgical enterprises’ key activities and allocated them into key groups by forming a risk register. In accordance with the risk register, the degree of influence and probability of each risk factor was assessed using the expert assessment method that allows for calculating the significance of each risk factor. The formation of risk factor groups by significance was carried out using the method of Kohonen self-organizing maps. The DataBase Deductor Studio Academic 5.3 software was used to simulate the results and build the artificial two-layer neural network. The study proved to be effective for (1) identifying the major risks and risk factors inherent in vertically integrated mining and metallurgical companies based on annual company reports; (2) assessing the impact and probability of risk factors using an expert computational method; (3) graphically presenting a two-layer neural network for further simulation; (4) forming five groups using neural simulation based on Kohonen networks; and (5) interpreting the simulation results, identifying the most significant risk in management decision-making and putting forth brief recommendations on using artificial neural networks for risk analysis and assessment. Based on the research results, recommendations on the use of artificial neural networks for risk analysis and assessment for vertically integrated mining and metallurgical companies are provided. The proposed algorithm allows large vertically integrated companies with a complex organizational structure and technological processes, as well as a wide list of risks affecting their activities, to quickly identify the most significant risks.

Herbert Klein, Francisco Vidal-Luna

Today Brazil is the world’s second leading source of cotton, reprising the role it played for a brief time in the early 19th century. But this history of its production is a complex one of both growth and stagnation, and includes profound changes in the types of cotton exported and where and how it was produced. It went from being a product of small farmers to one grown primarily on large estates. Our essay explores these changes over time and offers an analysis of how production shifted from the Northeast to the Southeast and the ended finally in the Center-West of the country and why it went from a being net importer of cotton to a major exporter in just the past thirty years.

Yifan Gong, Yuxi Yao

Nazym A. Uruzbayeva

Развитие малого и среднего предпринимательства в регионах Казахстана характеризуется существенными диспропорциями. Лидерами по показателям деятельности малого и среднего предпринимательства являются города республиканского значения — Нур-Султан и Алматы. Однако количественное развитие субъектов малого и среднего предпринимательства в этих городах не всегда вызывает соответствующий рост их вклада в выпуск продукции. Между тем, в научной литературе отсутствуют специальные исследования такой зависимости, ее причинно-следственный анализ. Актуальность проведения таких исследований вызвана необходимостью формирования научной базы для государственной политики поддержки малого и среднего предпринимательства в регионах. Целью данной работы является оценка вклада МСП в выпуск продукции городов республиканского значения и выработка путей решения проблем, ограничивающих развитие бизнеса. В качестве гипотезы выдвинуто предположение о наличии слабой линейной корреляции между численностью действующих субъектов МСП и выпуском продукции в городах Нур-Султан и Алматы. В ходе исследования были использованы метод парной корреляции Пирсона, сравнительный и причинно-следственный анализ. Проведенная оценка подтвердила наличие положительной корреляционной зависимости между численностью действующих субъектов МСП и выпуском продукции в исследуемых регионах, однако значение коэффициента корреляции показало слабую тесноту связи. Раскрыты основные причины слабой корреляции: неоптимальная структура сектора МСП и низкий уровень производительности труда субъектов малого бизнеса. Анализ проблем, связанных с низкой эффективностью государственной поддержки и другими факторами, позволил сформулировать рекомендации по стимулированию деятельности субъектов МСП. Сделан вывод, что сокращение сектора МСП в условиях пандемии имеет положительную сторону — очищение рынка от неэффективно функционирующих субъектов, поэтому государству следует усилить адресность поддержки и направить ее на стимулирование сильных игроков, способных к самообновлению. Результаты исследования могут быть полезны государственным и местным органам власти при разработке мер поддержки МСП, разработке региональной политики регулирования бизнеса.

Alina A. Gravchikova

Introduction. In the modern world globalization leads to the active interaction of representatives of different cultures. However, there are questions of how this affects the life of society. The purpose of this article is to assess the religious diversity impact on the well-being level of the population of the Russian Federation regions. Materials and Methods. For analysis the author has used data from the Atlas of Religions and Nationalities of Russia “Arena” and the Federal Agency for Ethnic Affairs. Religious diversity was assessed using two indicators: the Simpson Diversity Index and the Polarization Index. The paper considers the consumption level as an indicator of well-being. On the one hand, the consumption level reflects independently the standard of living; on the other hand, it is an element of gross output. The correlation between religious heterogeneity and the well-being indicator was checked by using regression analysis. Besides the panel regressions were also evaluated. Results. The economic analysis confirms that religious diversity is directly proportional to the divorce rate, which has a negative impact on the consumption level in the Russian Federation regions. In addition, there are direct negative relationship between confessional heterogeneity and consumption. The results lead to the conclusion that religious diversity negatively affects economic indicators through the social sphere. Discussion and Conclusion. The general conclusion is that during the period under consideration, there is trend of the gradual reduce of the religious diversity. These processes are a favorable basis for increasing the well-being indicators of society because they reduce the negative impact of religious heterogeneity on the whole as well as on the consumption level. The data, the methods and the obtained results can be used as a basis for further research. The estimates and the conclusions could be taken into account in the socio-economic policy.

Madison N. Ngafeeson

The Northern Michigan University (NMU) online campus, fondly known as the “Global Campus,” is now 5 years old. Launched in 2016, this online and distance education initiative had as its mission to create academic programs that meet students’ learning and service needs “at the same high standard we do for on-campus students” (NMU). This was a kind of organic final step in the journey of digital transformation that began sixteen years before. Nonetheless, how does NMU make a pivot from 117 years of traditional face-to-face learning model to create value and compete in the digital education space? Worse still, when the Covid-19 global pandemic hits in March 2020 and the campus is forced to shut down (mandating all face-to-face teaching and learning, and to transition to online delivery within just two business days and a weekend); how does the university handle this new set of challenges as its online model gets tested in real-time? The story of NMU’s evolution to online education is told by intrinsic and extrinsic factors including declining enrollments due to changing local economics and regional demographics, an old business model now compounded by a global pandemic. This mix of factors would seem to present NMU with both an opportunity to refine its online model and some new challenges to overcome. This evolution also speaks to the importance of having an overarching digital strategy that can drive true digital transformation.

G. Jewitt, C. Sutherland, Sabine I. Stuart-Hill et al.

The uMngeni River Basin supports over six million people, providing water to South Africa’s third largest regional economy. A critical question facing stakeholders is how to sustain and enhance water security in the catchment for its inhabitants. The role of Ecological Infrastructure (EI) (the South African term for a suite of Nature Based Solutions and Green Infrastructure projects) in enhancing and sustaining water and sanitation delivery in the catchment has been the focus of a project that has explored the conceptual and philosophical basis for investing in EI over the past five years.The overall aim of this project was to identify where and how investment into the protection and/or restoration of EI can be made to produce long-term and sustainable returns in terms of water security assurance. In short, the project aimed to guide catchment managers when deciding “what to do” in the catchment to secure a more sustainable water supply, and where it should be done. This seemingly simple question encompasses complexity in time and space, and reveals the connections between different biophysical, social, political, economic and governance systems in the catchment.Through the study, we highlight that there is an interdependent and co-constitutive relationship between EI, society, and water security. In particular, by working in spaces where EI investment is taking place, it is evident that socio-economic, environmental and political relations in the catchment play a critical role in making EI investment possible, or not possible.The study inherently addresses aspects of water quantity and quality, economics, societal interactions, and the governance of natural resources. It highlights that ensuring the availability and sustainable management of water resources requires both transdisciplinary and detailed biophysical, economic, social and development studies of both formal and informal socio-ecological systems, and that investing in human resources capacity to support these studies, is critical. In contrast to many projects which have identified this complexity, here, we move beyond identification and actively explore and explain these interactions and have synthesised these into ten lessons based on these experiences and analyses.1 - People (human capital), the societies in which they live (societal capital), the constructed environment (built capital), and natural capital interact with, and shape each other 2 - Investing in Ecological Infrastructure enhances catchment water security 3 - Investing in Ecological Infrastructure or BuiIt/Grey infrastructure is not a binary choice 4 - Investing in Ecological Infrastructure is financially beneficial 5 - Understanding history, legacy and path dependencies is critical to shift thinking 6 - Understanding the governance system is fundamental 7 - Meaningful participatory processes are the key to transformation 8 - To be sustainable, investments in infrastructure need a concomitant investment in social and human capital 9 - Social learning, building transdisciplinarity and transformation takes time and effort 10 - Students provide new insights, bring energy and are multipliers

Ольга Анатоліївна Комар, Валентина Степанівна Пісняк

The article examines the signs of systemic innovation on the example of the introduction of inclusive practices in modern conditions of Russian education modernization. The purpose of this article is based on the study of scientific-theoretical sources and the analysis and synthesis of innovative practices to substantiate the traits of a systemic innovation in inclusive education. The methodology of the article are legal documents in the field of education, reference and textbooks, nonfiction materials, as well as the work of foreign and domestic scientists, the credibility and scientific reputation which are recognized by the scientific community, and the achieved in prominence high level research inclusive education. Economics and pedagogy are determined on the basis of consideration of the conceptual apparatus from the standpoint of philosophy, as well as the essential and specific characteristics of innovation. The study of the evolution of innovation and the diversity of their types and types make it possible to present the classification system of innovation influence, the strength and scale of impact on the entire education system. There were outlined the allocated spot (local), linear (horizontal plane); structure (spherical, spatial, architectural); the fundamental (base); radical (actually the system); multidimensional (versatile, global) and nadcisnienie some innovation. By deduction the thesis that the introduction of inclusive education in mainstream educational space requires a system of development tailored to the specific socio-cultural conditions and educational policy is substantiated. In the text highlights of the most important directions of innovative activity of educational institutions (the creation of an inclusive culture, develop inclusive policies and the implementation of inclusive practices) is given. In conclusion it is emphasized that solving problems in the field of inclusion makes a significant transformation in all elements of the education system and the determined image optimize, improve and stimulate the educational environment at the regional and sectoral level, as befits a true system innovation. The conclusion is justified that the introduction of inclusive education in mainstream educational practice as a fundamental, structural, radical, multi-dimensional innovation system has sufficient resources to improve the quality and increase the efficiency of education.

Aleksei Yu. Anokhin, Elena G. Kropinova, Eduardas Spiriajevas

Recreation in protected areas (PAs) has received special attention amid international travel restrictions. The conflict between the conservation and economic use of these territories is increasing. This work aims to find ways to optimise and modernise environmental outreach and recreation in national parks as a type of PAs. Geotourism is viewed here as a sustainable form of tourism bridging the gap between conservation and recreation. Several objectives have been attained to fulfil this aim. The first one was the analysis of the best practices of geotourism development in Pas; the second one was measuring the resource potential for diversifying ecotourism events in PAs; the third objective was designing an algorithm for creating a geological heritage-focused eco-trail, an innovative recreation product aimed at environmental education and community outreach. The authors view the methodology for geo-tour design as an example of heritage preservation and propose a new tourist trail — the Geological and Geomorphological Chronicle of the Baltic Sea. This tour acquaints sightseers with the nature of the Curonian Spit National Park, a unique geological and geomorphological feature whose landscapes are a product of centuries-long human-nature interactions. Twenty years ago, in 2000, the conservation area was listed by UNESCO as a place of considerable natural significance. The field studies were carried out as part of the international project Ecotour4Natur: Ecotourism as a Tool for the Preservation of Natural and Cultural Heritage within the Lithuania-Russia Cross-border Cooperation Programme 2014—2020. The developed algorithm for eco-trail design may benefit other national parks as well.

.. V. Sokur, D. Slabykh

R. Capello, P. Nijkamp

The space-economy has never been static, but has always shown a state of flux. Regions are normally in transition; they are work in progress. As a consequence, we observe a complex evolution of regional systems that varies between growth and decline. Static location and allocation theories may be helpful in understanding underlying structures in regional economies, but do not offer a full-scale picture of the development of multi-actor processes and of the perpetual or temporal impediments for regional growth and prosperity. The conceptualization and solid explanation of regional growth, and differences therein, is still largely a mystery for the research community in many countries. There is no uniform panacea for enhancing or accelerating the development trajectory of regions in a national or supranational economy. Therefore, regional policy is still in many cases a black box; the outcomes of intensified regional growth strategies are often largely unpredictable. Best guesses are more common than testable and operational estimates of policy impacts. Against the above-mentioned backgrounds, the editors of the Handbook of Regional Growth and Development Theories published a decade ago a comprehensive volume with a rich collection of advanced contributions on the above challenges in regional economics and regional science. In the ten years since then the world, both the empirical regional world and the theoretical and empirical reflection on growth and development issues, has not come to a standstill. We have become sadder and wiser after economic crises, regional fragmentation trends, the introduction of radical technological innovation, and the awareness of failures of regional policy. However, we have also enriched our knowledge horizon, with new insights and new methods and theories of regional analysis. The time has now come to take a refreshing and new look at the achievements of regional growth and development theories. Ten years after the publication of the first edition of the Handbook of Regional Growth and Development Theories, we were asked by the publisher to update the volume. At first glance this request seemed exaggerated, since not much new appeared to have happened in a so short period of time. After serious thoughts, however, we realized that in the past ten years, new insights into the explanation of regional growth had been put forward, and some theories, which ten years ago were not so attractive, had come to the fore. We, therefore, decided to accept the proposal, being sure that realization of this request could lead to an interesting scientific work with a decisive value added. Our effort has been to create a new edition enriched with the novelties of these past years. With this goal in mind, we first identified some theories and issues that were missing in the first publication and that gained in the meantime great importance in the interpretation of regional growth. For this reason, various new chapters were added.

Д. Б. Малышева

Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan combine their membership in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) - the most large-scale and dynamically developing integration association in the Post-Soviet space -with an active participation in projects and programs of the European Union (EU). This economic and political alliance is aimed at the regional integration of its 28 member countries located mainly in Europe. The EU is simultaneously actively involved in the economic and political processes in the Post-Soviet space, including its Central Asian segment. The EU strategy in the Central Asian region is aimed at bilateral and regional cooperation with its partners, among which Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan occupy an important place. The bilateral partnership and cooperation agreements concluded between them and the EU have become the main instruments providing the European Union with influence in these countries. The EU accession in the Central Asian region and the promotion of a united Europe’s interests combine with the attention of the EU institutions and structures to important areas of Central Asia development. Among these areas are transport networks, energy, security, government, education and human rights. Although the integration in the EAEU and the EU, as well as the terms of trade and economic agreements concluded by the participants of the EAEU with the EU, has a number of distinctive features, this does not become an obstacle to the aspirations of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan for in-depth cooperation with the EU -both in politics and economics. The EUs tactics of distancing itself from the EAEU, positioning the united Europe as a kind of an alternative to this integration union becomes a serious geopolitical challenge both for the EAEU and for the prospects of integration in Central Asia while maintaining Russia’s leading role in this process.

N. Levkin, S. Vereshko

— It is impossible to imagine the development of modern spatial economy without taking into account the effect of circular cumulative causation, when individual territories have an impact on other territories and this relationship is nonlinear. The Republic of Karelia is a region composed of such heterogeneous territories. The polarization of the economic space together with the effect of circular cumulative causation multiplies the contrasts between the leading territories and the territories-outsiders, which leads to negative social selection: the displacement vector of the most skilled workforce flowing from the territories-outsiders in the regional centers, then to the big cities and abroad. In order to ensure a breakthrough in the economic development of the territories, it is necessary to eliminate the negative impact of the effect of circular cumulative causation and make this impact, on the contrary, positive. To do this, it is necessary, first, to identify and describe the negative manifestations of this effect and, secondly, to propose mechanisms for its transformation into a positive direction, when the leading territories will not absorb the resources of other territories, but will contribute to their increment and more rational use at the local level. This provision determines the goal of the study. The main theoretical and applied methods of work are the reference to the methodology of spatial economics, presented by the works of domestic and foreign researchers (first of all, the fundamental works of G. Myrdal), as well as a comparative and statistical analysis of the development of the territories of Republic of Karelia on the basis of open official sources. As the main conclusions of the undertaken study can be identified: 1) synthesis of the accumulated theoretical material in the analysis of the effect of the circular cumulative causation; 2) statistical analysis of the territory development of the Republic of Karelia, taking into account the negative impact of the effect of the circular cumulative causation; 3) the development of measures for transformation of the negative effect of the circular cumulative causation in the positive on the example of the Republic of Karelia.

A. Spartak

The article discusses current trends and priorities of Russia's positioning in the international trade and economic system, reveals the strengths and weaknesses of Russia's participation in integration projects in the post-Soviet space, new challenges in this area, shows the need for the Eurasian neighborhood policy to reset social and humanitarian cooperation in the CIS. The opportunities and risks of expanding economic cooperation with China, including for the Eurasian economic integration, are determined. The role of Russian-Indian cooperation in diversification of cooperation vectors in Eurasia, increasing its balance and stability is shown. The potential of BRICS+ and SCO+ formats, as well as the possible interaction of the two blocks, is analyzed. New accents in the Russian policy on the African and Middle East directions are revealed. The author presents the concept of the Greater Eurasian partnership and stresses its central role in optimizing Russia's external positioning, proposes an algorithm for promoting macro-regional integration in Eurasia with Russia's active participation. Keywords—polycentric world; politics; integration; space; project; interests; trade agreement; partnership

Balteș Nicolae, Pavel Ruxandra Maria

The present study presents, from the theoretical and pragmatic point of view, 6 of the established score models regarding the assessment of the insolvency risk, belonging to the Anglo-Saxon, Continental and Romanian schools. The research sample is made up of 26 companies belonging to the hotel industry and restaurants, listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange. The research was carried out over a period of 11 years (2007-2017). Following the application of the score models, it was found that during the period covered by the research, a number of 14 companies had a relatively high insolvency risk and 12 of them had a relatively low insolvency risk.