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The framework guiding the spatial development of the Russian Federation is widely discussed. However, the characteristics of an optimally organised space are yet to be defined. This research focuses on one of the aspects of this problem, aiming to identify the characteristics of the optimal spatial organisation of the regional economy depending on the degree of homogeneity of socio-economic space. We examined four Russian regions comparable in area and administrative-territorial division, but differing in economic activity (Krasnodar Krai, the Republic of Tatarstan, Chelyabinsk Oblast and Kemerovo Oblast). For that purpose, we applied spatial analysis methods: spatial autocorrelation, cartographic analysis. The examined regions are characterised by varying degrees of spatial heterogeneity. It is most significant in the Chelyabinsk Oblast, where 46% of the population lives in the territory of two municipalities that produce 73 % of the regional products. The territories of Chelyabinsk Oblast differ the most in terms of output (R/P is 994.65). The degree of heterogeneity is also high in the Republic of Tatarstan, characterised by the differentiation of municipalities in terms of inhabitants (the maximum R/P is 42.09) and fragmentation of space (the global Moran’s index for the considered parameters is less than its expected value). Krasnodar Krai is the most homogeneous (the production R/P is 131.57, the settlement R/P is 14.52) and integrated territory (spatial autocorrelation is positive). Simultaneously, there is no clear relationship between the degree of spatial homogeneity and the efficiency of economic activity in the regions in the short term. The results show that it is impossible to use a single unified model for the development of various territories. Thus, it is necessary to apply a differentiated approach when determining spatial development guidelines. The obtained results can be used by public authorities in the field of spatial development management. Moreover, they can be used for further research of other parameters of spatial organisation that are not related to its homogeneity.

Rapid digitalisation of the economy introduces network forms of coordination of industrial enterprises activities. A network approach to cooperation in the industrial sector requires the development of theoretical foundations and methodological approaches, considering the specificity of industrial territories. Th e stud y use s variou s methods : structura l an d dynamic analysis of regional statistics and open data of industrial enterprises and regional network structures, expert commentary, development analysis of network structures in the industrial regions. The research identified possible network changes in the traditional industrial business models. Due to such changes, partners and consumers are involved in the product creation, customisation, individualisation, and price determination based on network information services. A new typology includes four types of structures corresponding to four quadrants of a two-dimensional matrix, divided by the strategic goals of merging organisations and the network structure functions. The selected types include associations of the producers of homogeneous products; partnerships and alliances; local networks; supply and value chains. The empirical part of the paper involves the identification and analysis of four types of network structures in the Sverdlovsk region and an assessment of their significance to the economy. Finally, the study assessed the development dynamics of regional network structures using particular indicators. The results can be used for developing the concept of network economy, creating tools for managing the network industry, and establishing a new industrial policy that takes into account a network aspect of cooperation.

The study aims to systematise the existing methodological approaches to assessing the development of smart cities, elaborated by a number of international institutions (organizations). Moreover, it identifies characteristics of the assessment and possibilities of its application in the Russian context. We considered the fundamentals of a smart city’s development as our research object. Methodological approaches to assessing the development of smart cities are our research subject. We analysed scientific research, published in the periodical press, as well as the results of the authors’ study on the digitization processes of socio-economic systems, the principles of the urban environment’s digitization, and the urban development’s fundamentals based on the smart city’s concept. The research method is a logical analysis of modern approaches to assessing the development of smart cities. The paper identifies and analyses the main characteristics and conditions for the effective functioning of smart cities. We consider a model of the development levels of a smart city. Furthermore, we demonstrate the importance of cooperation among stakeholders in the field of the urban environment’s development, as it creates new opportunities and ensures the long-term viability of smart cities’ projects. We note that one of the most important factors in the development of smart cities is the increment in human capital of their inhabitants. Lifelong learning and advanced training are becoming a condition for the development of modern socio-economic systems. The dominant role of highly-skilled creative work becomes the determining factor for the development of a new type of society and its inherent economy. In the paper, we have described and systemized the main approaches to assessing the development of smart cities. We have formulated a number of principles for constructing a methodology for assessing smart cities. The study has theoretical relevance due to the development of approaches to assessing the development of smart cities. The practical significance of the research lies in shaping possible future studies of rational economic management in the context of the digital society.

Nowadays, folk arts and crafts are not only a form of economic activity, but also a part of the Russian cultural heritage. However, in the context of crisis, slowdown of production volumes, and reduction of output, the independent existence of this industry is threatened. What is more, these factors jeopardize the level of economic security of the territories, where this type of activity primarily creates the territory’s value added and serves as the only source of income for its population. The paper aims to discover such instruments of impact on the development of territories taking into account their industry specificity, as the point pressure on them will lead to economic growth. In this regard, we determined the study’s objectives. They include identification of factors that most affect the industry’s development; calculation of a composite integral indicator for assessing the level of the industry’s development in a particular region; quantitative assessment of the identified factors’ impact on the industry’s development in the pilot regions. The main research methods are integrated analysis for ranking the regions, and correlation and regression modelling for assessing the impact of industry factors on the level of the territories’ socio-economic development. We hypothesise that the creation of conditions for the development of the region’s main industry will not only stimulate its socio-economic growth, but also provide the necessary level of economic security. As a result, we have compiled a rating of the territories (including the Arkhangelsk, Vladimir, Nizhny Novgorod, Moscow regions and the Republic of Dagestan) and identified stimulating and discouraging factors in the industry’s development (historical, cultural, economic and social). Based on these findings, we have determined the instruments for influencing the industry in constituent entities. In conclusion, the proposed approach allowed us to establish the stimulating and discouraging factors in the industry’s development and to determine the tools for influencing the industry of an individual constituent entity in order to increase the region’s level of socio-economic development and ensure its economic security.

Population change is a very important indicator of the social and economic system’s state and development. This change is most clearly observed in the long term. In the second half of 20th century, the studies on the development of Russian settlement system have established that in the recent years population growth is almost entirely caused by the growth of urban population migration. Thus, we analyse the impact of the cities’ size on growth rates, and highlight territorial features and the effects from the economy’s structural reorganization. The analysis has demonstrated the cities’ structural transformation. The residents’ concentration in large localities is a well-established vector of the settlement system’s development in our country. The proportion of the population living in million-person cities has increased by 54.3 % over the past 50 years. The small and medium-sized towns act as the main sources of migrants and “suppliers” of labour and intellectual capital. In our research, we used methodology based on systems analysis of both urban development and group settlement systems. We applied methods of structural and dynamic analysis, and economic and mathematical modelling. The Zip f’s curve for Russian cities with a population of at least 100 thousand people indicates that a group of 11 million-person cities is dominant in Russia. Moreover, we presented the results of a cross-country comparison of settlement patterns. The comparison has revealed that the situation in the Russian Federation doesn’t fully correspond to the situation in developed or developing countries. The analysis of population’s structure and dynamics in Russian cities has allowed predicting the change in the urban population until 2025 (growth of about 1.8 %). The population growth rate is expected to be higher in the million-person cities. Th e increasin g contras t o f settlement , the expanding gap between megacities and provincial towns, formation of an agglomerative system of settlements will inevitably lead to an aggravation of infrastructure problems, which requires a transition to controlled development. Taking into account the identified trends will enhance the efficiency of forecasting the country’s economic development and the strategy of the settlement system’s optimization in Russia.

The article focuses on the advancement of theory and methodology to develop a qualitatively new model of the regional clusters’ improvement using digital technologies. New conditions of the economy transformation define the model’s relevance. The study provides a scientific basis for the regional clusters’ formation in the context of the economy’s digitalization. For this purpose, we applied general scientific methodology using system and dialectic methods, deductions, decomposition, the economic analysis and synthesis. In addition, our methodological toolkit includes mathematical methods of statistical data’s processing. As a technique for analysing the region’s cluster development, we used the Difference in difference method (DiD) that allows assessing the effect of clustering as a difference of the results prior and after cluster’s formation. We tested our methodology on the example of the Lipetsk region, where the regional clustering is actively implemented thus implying the need for its improvement. In accordance with the offered model, we suggest to control cluster interactions by means of a virtual business environment in a form of the organizational platform with a multidimensional network architecture. Based on this model we developed a mechanism of interaction of the cluster participants in the course of organizing the region’s social and economic space. This mechanism suggests creating virtual platforms in the spheres of mutual interests and joint activity between the cluster’s participants (with a possibility of creating cooperative start-ups or venture enterprises). The developed conceptual model of regional clusters can be applied for the strategic development of «The valley of mechanical engineering» cluster. Further research can focus on the systems analysis of all clusters and their influence on the organization of the region’s social and economic space.

According to human capital theory, education is not a product of final consumption, but a means of producing added value, an important factor in national and global macroeconomic growth. The topic of converting human capital into relevant material indicators described in economical terms is yet to be sufficiently developed; thus, it is necessary to identify key factors that influence the educational activity of working citizens and to establish the role of the Adult Education and Vocational Education and Trainings (AE&VET) in the macroeconomic development of regions. Using statistical analysis the authors established a correlation between the supplementary education’s rate and the volume of fixed capital investment per capita in the Russian Federation regions, which indicated the importance of investments in education and personnel training: in the regions with growing volume of investments, the amount of grown population who continue education in order to implement their knowledge at new enterprises is also increasing. This, in turn, boosts the investment appeal of the territory. The authors confirmed the hypothesis that investments in educational programs lead to the increase in labour productivity; this phenomenon has a positive impact on the growth rates of both wages and gross regional product. Thus, it was concluded that socio-economic differentiation of subjects of the Russian Federation is directly related to the general indicators of the regional AE&VET systems. Effective development of AE&VET requires active participation of all stakeholders (workers, employers, investors, regional authorities, and the government). The main provisions and conclusions of the article can be used for development of the regional AE&VET- systems for ensuring the economic growth as well as the investment appeal of the territory.

An impact of foreign trade on national inequality levels is one of the most discussed topics both by public, politicians and academics. This paper contributes to this discussion by focusing on the role of foreign trade in the Russian Federation during its rapid economic transformation in 1990–2010. During this period, the trade-led growth model has helped to raise country-average levels of income. But simultaneously, it seemingly triggered greater inequality in income appropriation between different social groups. Looking into causality between foreign trade and this observed income disparity from the regional perspective will help us to understand the poverty problem associated with income inequality better and enhance the effectiveness of policies of the Russian government targeting income re-distribution. In particular, this research aims to answer a question whether during 1990’s–2000’s increasing openness to foreign trade was pro-poor on the regional level or not. Another point of interest is whether the distributional impact of growing foreign trade on incomes in Russian regions had been positive or negative. Several hypotheses for the Russian Federation are tested in the paper. First, higher openness to foreign trade improved income distribution in the Russian regions. Second, globalization of regions as a result of a more active foreign trade benefited individuals in the middle-income decile. This follows an idea that trade liberalization cuts living costs and raises living standards. Third, regions with larger rural population will tend to have more uneven income distribution. This follows from the neo-classical assumption that in rural areas a poverty burden tends to be larger. Active involvement in the trade of agricultural products might improve income distribution in such regions. Additionally, the share of dependent population among households must affect poverty headcount or the depth of poverty as previous studies on poverty determinants naturally suggested.

Education is critical to economic and social development and has an impact on individual’s future income. Education affects not only the potential ability of the individual to increase his or her future income, but can be considered as a source of socio-economic development of the region. This paper presents the results of the evaluation of the education contribution to the socio-economic development of Russian regions. The study was conducted both for the Russian Federation as a whole and for the Federal districts and regions of Russia. We have developed the methodology for calculating the potential contribution of education to the socio-economic development of Russian regions. We assumed that when graduates enter the labour market they contribute to the economic growth and the social activity. From 2005 to 2016, the authors have analysed contribution of the following types of education: secondary general education, basic vocational education, secondary vocational education and higher education. Furthermore, we have considered the contribution of higher education to the socio-economic development of the regions of Russia across types of targeted training and specializations to select a sample of ten territorial subjects of the Russian Federation. We came to the conclusion that the higher education is the main contributor to the socio-economic development of the subjects of the Russian Federation. The potential contribution of the general education system to the socioeconomic development of the subjects of the Russian Federation is due to the fact that it prepares pupils for the following education levels, but not for their entry to the labour market. The results of the research can be used to conduct a regular assessment of the impact of region’s education system to its social and economic development, as well as to optimize the regional structure of secondary and higher education.

The article is devoted to the extension of boundaries of scientific ideas about the economic nature of rent relations in mesoeconomics. The article develops theoretical ideas on both the impact of globalization on the rent economy and the localization of rent relations. In this regard, I research the relations between the concepts of «raw economy» and «rent economy». Moreover, I consider a number of methods of the influence of rent relations on the economic development. The type of the rents in the economy corresponds to the directions of the globalization of these rents and is interconnected with the specific types of rent relations. The article reveals functional patterns as well as the tendencies of modern rent relations in local economic space. Integrating the specified tendencies, I have determined the tasks of rent economy at the regional level. The localization of rent relations in the globalizing regional economy will reveal the best ways for the regional development. The increasing value of the rent in regional economy has allowed the author to define the factors, which are common for both the globalizing rents and localizing rents. As a result of the research, I determine the directions of the transformation of the rent relations at the level of the regional economy. Firstly, the specific concentration of rents, which arose and localize in the territory of a region, transforms in a territorial rent. Secondly, the forms of rent relations are modified in their geographical localization in the economic space of a region. The third group of tendencies is connected to the comprehensive nature of changes in the development of rents in the territory of a region. And the last direction consists in the objective limitations of the development of the rent relations in the regional economy.

The study analyzes the relationship between the diversification of industry in its certain fields and characteristics of regional innovation systems. The relevance of this topic is due to a need to identify and verify the structural factors of sustainable development of the industry according to innovation scenarios. The study clarifies the methodological frameworks and the role of diversification as a factor of regional economic development. The purpose of the study is to assess the impact of diversification on innovative activity in the manufacturing industry. I present an empirical analysis of both the level of diversification of regional manufacturing industry and the selected indicators characterizing innovative activities. I define positive and negative trends of development. The level of diversification is characterized by high heterogeneity. It allows selecting the most and the least diversified regions. The analysis shows the significant regional difference in the level of innovative activity in the manufacturing industry, as well as in the share of the output of innovative products. On this basis, I assessed the regions taking into account the dynamics and the level of innovative activity in the manufacturing industry. The study has revealed a positive relationship between the level of diversification of manufacturing industry, innovative activity and the share of the output of high-tech products. This positive correlation is observed in all specifications and indicates the presence of externalities in industry development of the regions. The identified trends are more common for regions with a lower level of per capita gross domestic product. At the same time, I noted the limitations of using the diversification effects for the growth of innovative activity in the manufacturing industry. The results have both the theoretical and applied significance. Therefore, they may be applied when making strategic decisions related to the choice of directions for the territorial and sectoral development.

The paper is devoted to the development and the new application of the mathematical model of effective capital funds (ECF) formation, which has been offered earlier. These funds are understood as a part of the capital funds of a macroeconomic object (a branch, a sector, a region, a country) used in the current conditions of market economy. The initial data for the model are gross output, production investments, and labour expenses. The model uses a macroeconomic production function (PF) and the dynamic equation for ECF, which reflects the investment control and depreciation processes. On the basis of this model, we address the problem of a simultaneous assessment of the PF parameters and reconstruction of ECF. This problem increases the adequacy of the PF method assuming rationality of the used production factors as well as solves a new problem — ECF quantitative assessment. Complication of the substantial problem leads to complication of computing process. We overcome this complication attracting the additional information, which reflects the specificity of a concrete entity. We apply this method to a new object covered by the new method of economic analysis — small business (SB). The peculiarity of this sector of the regional and national economy is that its capital funds have no clear definition, and, respectively, there is a lack of their regular and reliable statistical record. The Federal State Statistics Service documents, available to researchers and analysts, characterize small business by the yearly indicators of a turnover, investments into capital funds, and the average number of workers. For the estimation of SB’s capital funds, we offer to use the indicator of ECF. The specified method of ECF estimation and PFs design is applied to the sector of “legal entities of SB†of the Volga and the Ural Federal Regions on the interval of 2005–2014.

The purpose of the research is to substantiate what kind of influence the import substitution has on the positioning of different types of regions in the system of international economic relations. The research is focused on two types of regions — the industrial type (the Sverdlovsk region) and the agricultural type (Rostov and Krasnodar regions). The research hypothesis is following: import substitution influences not only the replacement of imported goods by the domestic ones, but also can change regional positioning in the international economic relations system. The authors propose the methodological approach. It examines the regional economy according to three levels: a system of entities engaged in foreign economic activity; a system of the support of import substitution and export orientation in a region; a system of international economic relations. Regional positioning in the system of international economic relations is expressed in manufacture and agriculture exports and imports. Our methodological approach reveals the dependence between manufacture and agriculture exports and imports and the manufacturing and agriculture output, including correlation analysis. . We have offered a technique based on the comparative analysis of the effectiveness of import substitution in two regions’ types applying correlation analysis. The analysis has shown the interrelation of the development processes of domestic manufacturing and agriculture, their export and import in 2005–2016. The import decrease and export increase (after 2014) were mainly due to regional specialization in international division of labour. This demonstrates the results of import substitution. The research results can be used for further development of the strategies of regional international economic activity including such instruments as import substitution and export promotion. © 2018 Institute of Economics Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

The article considers the infrastructure capital relating to the regional economy as a tool for economic development and proposes the authors’ approach to its definition and classification. The indicators of the subjects of the Ural economic region in the period from 2005 to 2015, collected by Federal State Statistics Service of Russian Federation, serve as the initial data. The purposes of the study are to compare the calculated (the optimal in a model) and actual values of infrastructure capital in the structure of the region’s economy, which the authors divide into manufacturing and infrastructure sectors; and to assess its impact on the gross output of the manufacturing industries. The authors put forward the following hypothesis: the infrastructure input as a factor of production function has a positive and significant impact on the value of the gross output of the sector. The methodology of the study is represented by the econometric assessment of the elasticities of the outputs of sectors of the economy, described by Cobb-Douglas production functions, as well as by the theoretical calculation of the capital’s ratios in the region’s economy. The results confirm the importance of infrastructure input in the formation of the gross output of the Ural economic region. The comparison of the calculated and actual capital allocation ratios along with other indicators suggests the scarcity of capital in both sectors of the regional economy. This fact can be a signal to the regional authorities for rethinking the infrastructure development programs. The authors consider the case of the closed economy, therefore, further research should be concentrated on the open economy with a larger number of regions and other econometric tools.

The integrated approach to the assessment of the socio-economic development of subjects of the Russian Federation, which is characterized by systematic character and novelty, is presented in the article. This approach is based on the modern techniques used in this sphere. The main purpose of the comprehensive assessment of a region’s socio-economic development level is the elaboration of a possible solution for the strategic development issues taking into account spatial, geographical, natural, socioinstitutional and other features. The authors propose to estimate the socio-economic climate of the subjects of the Russian Federation by the average values of socio-economic indexes for the three-year period. For comparability of multitemporal indicators and regional distinctions, the indicators measured in monetary units are transformed in the form of their relation to the cost of the fixed set of consumer goods and services. In addition, we estimate the dynamics of comparable indicators in absolute and relative expression and introduce scales for the assessment of the dynamics of socio-economic situation and a level of quality (stability) of dynamics. On the basis of this technique, the authors examine the socio-economic situation of territorial subjects of the Russian Federation in 2012–2014. As a result, we have revealed one of the problems of socio-economic development — the imbalance of the dynamics of the main socio-economic indexes. In the studied period, 7 regions have shown moderate or high growth of the integrated indicator (not less than 9 %), but in 4 of them, the growth was unbalanced of poor quality. Moreover, further 11 regions have shown a considerable and unbalanced decrease in the social-economic situation. This has been revealed on the basis of the integrated indicator. Thus, the offered approach can be applied for an assessment of the level of socio-economic development in Russian regions in medium-term prospect. It can be used for the development of the basic methodological statements as well as for the identification of cause-effect relationship and justification of the priority directions for the development of the subjects of the Russian Federation.

This paper explores the regional economic impact of mineral resource endowment and offers specific inputs to the debate on the local content requirement (LCR) policy, gaining urgency in modern economic and political environment. The paper considers the intricacies related to greenfield investment projects in Russian oil and gas industry. Focusing on the experience of the Krasnoyarsk region, the paper examines the way national companies operate in the newly developing oil and gas provinces of Russia. The analysis of key economic indices shows that the existing approach does not allow having significant benefits from resource endowment in the region. The main idea is that the establishment of completely new industry has to affect regional economic development, budget revenues dynamics and employment to influence the related industries and services in the region. The conducted analysis let to form possible scenarios and evaluate the dynamics of regional economic development depending on the scale of LCR policy. The developed approach based on statistical modeling allows assessing both direct and indirect effects of LCR policy. The obtained results allow to conclude that the implementation of LCR policy leads to the growth of real income per capita and the job creation in the region. The development of equipment and services suppliers for oil and gas industry by ripple effects can boost socio-economic development and diversify regional economy. The paper also dwells on some pitfalls and risks accompanying LCR policy and considers crucial points of introducing this kind of policy for local and federal government. This study has been supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research according to the research project No. 16-36-00399.

The subject matter of the analysis is the non-linear characteristics of the new model of higher education in relation to its resources and risk environment. The purpose of this article is to prove the need and the possibility of transition to the nonlinear model of higher education in the region on the basis of theoretical positions and the results of the study of non-linear socio-economic processes. In this connection, the socio-economic factors of such transition are characterized; the objective necessity of its implementation in the context of the economic and social uncertainty of a particular region, which is Ural Federal District, is shown. A new type of relationship between universities and their social partners is considered. The need for the change of interactions between educational communities; reliance on the use of a new wide range of economic, social and spiritual resources; the constant search for new mechanisms, educational programs, relations with the external environment, management decisions are argued. Ural Federal District is shown as one of the most advanced regions of the Russian Federation not only in the sphere of the economy, social and cultural life, but also in the sphere of higher education. This circumstance is related to the constant, intensive search for innovative approaches to the modernization of higher education in the region, including the formation of its non-linear model. The presented situation forms the basis of the hypothesis that the non-linear model of higher education can ensure its competitiveness in the global educational space, to enhance its role in the society and specific regions of the country and to turn it into a locomotive of the socio-economic and socio-cultural development. The study is based on an interdisciplinary methodology, including the potential of theoretical sociology, sociology of education, economic sociology, management theory, regional economy. The findings of the research serve as the basis for improving the educational policy of the Ural Federal District. © Copyright 2005-2016 Institute of Economics, the Ural branch of the RAS. All rights reserved. Russian Science Foundation, RSF: 16-18-10046 The article has been prepared with the support of the Russian Science Foundation Grant (No. 16-18-10046) "Forming nonlinear model of the Russian higher education in the region in the context of economic and social uncertainty".

At the present time, the document contents of strategic planning for subjects of the Russian Federation, their order of development and endorsement at the interregional and federal levels, requirements for content and coordination with other long-term and medium-term territorial programs are legislative authorized. In the article, the theoretical and methodical problems of specification and interrelation of forecast scenario versions of region socio-economic development with expected parameters of regional energy consumption on the basis of fuel and energy balance in the conditions of incomplete retrospective information are considered. Such situation is typical in the market conditions, and some restrictions on access to the statistical data can be removed. It reduces the application of the strict formal valuation methods and objectivity not only expected, but also current indicators. Methodical and practical relevance of coordination of the specified documents is caused by the relative isolation of their development, various specification level of expected scenarios, lack of necessary information. The authors use the estimation procedure of indicators of energy saving and energy efficiency based on structural comparison of real, current, and expected fuel and energy balances coordinated with the forecast of region socio-economic development and are interested in its development for the comparative analysis of regional energy consumption in the retrospective and expected periods. The calculations are carried out by the authors since 2007 within the state order of the Ministry of Energy and Housing and Utilities Infrastructure of the Sverdlovsk region. In the article, the methodical features of the author's approaches to the option development of fuel and energy balance considering official scenarios of the forecast of region socio-economic development, fault and incompleteness of statistical data, standard requirements for the forecasts quality are reflected.

In the article, the relevant problem of increasing the regional budget revenues is investigated. The subject matter of the research is the securities market as a mechanism for the redistribution of financial resources. The purpose of the research is justification of the effective scheme feasible in the current environment of the interaction of the securities market and the regional budget. In the study of the above-mentioned subject, the hypothesis of a close relationship between state and non-state finance system was taken as a basis. The theoretical principle of the research supports the theory of the stock market; to achieve the purpose, the institutionally-functional approach to the study of state finances is applied. As the result of the research, possible common grounds of the securities market and the regional financial system are identified; the reserve of improving efficiency of the securities market in the Western Siberia regions are revealed; the model reflecting the dependence of tax revenues from the pace of regional economic development is constructed; promising areas for development of the securities market for the benefit of the regional economy and regional financial system are formulated; the possible effect from the development of regional securities market on regional budget revenues is estimated. The results mentioned above are recommended to be apllied when developing regional financial policies and programmes of region socio-economic development. A long-term stimulation of the growth in incomes of regional budgets is a very complex process, but with the proper elaboration of organizational issues, the implementation of the proposed scheme for interaction of the securities market and the regional financial system is capable to provide a steady increase in tax revenue in the short term and alleviate the problem of financing costs of the regional budget.

The article is devoted to investigations of the relationship of commodity-production and financial network structures in the regional economy as dual conjugate systems. Material flows (raw materials, goods, etc.) are circulating in the commodity network according to the Leontyev, input-output model. Nonmaterial flows of property rights, money, etc. in the financial network are reflecting the movement of material objects. Network structure is considered to be a complex of closed and open circuits that are carrying out two fundamentally different problems: a locally closed circuits are meeting local demands by supplying of locally produced goods that is providing self-reproduction of the local economy; open (or transit) circuits are providing export-import flows. The generation mechanism of «internal» money in closed circuits of commodity-production network is presented. Obtained theoretical results are illustrated by calculations of closed and open circuit flows in the municipality economy model. The mathematical model represents the mutual payments of population and companies in matrix form. It is found that the volume of turnover in closed circuits is about 28.5 % of total municipality economy model turnover and can be assured by «internal» non-inflationary money. The remaining 71.5 % of total turnover are corresponding to the flows in open circuits of the network providing export and import activity. It is summarized that the priority of innovative economy projects should be given to domestic consumption rather than exports.

The paper presents an analysis of current socio-economic and environmental aspects of the industry imbalances in the regional economy by the example of Ural Federal District and Siberian Federal District. The main aim of it is to identify the actual socio-economic problems in the development of the regional economies. The authors analyze the economic, ecological and social aspects in the development of regional economies by the examples. They investigate the specifics of the correlation between industrial development, ecological problems and health problems of the local population. Particular emphasis is placed on the analysis of correlations between the mortality of the population and industrial pollution of air and water. The analysis has resulted in making proposals for optimization of the regional policy in the field of investments, manufacturing and ecology. The special attention is given to environment-oriented projects. The most practicable way in solving the problem of these regional industry imbalances would be the development of regional diversification programs of the Siberia and the Ural economies. It has to support manufacturing and the largest public-private investment projects for the foundation of enterprises in agriculture, food and other industries. The most prosperous among them is the direction of bioenergy and forest-engineering- oriented businesses. The results of the research can be useful in solving the problem of the industry imbalances in the regional economic policy of the Russian Federation.

This paper reviews the evolution of scientific ideas about the regional economy as an independent direction of economic knowledge. The growing interest of scientists, university lecturers and specialists to the regional economy is noticed. The authors pay special attention to the origins of the regional economy, the contribution of Russian scientists to the disclosure of the content and nature of economic regionalization of the country as well as highlight the role of Soviet geographers and economists in developing the theory of clusters and the study of challenges to the rational distribution of production forces. It is emphasized that the new scientific discipline — regional economy — was born in the acute scientific discussions between Soviet geographers and economists, particularly regarding the subject of investigation. The conclusion is substantiated that so far in economic science four major views on the subject of understanding and interpretation of the regional economy were formed. The authors pay attention to the fact that at present there is a further extension of the subject of the regional economy, mainly over the border of the material space and location of productive forces. The paper concludes that the formation of a modern paradigm of regional economy should be based on several basic principles, among which are the following ones: consideration of the regional economy as an evolving complex structural discipline; territoriality as a dominant feature of any research in the regional economy; the imperative of any study that claims to belong to a regional economy is not only to establish general patterns of development and organization of economic life in the territory, but also the identification of its regional (local) specific.

The subject of the research is the processes of Russian knowledge economy development, its progress on the regional level is taken as a theme, which determined the purpose of research: development of the regional knowledge economy development indicative planning method conceptual model. The methodological base of the research is the knowledge economy concept and supply and demand theory, the methods of comparative and system analysis and theoretical modeling; common generalization and classification methods and regression models are used in the work. As a result, we managed to create the regional knowledge economy development indicative planning method conceptual model, which includes the choice of the types of indicative plans and the justification for the complex of indicators according to the stated requirements to this complex. The model of supply and demand for knowledge dependency from the knowledge cost, allowing to determine the acceptable range for the indicators proceeding from the demand and supply levels and their interrelation, is developed. The obtained results may be used by the regional government authorities while planning the regional innovative development and consulting companies while making the proposals for this development.

The classical problem of product supply and demand, which was first defined by Ð . Marshall, is reduced to Lorentz model in a nonlinear statement and it describes sustainable circular processes of commodity market, including price range increment in the context of crisis forthcoming (inflation); destabilization due to nonmanufacturing costs; the main stages of crisis development, including a stage of chaotic behavior of residence time at each attractor (equilibrium point); possibility of surmounting the crisis by means of modification of certain parameters. The given approach is used for the purpose of construction of a qualitative model of commodity price readjustment during precrisis and crisis periods, and finding reliable prognostication time.