Directions Of Regional Policy Research Articles

Digital inequality: modernization of Kuznets curve in the digital era

Objective: to study the impact of the level of broadband Internet access on income inequality in Russian regions.Methods: econometric modeling using the method of analyzing the relationship between inequality and economic growth, developed by Simon Kuznets, for a sample of 82 Russian regions in 2010–2020.Results: the paper examines the theoretical and practical aspects of income inequality of the population. The basis of many scientific studies is the results obtained by S. Kuznets, repeatedly tested in subsequent works. It is determined that under digital economy, inequality in economic development is also manifested in the spread of broadband Internet access. However, previous studies have not answered whether the further spread of the Internet will lead to increased income inequality. The authors of the study put forward and tested the corresponding hypothesis. Based on the analysis results, the authors draw conclusions about the existence of a nonlinear relationship between economic growth and income inequality, as well as the existence of a link between the spread of broadband Internet access and the reduction of income inequality in the Russian regions. At the same time, the results show that the relationship between the development of broadband Internet access and the Gini coefficient has an inverted U-shaped curve. This relationship is a development or analogue of the Kuznets curve, in which the development of digital infrastructure becomes one of the key factors in reducing inequality.Scientific novelty: a method for analyzing the relationship between income inequality and digital development is proposed, which is based on the results of econometric modeling. A model is substantiated and constructed that characterizes the impact of broadband Internet access on income inequality in Russia.Practical significance: the study results substantiate the need to increase the level of broadband Internet connectivity as one of the indicators of reducing income inequality in the Russian regions and, thus, indicate the directions of regional policy in the field of digital infrastructure development.

РЕФОРМИРОВАНИЕ ЗДРАВООХРАНЕНИЯ И ГОСУДАРСТВЕННАЯ РЕГИОНАЛЬНАЯ ПОЛИТИКА США

One of the reasons of social contradictions aggravation in modern USA is inequality of provision of the population with medical benefits, which actualizes the research of reforms and directions of regional policy, carried out by the state in the sphere of health care. The purpose of the research consists in revealing the tendency of formation of inequality in provision of the population of the USA with medical services, developed as a consequence of socio-economic and political processes in American society, expressed in permanent reforming of national health care and state regulation of regional problems. On the basis of the evolutional-genetic approach to the subject of research and the use of methods of statistical and economic analysis, as well as abstract-logical methods of processing of the theoretical material the results were obtained, that reflect the dynamics of the studied inequality and the factors determining it during 1951—2020 years were revealed. A number of conclusions reflecting the spatial-temporal and socio-structural nature of inequality in the provision of medical benefits to the US population, determined by the economic and political cyclism of the development of American society in the period under study, are made. The consequence of cyclicity is the inconsistency of reforming and using various types of state regional policy in the regulation of healthcare, depending on conjunctural factors.

ЕКОНОМЕТРИЧНІ ПІДХОДИ ДО ПРОГНОЗУВАННЯ ФІНАНСОВОГО ЗАБЕЗПЕЧЕННЯ СОЦІАЛЬНО-ЕКОНОМІЧНОГО РОЗВИТКУ РЕГІОНУ

In the given article it is noted that the level of forecasting of processes of social development is determined by the efficiency of planning and management of economy and other spheres. Social and economic forecasting of basic trends of social development allows use of special calculation and logic methods, giving the opportunity to determine parameters of functioning of separate elements of productive forces in their interrelation and interdependence. At the current stage of regional development of the state, the forecasting of the management of social-economic processes in the region is urgent, and the need for their improvement in order to obtain effective tools for determining the main guidelines and directions of regional policy. Predictions that include scientific justification should be central to the planned decisions of state authorities and the implementation of social-economic policies in the region, to determine the main directions of its future development, place and role in the national economy. The process of forming a modern system of forecasting regional development in Ukraine took place under conditions of a large-scale state transformation and reorganization. The change in the political regime and reform of the Ukrainian economy, which began in the 1990s, led to the inversion of the role of the territory in the system of public administration. Regions that previously had very limited rights in the agricultural sector, received the right to make political, economic, social, cultural and other decisions on their own. Economic forecasting is necessary for determining ways of society development and economic resources which provide its achievement, for revealing most likely and economically efficient variants of long-term, medium term and current plans, grounding main directions of economic and technical politics, forecasting the consequences of the made decisions and measures taken at present. Application of econometric models in economics gives the opportunity to distinguish and formally describe the most significant, the most essential relations of economic variables and objects, as well as to get new knowledge about the object in the inductive way. In such model, in the simplified form, by many assumptions, the main dependence between economic indicators is determined.

The living standard of the rural population of Kazakhstan as a socio-economic category

The study was carried out within the framework of targeted funding of the Science Committee of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan "Development of the concept and mechanisms of balanced territorial development of the economy and society of Kazakhstan." Methods - abstract-logical, monographic, graphical, comparative and cluster analysis. Results - in order to compare the living standards of rural areas of the country's regions, grouping of regions was carried out with justification of such indicators as growth rate of the number of rural residents; the share of the employed and self-employed in the total rural population; villagers' income; proportion of residents whose material well-being is below the subsistence level; share of expenses for food products and paid services. The results of the conducted cluster analysis are presented and groups of regions with similar living conditions, social security and characteristic problems are identified, which makes it possible to determine the main directions of regional policy for improving living standards in the countryside for each of them. Conclusions - the authors have developed recommendations for the implementation of measures aimed at increasing the level of livelihoods in rural areas that are of interest to regional and local government agencies, labor and social protection authorities in Kazakhstan, preparation of policy documents to improve the socioeconomic situation of rural residents.

Evaluation of regional competitiveness in economic conditions of Kazakhstan

Main problem: Issues of evaluating regional competitiveness, search for competitive territories’ advantages, especially by improving human resources’ quality, remain insufficiently studied. In this regard, in article it is presented existing models for evaluating regional competitiveness in Kazakhstan economy. In addition, in article authors carried out regional classification according to analysis of main socio-economic indicators of Kazakhstan regions, originating in Concept of regional policy. Authors calculated main indicators of Kazakhstan regions’ competitiveness with aim of determining level of region’s competitiveness in comparative perspective. Purpose: Purpose of the research is comparative analysis and evaluation of the competitiveness of Kazakhstan’s regions in modern conditions. Methods: The article uses rating model for evaluating competitiveness of Kazakhstan’s regions based on indices, developed by Agency for research on investment profitability, operating at National chamber of Entrepreneurs of Kazakhstan (rating of competitiveness of Kazakhstan’s regions). Results and their value: Value of the paper considered in that classification of regions is carried out according to analysis of main socio-economic indicators of Kazakhstan regions, which originates in Concept of regional policy. The authors also calculated main indicators of competitiveness index of Kazakhstan regions according to National chamber of Entrepreneurs of Kazakhstan in order to determine the specifics of regions and identify directions for developing regional strategies. Based on results of the study, analysis was carried out that allowed to reveal strengths and weaknesses of regions of Kazakhstan. It is emphasized that a high level of regional competitiveness cannot be achieved without development of human resources and their rational use. In general, directions of regional policy are determined by chosen development scenario. The approach proposed by authors to methodology for evaluating regional competitiveness has a number of advantages - it reflects the specifics of regions, allows seeing the nearest competitors and determining directions of the region’s development strategy.

Anti-corruption audit as an imperative of effective environmental management

In order for the global society to emerge from the socio-economic COVID crisis, as well as to reduce its high level of eco-anxiety of various etymologies, it is necessary to restore public confidence in effective management of key segments of the national economy as an imperative of national security. In the Transparency International-19 Corruption Perceptions Index, Ukraine ranked 129th out of 180 countries (with an index of 30). The way out of the permanent state of eco-anxiety is possible only if the public information space is filled with well-founded messages about overcoming corruption risks, which are aimed at effective anti-corruption audit, which should be based on the results of basic research. The development of the region is not possible without ensuring the stable functioning of all its components: the population of the region, the state of entrepreneurship. In this case, each of the parts of the system is in correlation with each other. That is why the first direction of regional policy should be to support the introduction of eco-management in enterprises, as well as the formation of environmental behavior in the population of the region. Anti-corruption audit is an imperative for effective environmental management.

Социально-экономические условия развития социальной инфраструктуры села: региональный аспект

Определены основные социально-экономические условия развития социальной инфраструктуры села в привязке к региональному развитию. Ключевыми условиями экономического характера развития социальной инфраструктуры сельских территорий являются уровень развития экономики региона, направления региональной политики развития сельских территорий, уровень финансирования программ развития сельских территорий. К социальным факторам, влияющим на формирование инфраструктуры сельских территорий, относятся: традиционный образ жизни сельского населения, система расселения, территориальное местоположение сельских территорий относительно города, транспортная доступность и половозрастная структура сельского населения. Выделены факторы и проблемы, препятствующие формированию эффективной социальной инфраструктуры в селе и её развитию. Предложены направления, способствующие развитию социальной инфраструктуры села в современных условиях на основе системы социального партнёрства, предпринимательства и регионального правительства.

THE MAIN DIRECTIONS OF REGIONAL POLICY IN THE KYRGYZ REPUBLIC

The article deals with the problems of regional development and the main directions of regional policy.

Place Images and Marketing Promotion of a City (Exemplified by Irkutsk)

We examine territorial marketing, a direction of regional policy, which is gaining increasing popularity across the globe; it emerged at the interface of marketing and socio–economic geography and is based on the notion of the uniqueness of each place. We discuss the methodological issues related to this direction and to its relevance to Irkutsk. A study is made of the use and prospects of the images of the city of Irkutsk as the tools for the promotion of the place and the attraction of migrants and tourists. The investigation was made at different geographical scales: regional (Irkutsk–Baikal); microgeographical toponymics, and statistical analysis of the individual perception of the city. Use was made of different investigation techniques: a multi–scale treatment of the same geographic phenomena against the background of the world, the country, the region and the agglomeration; analysis of the city’s recreational–geographical location as a variety of the economic–geographic location; comparison of street names according to the locality of the names, that is, the extent to which they are connected with the history and culture of the city as well as according to their popularity and content analysis of texts and images taken from the Internet and belonging both to tourists and to local residents, and images in the field of emotions. Some recommendations are made for the use of the images of the city in its marketing promotion. It is pointed out that the identified images were used in practice; in particular, in designing the historical № 130 Quarter in Irkutsk where timber representing one of the city images was widely used.

КОНЦЕПТУАЛЬНІ ПІДХОДИ ДО УПРАВЛІННЯ ЕКОНОМІЧНОЮ БЕЗПЕКОЮ НА РЕГІОНАЛЬНОМУ РІВНІ

The article highlights the conceptual approaches to managing economic security at the regional level. The economic security of the region is one of the key tasks in the structure of Ukraine's national security programs. In the system of economic security of regions, such approaches are defined as priority ones, in which the subsystem of regional economic security would be integrated into the development management system of the integral socio- economic system of the region and perform information-analytical, permissive- control functions in this system. This requires the development and implementation of tools for monitoring economic security in the structure of regional development management, as well as, on the basis of this, strategic planning systems. Economic independence, economic stability, economic development in the article are presented as the basis of the markers of the economic security of the region. A shift in the perspective of the entire socio- economic policy of the state to the regional level, due to the course towards decentralization since 2014, is noted. With the creation of the United Territorial Community (UTC) and the granting of the OTG with broad powers, regional economic security is also the responsibility of the territorial associations. The general reasonsfor the emergence and development of crisissituations in the field of regional economic security have been determined. Generalized recommendations for improving the level of economic security in the regions of Ukraine are given. The conceptual directions of regional policy on the development of issues of economic security on a regional scale are highlighted. Based on the analysis of the regulatory framework and the results of the reform, positive trends are noted in the field of ensuring the economic security of the regions. In particular, we are talking about the creation of the Bureau of Economic Security of Ukraine (2021) and its regional offices as centers of monitoring and influence on the optimization of the area of regional economic security. With regard to further research in line with the given topic, the need for empirical studies of the mechanisms for ensuring regional economic security is actualized within the limits of certain UTCs with subsequent generalization.

Organized business and regional integration in Africa

ABSTRACTAlthough the role of organized business in regional economic integration is well documented, extant scholarship portrays them as mere legitimizers and partners of regional policy. This neat categorization fails to capture the complicated, ‘multiscalarity’ of business and overall civil society's role in regional governance. Drawing insights from social constructivism and empirical evidence from fieldwork conducted in 2012 and 2013 on the interactions between the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and region-wide business associations and advocacy networks since the early 1990s, this article shows that although African business groups are relatively new actors at the regional stage, their impact on regional governance is substantial. This is not only in terms of getting governments to adopt particular policies or the ability to hold the state accountable, as functional institutionalists might argue, but also in terms of the regional socialization effects, namely the willingness and ability to frame issues that influence the choices of political decision-makers. Business regional governance roles also straddle competing conventional roles, and sometimes counter the neoliberal vision of regional integration, even among those that owe their emergence to regional organizations. The study also challenges the pervasive view of business actors (especially in Africa) as simply profit-seekers by highlighting the ways business actors have deployed and acted on principled beliefs about regional identity collectively or individually to forge denser and relatively effective policy coalitions that signal unfolding changes in the direction of regional policy in Africa.

North hardship conditions rating in research works and regional policy (on examples of the regions related to resources)

The influence of peculiar features of the North and the Arctic on formation of scope of research works and the directions of regional policy is shown. The assessment of cold (climatic discomfort, permafrost, etc.), periferieness, high natural and resource potential, ethnicity is directed on the studying of traditional problems of demography, the organization of the relations between corporations and territories, the tax and budgetary providing. The problem of choice of measurement techniques of level of economic and social condition is especially allocated. The attempt to coordinate raw specialization of the northern and the arctic regions with the solution of strategic problems of their sustainable development is made.

Recent directions of regional policy in Australia

Logan A. (1979) Recent directions of regional policy in Australia, Reg. Studies 13, 153–160. The basic argument of this paper is that the regional initiatives taken by the two national Labor governments in post-war years were unable to overcome the constraints of a federal structure and of a democratic system in which changes of government can occur before regional policies are implemented. With the recent return of the Liberal/Country Party coalition to national government the states have resumed responsibility for regionalism but the current dilemma is that while the states have the constitutional power to effectively implement regional policies they have been concerned largely with land use planning in growing metropolitan regions, whereas changing economic and social conditions underline the need for a broader approach to regional policy involving all three levels of government.