Leading Centers of Researching the Problems of Territory’s Economic Security

Abstract

The article focuses on comparing research approaches to analyzing the problem of territory’s economic security in three leading centers in Moscow, Saint-Petersburg and Ekaterinburg. In this case, research centers are seen not as scientific schools, but as analogues of foreign “Invisible colleges†. I found that Moscow economists employ global approach to economic security as they consider the problem on a variety of levels: from national one to the level of a certain enterprise. Each level demands developing its own set of indicators (including threshold ones). Saint-Petersburg researchers prefer a highly specialized approach focused on economic and legal analysis of criminal aspects of economic security’ threats. In the Urals regional approach prevails; however, territory’s economic security is assessed not only in general, but in the context of different fields (energy security, social and demographic security, and so on). Another characteristic of regional analysis of economic security’s aspects is extensive use of economic and mathematical modelling by Ural academic economists. Based on dialectic comparison of general and specific approaches, it is necessary to find a theoretical and methodological consensus in order to successfully study problems of territory’s economic security.