Search by keyword: empirical estimations

Russian urban system

The paper is devoted to the empirical analysis of the Russian urban system. As sources we use official data of the Federal State Statistics Service and resources from the «Economy of Russian cities» database. Analysis methods are kernel estimates of density functions, Zipfs curve, statistical functions of average, variation and dispersion, as well as Herfidal-Hirshman index. Estimation results show that the Russian urban system did not demonstrate the rapid growth expected at the beginning of the market reforms, the main reason for which was an unfavorable demographic situation in the country. The concentration characteristics of the Russian urban system are comparable with the ones of developed western economies. There are significant interregional disparities in the Russian urban system; they are related to the size and structure of the regional urban population. An essential heterogeneity among federal subjects is observed in the concentration of the urban population and the variety of the cities' sizes. Our conclusion is that a universal spatial policy is probably ineffective; we need to study regional and municipal experimentations to find successful models of urban system governance   

Kolomak Ie. A. [email protected]

Keywords: urbanization urban system Zipfs law structure interregional differences empirical estimations

Evolution of the Spatial Distribution of Economic Activities in Russia

The main sources of the article are the idea of multiplicity of spatial equilibria and the hypothesis of agglomeration economies. Data was analyzed with indices of spatial concentration and economic assessments. This paper shows that the evolution of the spatial distribution of economic activities in Russia unfolds in parallel with its concentration. We are observing how spatial development model changes to the one which has higher concentration of economic activities and, consequently, higher level of interregional inhomogeneity. There is no outstanding redistribution of production factors and flow of output from the east to the west of Russia. We draw a conclusion that Russian regional policy aimed at supporting ‘points of growth’ and ‘territories of rapid development’ should be seen as ineffective for the moment. Due to agglomeration mechanisms, growing territories are able to improve their dynamics of development independently, without government support. Currently, agglomeration process takes place the length and breadth of Russia, and it is only slightly slower in the eastern part. Under the conditions where interregional competition dominates cooperation, spatial externalities appear to be negative, and government regulation intended to support dynamic economies may lead to further differentiation. Regional policy designed to narrow gaps among regions is a more reasonable solution, which is also supported by restrictions caused by the federal form of government and threat of separatism

Kolomak Ie. A. [email protected]

Keywords: economic activity spatial model empirical estimations empirical estimation regional policy agglomeration processes

Analyzing the Agglomeration Processes in the Novosibirsk Oblast

The paper is devoted to the agglomeration processes taken place within subjects of the Russian Federation. The study is of an empirical character, and its theoretical basis is the concepts of the new economic geography. Our analysis shows that, despite a high level of the spatially concentrated economic activities, the agglomeration progresses in the RF subjects and it happens mostly due to the size and structure of markets.

Kolomak Ie. A. [email protected]

Trubekhina I. E. [email protected]

Keywords: agglomeration agglomeration empirical estimations economic geography

Assessing how urbanization influence an economic growth in Russia

The paper shows how urbanization, the world trends and Russian specifics determine the sources and limitations to economic development in Russia. We present our analysis of the data concerning RF federal units to show how economic growth and urbanization depend on each other. We can conclude that still there are few urbanization sources left in the Russian economy, though the effects of a large city proved to be small.

Kolomak Ie. A. [email protected]

Keywords: urbanization economic development empirical estimations