Location Of Enterprises Research Articles

The impact of institutional quality on enterprise location choice in the Russian regions

The impact of institutional quality on enterprise location choice in the Russian regions

Sustainability and adaptability of spatial development of industrial complexes in networked economy environment

Subject. Industry largely determines the economic growth of Russia. Industrial regions are the basis for developing the network technological structure of the economy, changing the technological modes, modernizing the production and consumption. Objectives. The study aims to consider the spatial distribution of resource-deficient regions and risks inherent in spatial distribution of the defense industry complex; to develop a methodological approach to comprehensive assessment of regional industrial complex stability, considering its adaptation to turbulent environment; to highlight and analyze threats to industrial complex functioning. Methods. The study employs methods of systems, network, structural and functional, comparative, economic statistics, and integrated approach to the analysis of stability of industrial complexes in regions. Results. We covered issues related to inter-regional management system for sustainable development of industrial complexes, analyzed risks and threats to sustainable development, considered spatial aspects of development and location of defense industry enterprises. It was found that the regions are critically dependent on strategic raw materials that are not produced in the Russian Federation. Conclusions. The market is smoothing down the local inefficiency of industrial production during peacetime. However, in the context of mobilization and war, this problem can become a serious limitation for deployment of continuous multi-shift production. High dependence on foreign partners amid the rising tide of aggression on the part of investor countries will not allow the implementation of strategic investment projects in a number of cases.

Условия лояльности национальных элит к центральной власти в советский период российской истории

The article deals with the analysis of the Soviet national policy from a historical perspective with a focus on investigating into conditions of the loyalty of national elites towards the central government in the last period of the USSR existence. The indicators of the low level loyalty are as follows: supporting the ideas of national sovereignty and independence, participating in the national movement by ruling cadres, influential intellectuals and population. The author shows low sympathy of both groups of representatives: elites and broad population to nationalist ideas. The analysis is based on comparing contrastive cases – the Soviet elites of the Baltic republics (Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia) and Belorussia in their interactions with the central government as well as local population in the period from 1945 to 1991. These republics, their population and elites were similar regarding some important aspects such as historical and cultural as well as demographic characteristics in the case of Belorussia and Lithuania; some important features of the industry (big export-oriented enterprises) regarding Estonia, Latvia and Belorussia. At the same time, these cases showed a different level of the loyalty towards the Union center, namely, relatively high among the Belorussian Soviet ruling cadres and population and relatively low in the Baltic republics by the end of 1980s. The important aspect of the Soviet national policy was establishing new national elites, educational and cultural institutions preserving their native languages as well as the promotion of native cadres into the positions of power in the regional administration. In some respects, this policy was similar to the “indirect rule” implemented in the imperial period of Russian history and consisted in the cooperation between the central government and local elites as the main approach to administrating a multinational state. However, in comparison with the previous practice tending to include national elites in the imperial nobility, the post revolutionary approach considered the creation of national elites through promoting local cultural and educational institutions that offer quite prestigious but specific positions occupied mostly by representatives of the respective ethnic group. Creating local elites reduced the competition for “universal” positions since socialization and career of “national staff” were oriented towards national institutes. However, increasing numbers of “national staff” with limited positions for them had negative social consequences (elite overproduction). Intra-elite tension increased due to the migration from other regions (in the case of Latvia and Estonia). The other reason of this phenomenon was pursuing socialization strategies oriented to the places of origin (in the case of Lithuania). The attractiveness of the Baltic republics both for local population and migrants from other regions of the USSR was caused by a relatively high level of living standards in these union republics. Location of big export-oriented enterprises in the territory of Belorussia created conditions for preferring socialization strategies oriented towards integration with the Soviet Union economy and, therefore, enhanced loyalty towards the USSR center from both elites and population. Besides, the administrative apparatus of the Soviet Belorussia was recruited extensively among participants of the Soviet partisan movement 1941–1944 what explains the devotion of the Belorussian elite to the Soviet symbols and values. At the same time, the base of the legitimization of the Soviet Lithuanian elite was its ability to control the anti-Soviet (nationalist) movement as well supporting national culture and language.

MILK AND DAIRY PRODUCTS MARKET IN AKMOLA REGION OF KAZAKHSTAN

Recommendations for solving the problems of sustainable development of milk and dairy products market in the region are based on the study of its current state and promising directions. The dynamics of production of milk and its processing products, export and import, livestock and productivity of cows is analyzed. The contribution of various categories of farms to the receipt of raw milk has been studied, while the lag in milk yield in farms and households from agricultural enterprises has been revealed. The analysis of expenses in agricultural enterprises is presented, as well as the structure of material costs. The main problems of effective development of the industry of dairy cattle breeding include tendency to reduce the area under fodder crops; a weak feed base and increase in feed prices, which leads to the increase in the cost of milk; reduction in the number of dairy cows; small commodity farms, that is, the concentration of main volumes of milk production in households where the introduction of intensive innovative technologies is difficult; seasonality of the process; non-observance of veterinary and sanitary standards. The regional features of location of dairy processing enterprises have been investigated, confirming the close relationship between the development of the dairy industry and the raw material base. Those of them have been identified, which account for the largest share in production of the range of dairy products. The organizational structure of the milk processing enterprise "Gormolzavod" LLP was studied, the calculation of butter was made using its own raw materials. The competitive advantages of the processing enterprises of the region are revealed.

Industry policy, cross-region investment, and enterprise investment efficiency

The introduction of industry policies creates a non-market-oriented policy arbitrage space, which in turn triggers enterprises to adopt "strategic" investments to obtain government policy preferences, which may induce irrational over-investment behaviors and even lead to long-term investment inefficiencies. For an empirical study of the impact of industry policy for the cross-region enterprise investment in specific locations, we manually collected information on industry policy in various regions, as well as data on the establishment of subsidiaries of Chinese listed companies from 2006 to 2019.The results show that enterprises are more likely to invest in regions supported by industry policies. If the enterprise's location is not supported by policies, the impact of this policy "gap" will be strengthened. We find that the higher the level of finance in the region where the enterprise is located, the greater the possibility of the enterprise's cross-region investment. Our research also shows that private enterprise has more substantial incentives to engage in "policy arbitrage", and state-owned enterprises are less affected. In china, a lot of enterprises in regions with high returns on capital have been investing in regions with low returns has increased. However, the increased intensity of investment in low-return regions will significantly inhibit the production efficiency of these enterprises. Our findings help clarify the effect of public policies on the enterprise's investment behavior and efficiency, which enriches the research on the impact of government macroeconomic policies on enterprise micro decision-making. We believe that, when promoting regional industrial upgrades through industry policies, it is necessary to guide enterprises to follow market rules to make market-oriented investments.

Development of a new framework to estimate the environmental risk of heavy metal(loid)s focusing on the spatial heterogeneity of the industrial layout

Industrialization and urbanization have increased the risk of heavy metal(loid)s coming from a wide range of pathways and processes. Regional environmental risk assessment mainly focuses on the regional functional layout, industrial orientation, and enterprise location. These aspects may generate immense environmental risks and hazards. However, many gaps in regional environmental risk assessment remain, particularly concerning the spatial heterogeneity of environmental processes and mechanisms affected by the industrial layout. Most of the risk estimation often neglected the risk factor interaction. Here, we developed a framework to estimate the environmental risk of heavy metal(loid)s focusing on the spatial heterogeneity of the industrial layout. This framework was operationalized by performing an integrated risk detection of heavy metal(loid)s, spatial heterogeneity identification of the industrial layout, the power of risk factors and factor interaction examination, risk factor condition quantification and key risk source apportionment. Shaoguan city, one of six trial zones for China's pollution prevention and control of heavy metal(loid)s, was taken as a case study. Among all of the natural and socioeconomic factors, the running time of the industry was the most important risk factor of the Cd, As and Pb in soil and rice in all subregions. These subregions were divided based on the spatial heterogeneity of the industrial layout. The threshold of the running time of the industry for soil Cd was 11.97 years. The power of other dominant risk factors was different in different subregions, and the joint risk of the dominant risk factors was larger than the single risk of the running time of the industry. Our results suggest that the environmental risk of heavy metal(loid)s in Shaoguan could be mitigated by adjusting the industrial structure and controlling the running time of enterprises. Our study also indicates that estimating the regional environmental risk of heavy metal(loid)s focusing on the spatial heterogeneity of the industrial layout can help define specific strategies to achieve environmentally friendly industrial development.

МІСЦЕВИЙ СОЦІАЛЬНО-ЕКОНОМІЧНИЙ РОЗВИТОК ТА АГРОХОЛДИНГИ: ПРИКЛАД АГРОІНДУСТРІАЛЬНОГО ХОЛДИНГУ «МИРОНІВСЬКИЙ ХЛІБОПРОДУКТ»

Agricultural holdings produce a significant part of agricultural products in Ukraine. They increase production capacity using the resource potential of agricultural regions. This study presents an attempt to assess the benefits received by the territories from the location of enterprises of the agroindustrial holding “Mironivsky Hliboproduct”. Based on the system-structural analysis, the historical and geographical features of the development and location of enterprises were studied. The development of the company was influenced by factors of different levels (local, national and international). At the local level, climatic conditions, land resources, infrastructure and labor resources are the most influential factors. The main operating segments of the agricultural holding and the connections between them are described in detail. The formation of a vertically integrated structure has become an important competitive advantage of the agro-industrial company. This makes it possible to control the production process, quality and cost of production, provides high economic efficiency of production. Agro-holding enterprises are significant employers in their regions; they assure a better balance in local labor markets. The initiatives of enterprises to develop local infrastructure, housing for workers, improving their skills are important for the local economies. A comprehensive assessment of the levels of socio-economic development of the territories showed that large agricultural enterprises do not always have a decisive influence on the state of the local economy. A clear positive trend was found for areas where large areas of agricultural land are involved and processing is developed. Most of the administrative districts during the period of increasing production of the agroindustrial holding (2003–2018) deteriorated their positions compared to other districts. This is a signal for the local authorities to find ways to diversify the rural economy through both the development of farms and non-agricultural activities.

Санітарно-епідеміологічне обґрунтування умов розміщення сучасних підприємств малої потужності з виготовлення асфальтобетону з урахуванням змін у технології

Objective: We performed sanitary-and-epidemiological and ecological-and- hygienic substantiation of the conditions for the location of low-capacity enterprises for the manufacture of asphalt concrete, developed the hygienic criteria for their location taking into account the newest home sanitary, ecological and town-planning legislations and requirements of the European Union directives. Materials and methods: In the article we used results of sanitary-and-epidemiological examination of the project materials and applied bibliosemantic, analytical methods. Results: Тhe sanitary legislation of Ukraine of 1971 and 1996 in the normalization of sanitary-and-protection zone for the above mentioned enterprises was analyzed and compared with the analogous standards in the European countries. According to the results of the scientific sanitary-and-epidemiological examination of the project materials on the substantiation of the sanitary-and-protection zone for home low-capacity enterprises for the manufacture of asphalt concrete (80% of them were put into operation before 1996), the following was established. All investigated enterprises work with the prepared bitumen with the implementation of nature protection measures by means of the use of high-efficiency dust and gas cleaning systems, that shortened the gross emissions of the pollutants in ambient air to a large extent and decreased influence on the environment and adjoining settlement territory, that complies with the requirements of the Directive of 2010/75/EС of European Parliament and Council on the industrial emissions (integrated prevention and control of contamination), November 24, 2010. Implementation of nature protection measures with the use of the high-efficiency dust and gas cleaning systems at the existent low-capacity enterprises for the manufacture of asphalt concrete provided the absence of the exceed of MPC of the specific pollutants at the distances that were 1.5-3.0 times less than standard sanitary-protective zone that was a cause for the substantiation of the use of new approach at the establishment of sanitary-and-protection zone by the calculation method at building of the new or reconstruction of the existent low-capacity enterprises for the manufacture of asphalt concrete.

Justification of the mathematical model for describing the cross-cutting processes of functional food production with their enrichment

Cross-cutting technological processes that reflect the relationship between the technological operations of raw materials production, stock formation, their transportation, processing of raw materials and the production of final products are typical for several industries. Of particular importance is the optimization of cross-cutting technological processes in agriculture and food industry to improve food security in the Northern territories of Russia. In this regard, this paper forms a model and structure of initial data for obtaining a tool for justifying the optimal location of enterprises for the production of functional food products and their optimal number for Russia's conditions. The authors in this study developed an original approach to the formation of a mathematical model to description of the production logistics of cross-cutting technology, which includes optimization of the transportation costs of functional food products with regard to their enrichment, which is a justification of economic efficiency of cross-cutting technology of procurement, transportation and production of functional foods. The authors of this study also defined the change in the cost of final products with an increase in the number of processing enterprises. It was found that the rational number of processing points – enterprises producing functional food products – is in the range of 7-12, while the optimal number is 7-9.

A regional analysis of crime heterogeneity and small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) location choices: recent evidence from South Korea

Using an unbalanced panel of 2061 region-year observations of the physical location choices for SMEs and local crime incidents in South Korea, we investigate whether and how various types of local crimes may affect SME location choices for manufacturing versus service firms. We find that SME location choices are related to local crimes in an inverted ‘U’-shaped relationship, and that manufacturing (or service) SMEs’ location selection is more responsive to the incidents of property-related (or contact-related) crimes in a region. We also find that local clustering benefits flatten the inverted ‘U’-shaped curves between SME location choices and local crimes.

Analysing location choices of small and large enterprises of electronics-manufacturing industry in Korea

ABSTRACT This paper measures regional economic and spatial effects on locations of small and large enterprises, by using binary logit models. The econometric results confirm that the location of small firm depends on the regional labour force availability and the population growth of its neighbouring regions. In addition, the large enterprise tends to agglomerate into regions to be less-regulated or to be near to high-speed railroad stations. Finally, industrial clusters of the small and large enterprises would be likely to be geographically close each other in order to share intermediate inputs as a co-agglomeration pattern.

Aplicativo WEBSIG na localização de recursos comerciais para o SICOM de Chapecó (SC-Brasil)

Um dos fatores que influenciam o desenvolvimento socioeconômico de um recorte territorial, figura a implantação de empreendimentos industriais e comerciais. Fatores como fluxo logístico, concorrência e desenvolvimento urbano do entorno influenciam na decisão do local de implantação do empreendimento. A obtenção destas informações não é simples, seja pelas inúmeras bases de dados, muitas vezes desencontradas ou pelas inexistências delas. Neste contexto, o objetivo é desenvolver um Sistema de Informação Geográfico na Web (WebSIG), aplicado à decisão de localização de empreendimentos comerciais, destinado ao Sindicato do Comércio da Região de Chapecó (SICOM). A pesquisa é qualitativa, caracterizada como descritiva, e seguindo o rigor do estudo de caso, neste caso, a cidade de Chapecó. O WebSIG foi modelado e implementado valendo-se das tecnologias livres e open source. Através da aferição de critérios de eficácia e funcionalidade, e entrevistas a colaboradores do sindicato, o sistema de georreferenciamento desenvolvido mostra-se eficaz e funcional, ao marcar no mapa da cidade de Chapecó os empreendimentos do comércio em determinado bairro, e de uma determinada atividade econômica. Além de demarcar os empreendimentos, gráficos e indicadores do desenvolvimento urbano do bairro e da cidade, são ofertados ao usuário do sistema, permitindo que este realize comparações e triangulações de dados, que auxiliam na tomada de decisão do local de onde implementar o empreendimento a que se propõe. Palavras-chave: Sistema de Informação Geográfico. WebSIG. Desenvolvimento Regional. Localização de Empreendimentos.

Enhancing Private Sector Development in Ghana: Policies, Challenges, and the Role of the Private Sector in the Development of Ghana.

This paper aims to bring to light policies that have been geared towards the private sector in Ghana over the years and to highlight the contributions of the private sector to Ghana’s development as well as the challenges that stifle the growth of the sector. It also highlights the evolution of the development discourse on private sector development. Documentary research method and secondary data from the Ghana Statistical Service were employed. The paper reveals that the private sector accounts for about 87.7% of jobs in Ghana’s industry and close to 85 % of jobs in the private sector are on permanent basis as against 15% in the public sector. Also, average earnings in the private sector are relatively higher compared to the public sector. Lastly, in as much as policies have been instituted to propel the growth of the private sector, there are still several bottlenecks that impede the growth of the private sector in Ghana. Hence, policy makers must continue to create a business-friendly environment for the private sector to flourish. Also, policy interventions geared at the private sector must take into consideration the size, location, and business sector of enterprises. The paper is relevant for policy makers as it draws attention to both what has been done and what still needs to be done to make the private sector in Ghana viable.

The impact of government environmental information disclosure on enterprise location choices: Heterogeneity and threshold effect test

This paper examines the impact of GEID on enterprise location choices. Based on the quasi natural experiment of pollution source information disclosure in 2008, this paper uses difference in difference model (DID) method. The results show that GEID can attract the location choices of enterprises, which is more attractive to clean enterprises, and has inhibition to polluting enterprises. GEID has a more significant impact on the enterprise location choices in the first and second tier cities and the eastern region, and the attraction of GEID to foreign-funded enterprises is greater. GEID can reduce the location choices by increasing labor cost and public environmental supervision, while GEID can attract enterprises to settle down by improving the business environment and ecological quality. The further threshold test results show that GEID can attract enterprise location as the score of GEID exceeds 23.45, GEID can reduce the location choices of polluting enterprises as the score exceeds 18.29, and GEID will have a higher attraction for clean enterprises as the score exceeds 38.02.

Transport network and transport services in the Krasnoyarsk territory, Russia

The research described in this article focuses on socioeconomic problems of transport services in the Krasnoyarsk territory. The study examines main pressing problems of regulation of transport services, taking into account competition in the relevant market. In it we consider economic and geographical features of the Krasnoyarsk territory and presence of high-efficiency natural resources in the region, which determine locations of large enterprises of energy, non-ferrous metallurgy, chemical and mining industry, forestry. In conclusion, we suggest solutions to the systemic socioeconomic problems of transport services in the Krasnoyarsk territory.

Организационно-управленческая модель функционирования транспортно-логистического кластера Астраханской области

The article considers the urgent problem of strengthening the infrastructure and innovative development of the Russian Federation and the regions in today’s environment. Modernization of transport potential in future will have a positive impact on the regional development. Cluster policy in different fields, including transportation, is a trend in the formation and development of regions. The actuality of creating a transport and logistics cluster in the Astrakhan region has been proved taking into account the favorable geographical location of the region, high transit potential, historical location of shipbuilding and ship repair enterprises, and stevedoring companies. There have been presented the main theses on transforming the cluster initiative into a transport and logistics cluster in the region. Analysis of competitive advantages and assessment of the cluster potential of the region have proved the positive results. The next step is to set up the goal and main tasks. The cluster should help form an effective system of interaction and cooperation between the transport sector, industry, and the scientific and educational sector to increase the investment attractiveness of the region as a whole. There have been presented the main potential participants of the cluster. The international experience of cluster functioning, as well as cluster initiatives in the field of transportation in the regions of Russia is considered. The organizational and managerial structure of the transport and logistics cluster is based on the studied structures of successfully functioning clusters, taking into account the specific features of the region. There has been illustrated the available interaction with the functioning clusters of the Astrakhan region: shipbuilding, tourism and aquaculture, fisheries. Interaction is supposed to be carried out within the framework of implementing large cluster projects, providing supplies for the projects. It has been inferred that creating a transport and logistics cluster in the Astrakhan region will not only improve the interaction of participants within the cluster, but also ensure interaction with other clusters and enterprises.

The Location of Industries: The Effect of Chance or Rational Choice?

The choice of location plays a major role in the strategies of firms. They are looking for qualified labor, a potential market, but also infrastructure, good accessibility, etc.: an “optimal” location. Indeed, the location is influenced by a greater or lesser number of factors whose weight and diversity vary greatly from one situation to another and the same factor can exert different influences. So, a single factor cannot explain the location of a firm.This study analyzes the location factors of industrial companies in the commune of Littoral. The data used come from the base of the RGE 2, 2008, and the base of the Statistical and Fiscal Declarations (DSF) available to the INSAE and covers the period from 2012 to 2016. After a descriptive analysis of the companies according to the distance to the center of Cotonou, we have developed a probit model under the STATA software using the factors identified in theoretical and empirical work.It emerges from the descriptive analysis that distance influences the location of industrial enterprises. The tests revealed that the distance, the market across, the sale of the manufactured products and services positively influence the location decision of the companies. So, companies locate in Cotonou to benefit more from the market.

Change of Income from Forest Products Based on Geographical Location of Enterprises and Some Marketing Variables

Turkiye orman urunleri pazarinda tekel ozelligini kaybetmesi Orman Genel Mudurlugunun gelirlerinin azalmasina neden olmustur. Devlet Orman Isletme Mudurlukleri (DOIM) odun emvali satis ihalelerini munferit olarak duzenlemekte ve her isletmenin basari duzeyi yine munferit olarak degerlendirilmektedir. Bu calismada, Orman Genel Mudurlugunun odun esasli urunler icin satis fiyatini etkileyen bazi faktorler analiz edilmistir. Bu kapsamda, cografi konum yonunden birbirine yakin 2 Orman Bolge Mudurlugu ve bunlara bagli olarak faaliyet gosteren 21 DOIM’in 2014-2018 yillari arasindaki 5 yillik odun emvali satis ihalesi sonuclari incelenmistir. Degerlendirmeler dikili agac satisi ve geleneksel depodan satis uygulamalari temelinde gerceklestirilmistir. Arastirma sonuclari, Orman Bolge Mudurlugu, DOIM, satislarin dikili agac satisi veya geleneksel depo satislari olmasi, orman urunlerinin satisa sunuldugu yil ve ay degiskenlerinin olusan Muhammen Bedel Artirma Orani dolayisiyla Orman Genel Mudurlugunun satis gelirleri uzerinde istatistiksel duzeyde anlamli (p<0.05) farkliliklar olustugunu gostermistir. Benzer sekilde, odun esasli urun satis ihalesi duzenleyen DOIM’lerin ulasilabilirlik yonunden cografi konum itibariyle yuksek kapasiteli orman urunleri endustrisi isletmelerine olan yakinliginin elde edilen satis gelirleri uzerinde onemli duzeyde etkisinin bulundugu tespit edilmistir.

THEORETICAL APPROACHES FOR CENTER-PERIPHERY RELATIONS: INTERDISCIPLINARY DISCOURSE

Historical origins of the research of center-periphery relations were outlined in the article. Dualism “center-periphery” is a spatial metaphor that is used to describe and explain the unequal distribution of resources, the heterogeneity and divergence of the development of some territories. Generally, the center is economically, culturally, politically developed, while the periphery lags behind and is located outside center border. Different types of center-periphery systems at macro-, meso- or micro levels were emphasized. Foreign approaches and theories underpinning the center-periphery model such as theory of economic growth, dependency theory, world-system theory, structural theory of imperialism, growth poles theory, central place theory, the new economic geography were characterized. The factors that underlie the division into “center” and “periphery” (innovation and technology, export-import structure, location of industrial enterprises, distribution of administrative functions, etc.) were summarized according to foregoing theories. The effects that occur as a result of center-periphery relations in particular the domination and communication effects, information, psychological, modernization, production as well as “backwash” and “spread” effects were described. The center and the periphery are characterized by dependency relations that can be economic, political, cultural and other. Different mechanisms such as exploitation through repatriation, elite complicity, structural distortion, market vulnerability through which dependency induces underdevelopment of periphery were outlined. It has been stated that the socio-cultural approach proposes to move away from the interpretation of the “periphery” as economically backward territory and emphasize on the culture, as source of national and regional traditions, local way of life. In recent years, the concept of “polycentricity” has been emerged. Polycentric governance systems are the subject of interdisciplinary research, especially common in the studies of public administration and in commons scholarship concerning the governance of natural resources. Polycentricity plays an important role in EU Cohesion Policy. Prospects of future research of the center-periphery relations in the region under the condition of administrative-financial decentralization in Ukraine were outlined.

The pattern of changes in the velocity of propagation of ultrasonic waves in frozen soil samples during thawing

The locations of mining and processing enterprises in the areas of permafrost distribution are associated with monitoring the state of the ice-ground massif. The monitoring problem is exacerbated by climate change trends, and the reduction of suitable for the existence of permafrost zones. The increase in the number of emergencies associated with the degradation of permafrost soils in the regions of the Republic of Sakha and the Norilsk industrial region are direct evidence of this problem. The main consequences of thawing soils are uneven troughs of subsidence of foundations, frosty swelling, and waterlogging. The article considers the possibility of using the ultrasonic monitoring method in order to monitor the state of permafrost soils, along with existing monitoring methods. Existing methods for monitoring the state of permafrost soils are considered. The results of experimental studies of changes in the velocity of propagation of an ultrasonic wave during the thawing of various permafrost soils, humidity and particle size distribution are presented. It has been proved experimentally that the sensitivity of the speed of propagation of an ultrasonic wave to a change in temperature in frozen soil samples. When the soil passes from a frozen state to a plastic-frozen state, there occurs a sharp drop in the speed of the ultrasonic propagation.