Connectivity of regional systems of consumer goods reproduction

Abstract

Relevance. The question of how to achieve a more stable economic reproduction and how to expand it is of prime importance as reproduction determines the development of the whole economic system. Due to the constant economic transformations and the so-called 'networkization' of many processes, more research is needed into the spatial organization of reproduction, in particular the intraregional and interregional relationships between its elements. Research objective. This study aims at showing the spatial connections between phases of reproduction on the regional and municipal levels. Data and methods. The study relies on tools and methods of spatial econometric modelling, which includes calculations of univariate and bivariate global and local Moran's indices and diagrams of their dispersion. We constructed an adjacency matrix for Russian regions and municipalities. Overall, our study uses the data on 2,337 municipalities in 84 Russian regions. Results. It was found that the phase of consumption followed by the phases of distribution and exchange have the highest degree of connectivity. Spatial connectivity between the phases was the most pronounced in the case of retail trade and consumption and was much weaker in the case of wholesale trade and production. The analysis of the municipal-level data has revealed some previously undetected relationships between peripheral areas located near regional borders. Conclusions. In this study, we consider reproduction as a spatially organized economic system with interconnected, territorially dependent phases. Such approach provides us with new insights into the ongoing processes in the national economic space.