Human capital of the Arctic: problems and development prospects

Abstract

The goal of the present research is to make comparative analysis of the development of human capital of circumpolar countries as the primary factor of sustainable development of the Arctic regions. In the context of Russia’s Arctic policy formation, the study of foreign countries experience in the development of human capital in the Arctic territories is seen by us particularly topical. In the course of the study, the main characteristics of the Arctic territories of the circumpolar states were identified, and their specific characteristics were determined. These include low population density, uncomfortable weather and climatic conditions, inaccessibility and farness of settlements from economic and administrative centres, the raw material orientation and non-diversified nature of the economy. The multidirectional migration processes, as well as migration influence on the characteristics of the population and, hence, on the structure and quality of human capital were determined as essential features of the territorial development of circumpolar countries. The main problems of the qualitative accumulation and effective use of human capital in the Arctic territories of the circumpolar countries, the key of which is the phenomenon of unemployment, were revealed. For the Arctic territories of Russia, poverty of the population, a high proportion of poor families with children, and low life expectancy have been were defined as a threat to the degradation of human capital. The general strategic lines of circumpolar states in the development of the Arctic territories which are relevant for the Russian state regulation of the development of the Arctic territories were determined. The study was carried out within the framework of project AAAA-A18-118051590118-0 “Comprehensive interdisciplinary research and economic and mathematical modeling of the socio-economic transformation and management of regions and municipalities of the North-Arctic territories of Russia”.