The structural factor of regional economic stability in Russia during the coronacrisis period

Olga A Romanova,Alena O Ponomareva

doi:10.15826/recon.2021.7.3.014

Abstract

Relevance. The coronavirus pandemic has lead to one of the most serious crises in the global economy. The significant disparities between Russian regions influenced the levels of morbidity and their strategies of containing the crisis. Research objective. The aim of this paper is to identify the factors of regional development which, during the pandemic and in the post-pandemic period, affected and will affect the economic stability of Russian regions. Materials and Methods. The research is based on the Rosstat data, industry reviews, materials from analytical and consulting firms, Russian and international research literature. The research methodology is based on the structuralist approach and the provisions of the new structural economics put forward by J. Lin. The methods of comparative, statistical, and structural analysis were also used. Results. The most significant factors in regional economic development are the structure of the economy and the quality of public administration at the national and regional levels. The high-tech sector in the structure of a regional economy plays a pivotal role in ensuring its stability in the times of crisis. The study shows the need for a transition to independent national value chains. It is also necessary to develop a long-term national strategy aimed at stimulating the structural transformation of regional economies. Conclusions. The study has demonstrated the importance of the two key factors in shaping the regions’ responses to the pandemic and the speed of their recovery – the structure of regional economy and the role of the government. These factors should be taken into account by the Strategy of the State Regional Industrial Policy.

Highlights

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a severe global crisis, which is fundamentally different from all previous crises
As we have discussed above, the economic aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic in Russia were analyzed in research literature (Kuznetsova, 2020; Mau et al, 2020; Nigmatulin et al, 2020), the regional aspect is still underexplored
It should be noted that the share of gross value added (GVA) of the industry in total GVA of the Russian economy during this period was 25.1%, while in the UK it was 12.2%, in France, 12.3%, and in Italy, 17.6%

Summary

Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a severe global crisis, which is fundamentally different from all previous crises. It is not economic in nature, since it was determined not by socio-economic factors but by the factors of an exogenous, in this case biological, nature. The planetary scale of the crisis had a devastating effect on the world economy as a whole, on the economy of all national states, on all industries and spheres of economic activity without exception. The significant disparities between the countries (the level of socio-economic development, the structure of the economy, the volume and quality of public services) resulted in the differences in the anti-crisis measures taken by each state. The combination of all these factors had a decisive influence on the depth of the econo-

Objectives

Results

Conclusion