Spatial Organization of Inter-Municipal Cooperation in Russia

Abstract

Unlike the world experience, in Russia during the years of local government reform, inter-municipal cooperation has not become a landmark element of the regional planning system. Using methods of economic and statistical analysis we have analyzed the prerequisites for the introduction and forms of inter-municipal cooperation and examined its mechanism. In recent decades, inter-municipal cooperation in Russia has been developing within the framework of non-commercial associative and contractual forms focusing mainly on socio-economic problems, joint protection, and defense of general municipal interests before public authorities. Organizational and economic forms of cooperation did not receive proper incentives for development. A comparative analysis of indicators of the state of commercial forms of inter-municipal cooperation at the all-Russian and federal district levels allowed identifying three models of participation of municipalities at the federal district level in inter-municipal commercial organizations. The municipalities of the Northwestern, Southern, and Far Eastern Federal Districts are most actively involved in the activities of inter-municipal commercial organizations where the share of municipalities participating in inter-municipal commercial organizations is higher than the average Russian parameters. The study found that there is no obvious correlation between the level of economic development of the subject of the Federation and the degree of participation of its municipalities in inter-municipal commercial organizations. The study identified the directions of improving the inter-municipal cooperation, the possibility of using foreign experience, and the directions of improving the statistical accounting of cases of inter-municipal cooperation.