Balanced Regional Development Research Articles

Regional Income Dynamics in Bangladesh: The Road to a Balanced Development is in the Middle

Bangladesh's remarkable achievements in economic and social progress put itself in a position that would have been unthinkable until a few decades ago. But did the improvement in development outcomes accrue equally to all areas in the country? We tackle this question by analyzing district-level income per capita constructed from the 2000 and 2016 rounds of the Household Income and Expenditure Survey. Estimating models based on the standard neoclassical theory of economic convergence built to take into account the impact of natural disasters, we find essentially no evidence of convergence. This implies the persistence of income diff erentials among Bangladesh's 64 districts. To check for the possibility of multiple steady states, we estimated models with a three-club structure based on the year 2000 income percentiles. The results now support the hypothesis of convergence within the group of middle-income districts, with a speed of 1.6% per annum (half-life 43 years), close to Barro's 2% iron law. A remarkable finding is the positive and significant effect of education on this club's steady state income level. Overall, these results are consistent with the notion of a rising middle class in Bangladesh in recent years. We also explore latent club structures using automatic algorithms, but we do not find any further evidence of convergence. The key policy implication of our study is that, to ensure a balanced regional development, it would be, at a minimum, necessary to enact policies extending the convergence process to the club of the poorer districts as well.

Testing Convergence in Post-War Transition Country

The issue of economic convergence has been widely analyzed by the researchers. Convergence hypothesis has been tested at different levels - global, national, regional and local. This paper is analyzing local economic convergence in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) in last three decades. In this period the country was facing twofold transition: from war to peace and from socialism to market economy. The regression and distributional approach to convergence analysis are combined. The first hypothesis research is testing is that poor municipalities grow faster comparing to rich municipalities – unconditional beta convergence. Second hypothesis is that dispersion of local per capita GDP decreases over time – sigma convergence. To further investigate the issue and check the changes in the distribution, several visual inspection instruments were also used. The research findings are inconclusive. While regression analysis provides some evidence for unconditional beta-convergence, in a case of sigma convergence, results are mixed. This is related to significant structural changes country went through, firmly confirmed with the transitional probability matrix data. Findings confirm the necessity for combining different approaches and instruments while analysing convergence. From the specific country perspective, research results can be used as a strong argument for the necessity of new more balanced regional development policy.

Project-Oriented Policy of Ecological Development of the Regions of Ukraine: Basic Approaches

The article highlights the main approaches and their potential in the formation and implementation of project-oriented policy of environmental development of the regions of Ukraine. It is proved that ensuring sustainable balanced regional development in Ukraine is one of the most important prerequisites for its sustainable (balanced) economic growth in social, economic and environmental aspects, and the management of environmental development of the region is implemented through the formation and implementation of both the strategy of state (national) policy and regional environmental policy. Sustainable or balanced development of regions involves the development of all its components, and especially — environmental. Greening of state and regional development is a natural process of further improvement of economic relations and the achieved level of development of productive forces, based on ecologically oriented innovation policy of the state and regions to ensure environmental security of the state and its territories. It is determined that the regional ecological policy acts as a component of the national ecological policy, which is based on the ecological national and international legislation, standards and norms and contributes to the sustainable development of the region as a socio-ecological and economic system. The basis of regional environmental policy are the following principles: priorities of national interests; legislative provision of rights and powers of regional policy subjects; taking into account the peculiarities of the regions; partnership, which provides for the need to establish cooperation between public authorities at all levels and local self-government and to ensure political stability and social harmony in the implementation of national policy. The managerial possibilities of such approaches to the formation of project-oriented policy of ecological development of regions as project management (project management), marketing of territories or ecological marketing in the context of sustainable development of regions, benchmarking in ecological development are singled out and defined regions as strengthening the competitiveness of the region, a cluster approach in the ecological development of regions. An environmental project (or a project in the field of environmental protection) means a complex system of interconnected structured tasks and measures for environmental protection, which have a stage-by-stage nature of implementation aimed at solving the problems of ecological development of the region.

Policies for Balanced Regional Development and the Industrial Growth in Jincheon-Gun County

본 논문은 진천의 산업 발전에서 지역 균형 정책의 영향을 설명하려는 것이다. 진천은 수도권 인접 지역으로서, 수도권 규제 정책의 영향을 민감하게받는 지역이고, 또한 최근 충북혁신도시 입지로 인해 지역의 산업 기반 확충정책의 영향을 민감하게 받은 지역이다. 진천은 전형적인 농업지역으로서1980년대까지 쇠퇴하고 있었다. 그러나 1990년대 이후 인구 성장을 경험하였으며 중앙 정부의 공공 기관이 이전하기 시작한 2014년 이후부터 가파른인구 성장을 경험하고 있다. 지역균형 정책, 특히 수도권 억제 정책에 대해서는 무용론 등 다양한 반론들이 많지만, 적어도 진천의 상황을 두고 보면 지역 균형 정책의 한 축으로서의 수도권 억제 정책은 그 유효성이 없다고 할 수 없다.

Improving the theoretical and methodological framework of the system for analyzing the balanced state of social and economic development of regions

This paper reviews the results obtained by Russian and foreign researchers of the importance of balanced development of a region as an autonomous system. The author proposes an algorithm for generation of balanced regional development indicators as well as determination of «regional vitality index», provides an example of graphic representation of the results for the proposed method. Additionally, the paper contains the set of assumed indicators based on a social nature of the state. Regions, as used herein, are classified into balanced, socially oriented, and economically oriented, and strategic directions are defined on the basis of existing vector of development and regional vitality index, i. e. type of the region. Key takeaways and recommendations are listed in the conclusion. In particular, the results of determining the «region vitality factor» make it possible to estimate the level of regional social and economic development with the possibility of quantitatively calculating functional imbalances, determining (if any) the vector and magnitude of deformation. The consistency of the approach to the formation of blocks of indicators allows considering the key aspects of social and economic development of the region.

STANDARD OF LIVING OF THE RUSSIAN POPULATION: FEATURES OF INTERREGIONAL DIFFERENTIATION DYNAMICS

The article presents the results of a study of the dynamics of indicators that characterize the standard of living of the population of Federal districts of Russia. The author hypothesizes that despite the growth in the values of indicators of the standard of living of the population of Federal districts for the period after 2010, there is a stable pattern of increasing their differentiation, and he has received its confirmation. This circumstance allowed us to determine the nature of changes and identify two groups of Federal districts that are moving away from each other at an increasing rate in terms of the standard of living of the population. The analysis raises the issue of the need to improve the state policy of Russia in order to enhance the standard of living of the population, ensure a balanced socio-economic development of regions and neutralize the negative consequences of their further differentiation.

Trick or Treat? Equity Concerns in the Preliminary Feasibility Study of the Republic of Korea

As a project appraisal tool, the preliminary feasibility study (PFS) has contributed to enhancing the efficiency of public investment decisionmaking in the Republic of Korea over the last two decades. To overcome the limitations of the efficiency-oriented cost-benefit analysis, the PFS accommodates equity concerns among regions, namely balanced regional development (BRD) analysis. This study attempts to gauge the contributions of BRD analysis to PFS results. Specifically, it addresses how effectively policy efforts to promote decision-making have been implemented in the PFS stage while also considering the balance between equity and efficiency in terms of the trade-off between them, the degree to which they influence the results, and whether the consideration of equity is in fact actually reflected in seriously underdeveloped regions as intended. The study finds that the PFS results over the last two decades have been largely in line with the background and policy objectives. Based on the findings of the study, needs for institutional improvement are suggested, including enhancements in the analysis of regional economic ripple effects and taking into account the psychological factors pertaining to the evaluators in the overall judgment.

A RESEARCH ON THE PROBLEMS OF SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED ENTERPRISES IN ANKARA 1ST ORGANIZED INDUSTRIAL ZONE

Küçük ve Orta Ölçekli İşletmeler (KOBİ), ekonomik ve bölgesel kalkınmanın dengeli bir şekilde sürdürülmesinde büyük rol oynamaktadır. Ancak, birçok ülkede olduğu gibi, KOBİ'lerin ülkemizde de birçok sorunu vardır. Bu sorunları azaltmak için, KOBİ'ler birçok kuruluş tarafından desteklenmektedir. KOBİ'ler desteklense de hedeflerine istendiği gibi ulaşamamaktadırlar. Bu çalışmada Ankara 1. Organize Sanayi Bölgesi'nde faaliyet gösteren KOBİ'lerin sorunlarını tespit etmek ve çözüm üretmek amacıyla bir araştırma yapılmıştır. Çalışma sonucunda KOBİ'lerin karşılaştığı sorunların sırasıyla üretim maliyetleri, finans, ihracat, teknoloji, Ar-Ge, üretim, pazarlama, organizasyon ve yönetim alanında olduğu görülmüştür. Bu sorunların çözümü için öneriler getirilmiş ve özellikle maliyetleri düşürecek bir uygulama olarak takas faaliyetlerine katılmanın önemi, toplam kalite yönetimi ve ISO9000 kalite standardının uygulanması ve bilgisayar destekli üretimin teşvik edilmesi üzerinde durulmuştur.

Priority National Projects as a Tool of Social, Economic and Political Modernization of Old Industrial Regions of the South of Russia

Introduction. In the current political process in Russia, national projects occupy an important place, working as one of the main tools for the achievement of national goals. The projects are usually made more specific at the regional level of administration and include the strategic goal of regional development, the amount of resources allocated for their achievement, as well as the responsibility of the officials for their use. The article examines the impact of implementing national projects of the “first wave” (from 2006–2010 to 2018) and the first results of the projects of the “second wave” (designed for 2019–2024) on solving the problems of effectiveness growth of public administration of the balanced development of old industrial regions of Southern Russia – Volgograd and Rostov regions. The problems of this study are justified by the expansion of using program-targeted methods in the organizational environment of regional management, what implies the need to assess the compliance of the results achieved during the implementation of projects with the goals of state regional policy. Methodology and methods. The research methodology is based on the provisions of the concept of sustainable development, as well as the system paradigm of G.B. Kleiner devoted to the need for the interconnected development of the object, environment and control subsystems. In the study of the effectiveness of national projects and their impact on the balanced development of old industrial regions of the South of Russia, the effective approach and the comparative analysis method were used. Analysis. The study shows that the degree of involvement of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation in implementing program activities of national projects is determined by the volumes of regional budgets, as well as the priorities facing a region. From the standpoint of sustainability and balance of regional development, there is a disagreement in the processes of modernization changes in the subsystems of the object, environment and management, what leads to the underutilization of the resource potential of the regions in the achievement of national goals. Results. The priorities of goal setting in Volgograd and Rostov regions in the implementation of national projects are studied. The feedbacks of the regional system to the measures mentioned in national projects, as well as limiting factors for the achievement of their objectives are identified. The idea of the coordinated development of the object, environment and management subsystems of a region for the effectiveness growth of public administration of the balanced regional development is substantiated. It is concluded that the administration and management of modern national projects is not so much a managerial task but rather a political one, and therefore their implementation implies the solution of such political goals as carefulness in setting goals and choosing priorities, building effective mechanisms of the interaction between federal and regional authorities, and also with local target population.

Measures for the Improvement of Feasibility Studies and Investment Reviews: Identification and Verification of Major Project Sectors Considering Balanced Regional Development

This study identified the balanced development indicators that affected the results of the 2019 central investment review of local financial investment projects in South Korea. Factors with positive B values and categorized under the sectors of safety, health, and social welfare were given greater weight during the investment review. Based on the empirical analysis results and verification of the findings using sector-specific weights, this study proposed measures to improve investment reviews of local financial projects considering balanced regional development. We believe that our study makes a significant contribution to the literature because there is a lack of empirical studies on the topic, especially those using sector-specific weights based on investment review criteria. Further, we believe that this paper will be of interest to the readership of your journal because it addresses balanced regional development, which is considered a prerequisite for sustainable economic growth.

REGIONAL INDUSTRY CYCLES AND RESILIENCE OF THE REGION'S ECONOMY

The growth and reduction of cycle times is a characteristic feature of modern economy. Increasingly, cyclical factor is cause of imbalance and violation of global and national economies stability. However, the question of regional industry cycles asynchrony has not been studied. It was previously believed that the regional industry cycle, its stages of growth and decline, is consistent with the national one. The work shows that it is precisely the asynchrony of regional industrial cycles that underlies imbalance and reduces stability of country's economic development. The study presented by the authors expands boundaries of understanding the laws of recessions and upswings in industry cycles, since it reveals the causes and consequences of asynchronism of industry cycles in Russian regions. Terminologically, the regional sectoral cycle should be interpreted as a dynamic process of fluctuations in economic activity within life cycle of industry, characterized by repeatability of successive stages of decline and rise in the region's industry. The authors developed a classification of main parameters of regional industry cycle according to their cyclic properties, including leading, lagging and coinciding indicators of the cycle dynamics. A generalization of scientific and methodological approaches to industry cycles as a risk factor for sustainable and balanced development of regions is presented. The causes and consequences of regional sectoral cycles for the sustainability of regional economy are determined. The measures proposed for regional authorities to prevent the negative consequences of phase shift of sectoral regional cycle will be of practical importance.

Logistical component of sustainable development of regions in the context of decentralization processes: Ukranian case

The aim of the study is to reveal the logistical component of sustainable development of regions in the context of decentralization reform in Ukraine. The role of logistics in ensuring the balanced development of regions and united territorial communities to gain their competitive advantages is shown. The dynamics of the Logistics Efficiency Index (LEI) of Ukraine in comparison with some other countries and the dynamics of the components of LPI in Ukraine for the period 2007-2018 are analysed. A number of problems that cause a low level of logistics in Ukraine have been identified and ways to improve the logistics activities of the regions have been proposed. A system for managing the logistics activities of the united territorial communities has been developed, which is the starting point for the organization of the social development management system. The system is a multi-component structure that combines objects, tasks, management methods and techniques, evaluation indicators and indicators. It should cover enterprises of production and non-production spheres, infrastructure facilities, organizations and institutions, interconnected in the decision-making process on the directions and ways of using elements of resource flow in the region and aimed at through optimization of flow processes based on estimating and minimizing logistics costs.

SOCIO-ECONOMIC SITUATION OF REGIONS IN PANDEMIC CONDITIONS (ON THE EXAMPLE OF PFD REGIONS)

The peculiarity of the modern Russian economy is in a greater degree heterogeneous development of its territories. The concept of long-term socio-economic development of the country for the period up to 2020 provided for the achievement of balanced development of regions as a priority direction. The pandemic suspended the growth of the entire world economy; Russia was affected by a sharp decrease in demand for energy sources, which was followed by a decrease in oil prices, budget revenues, worsening the population's economic conditions etc. The relevance and purpose of the article are conditioned by the need to study the impact of the pandemic on the socio-economic situation in the regions of the country. The study used the official data of Rosstat, Ministry of Finance of Russia, RIA Rating agency “Russia Today” for 2018–2019, the first half of 2019 and the first half of 2020. The research used the methods of analysis and synthesis, grouping, comparison, the index method, etc. Three regions of the PFD were chosen as objects of research: the Chuvash Republic, the Republic of Tatarstan and the Republic of Mari El, occupying different ranking positions by the level of social and economic development. The results of the study showed that the impact of the pandemic began in April 2020 and generally affected the indicators of the 1st half of 2020 and will affect the overall perfor-mance of the year. At this, the ranking places of the regions have not changed, and the indi-cators in absolute terms have sharply deteriorated. In the ranking of regions by the quality of life for 2019 the Republic of Tatarstan retained the 4th place, the Republic of Mari El moved from the 66th to the 61st place, the Chuvash Republic – from the 47th to the 44th place. The results of the study can be used in the practical activities of the authorities when carrying out the economic policy at the local level.

Mobile phones, household welfare, and women’s empowerment: evidence from rural off-grid regions of Bangladesh

ABSTRACT Using household survey data from off-grid regions of rural Bangladesh, this study attempts to assess the impacts of mobile phone use on household welfare and women’s empowerment. Using two propensity score-based weighted regressions (IPW and AIPW), this study finds that mobile phone use increases household income (3–10 percent) from different sources, such as small businesses and remittances; improves women’s empowerment; and facilitates consumption smoothing during periods of shocks. Thus, favorable policies on investment in mobile telephone technologies, tariffs on talk time and internet usage, and mobile innovations, such as mobile financial services could reduce communication bottlenecks and digital divide in rural lagging regions that will help achieve a balanced regional development. Simultaneously, policies to avoid adverse impact of mobile phone usage should also be in place.

Interventional Impacts of Watershed Ecological Compensation on Regional Economic Differences: Evidence from Xin'an River, China.

Watershed ecological compensation (WEC) is a popular and effective policy instrument for promoting the coordinated development of environment protection and the regional economy in river basin areas. WEC affects the regional economic differences between upstream and downstream regions, as well as between protected areas and areas surrounding upstream regions. Thus, it is necessary to quantify these changes to ensure the balanced development of regions after the implementation of ecological compensation. In the present study, we established two types of Theil indexes for between-group inequalities (THH and THS) and an intervention analysis model in order to evaluate and predict the effects on regional economic differences caused by WEC in the Xin’an River basin. The results showed that the intervention comprising WEC affected regional economic differences, where the economic gap widened between Huangshan City in the upstream region and Hangzhou City in the downstream region, as well as between Huangshan and its surrounding cities. However, the impacts of the intervention gradually decreased in the later pilot period. Considering the fairness of regional social development, we recommend increasing the compensation for protected areas in order to improve the self-development capacity of upstream regions.

A Dual Challenge in China’s Sustainable Total Factor Productivity Growth

Since total factor productivity growth plays an essential role in China’s economic growth, the source of this growth has been a critical issue over the past decades. Hence, this paper applies an input slack-based productivity (ISP) index to investigate the contributors (i.e., labor and capital inputs) to China’s total factor productivity growth. The ISP index, combining the features of the directional distance function and Luenberger productivity index, can calculate the productivity change of each input factor under the total factor framework. According to the decomposition analyses, we find that China is confronting a dual challenge in total factor productivity growth: first, capital productivity growth exhibits a remarkable slowdown after the mid-1990s; second, although labor productivity continually expands, the relative labor efficiency among provinces has deteriorated since the 2000s. The results imply that the government should not only advocate upgrading industrial structure, but also consider balanced regional development policies for China’s sustainable growth.

CURRENT STATE AND PROJECTIONS OF THE MARITIME TRANSPORT SECTOR FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN IRAQ

The transportation sector plays a critical role in balanced economic and regional development, as well as affording a great deal of influence on national integration into the world economic market. 
 This paper studies current trends in the maritime sector in Iraq and presents some recommendations to improve maritime transport and ports’ efficiency in order to enhance economic development. 
 Various problems and obstacles faced by the ports of Iraq, which have piled up during the last three decades, acted as a major setback in its underdevelopment and weakened its functional capacity, and limited its role in economic development.
 Therefore, the government should formulate policies that would encourage foreign and private participation in the maritime sector of the economy.

Соціально-екологічний підхід до розроблення стратегії сталого розвитку туризму територіальних громад

На прикладі запланованої Старосамбірської об'єднаної територіальної громади (ОТГ) Львівської області проаналізовано найвідоміші теоретичні моделі, побудовані на підставі соціально-екологічного підходу розвитку суспільства, призначених для застосування під час розроблення стратегії сталого розвитку територій. Встановлено, що соціально-екологічний підхід до розроблення стратегії сталого розвитку туризму територіальних громад, стане тим інноваційним механізмом, за допомогою якого регіон зможе реалізувати свій туристичний потенціал, базуючись на концепції сталого розвитку, що ґрунтується на двох основоположних підходах: ощадливе використання природних ресурсів та мінімізація шкоди для довкілля; забезпечення збалансованого соціально-економічного розвитку туристичних регіонів. Висвітлено проблеми та перспективи використання соціально-екологічного підходу до розроблення стратегії сталого розвитку туризму територіальних громад (на прикладі запланованої Старосамбірської об'єднаної територіальної громади Львівської області) та впровадження стратегічних планів економічного та соціального розвитку туризму об'єднаних територіальних громад для забезпечення високого рівня та якості життя населення регіонів України, створення сприятливих умов для діяльності нинішнього та майбутніх поколінь та припинення деградації природних екосистем шляхом впровадження нової моделі економічного зростання, що ґрунтується на засадах сталого розвитку. Встановлено, що пріоритетними напрямками розвитку туристичної сфери цього району є такі види туризму: сакральний; паломницький; ностальгійний; культурно-пізнавальний; рекреаційний; активний туризм, зокрема, піший туризм, велотуризм та екстремальний туризм та екологічний туризм. Саме стійкий попит на такий продукт сприятиме розвитку інфраструктури, малого та середнього підприємництва тощо. Результати досліджень наявних туристично-рекреаційних ресурсів, з урахуванням екологічної та соціально-економічної складових для реалізації принципів сталого розвитку громади є важливими, як власне для окремих об'єднаних територіальних громад, так і для держави загалом.

Environmental innovation in the RF Arctic Zone regions as a tool to realize the demographic potential

Subject. This article discusses the issues of balanced development of regions, the Man-Environment system, and the introduction of environmental innovation in technological processes. Objectives. The article aims to analyze the adoption of environmental innovation in terms of realizing the demographic potential of the Arctic regions of Russia. Methods. For the study, we used a content analysis, statistical data qualitative and cause-and-effect analyses, grouping, and systematization. Results. Most regions of the Arctic show significant levels of environmental impact, including atmospheric air, surface water and land. There is a high disease incidence of the population in the Arctic areas. The proportion of companies implementing environmental innovation in technological processes is negligible. Conclusions. The article concludes that it is appropriate to accelerate the pace of environmental innovation in economic activity. This will help reduce pollution and have a positive impact on public health.

FUNCTIONING OF MODERN INSTITUTIONS OF REGIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN THE CONDITIONS OF SOCIALIZATION

Introduction. In modern conditions, characterized by deepening social and economic disparities and contradictions at the regional level, the tasks of effective redistribution of responsibilities, powers and resources at all levels of government - from functional (national) to regional and local in the context of transfer - are becoming increasingly important, a wider scope from this list from the central body (state) to regional institutions and local governments in accordance with the principles of the European Charter of Local Self-Government. The purpose of the article is to study the functioning of modern institutions of regional economic development in terms of socialization. Results. Peculiarities of modern institutions functioning of social and economic development in the context of decentralization reform realization are investigated. The main approaches and criteria for assessing the effectiveness of institutions depending on their functional purpose and role in the reform process are systematized, namely: purpose, scope, functional orientation, maintenance costs and level of adaptability to new conditions. Conclusions. Methodological approaches to a comprehensive assessment of the effectiveness of decentralization reform are proposed, which can be used for monitoring and making corrective decisions at any stage of its implementation. Comprehensive analysis involves assessing structural changes in terms of 3 components that systematically characterize the achievement of the main goals of reform in the regions, in particular: organizational and administrative (reforming the territorial and administrative system and optimizing regional management), budget (forming independent, balanced regional development budgets) and social-economic (ensuring economic development, economic growth in the region and improving the welfare of citizens). Key words: institutions, regional development, economic development, socialization.