Strategic Prospects for the Development of the Coastal Regions of the Far East

Abstract

The basic tendencies of the Far Eastern coastal regions' social-economic dynamics are determined using an index method, and strategic priorities for their sustainable development are justified. It is shown that the coastal regions are characteristic of port activities in the sectoral structure of the regional economy, developed marine fisheries, considerable contribution of the coastal infrastructure to regional development. It is determined that the extractive complex branches are still the key source of the Far Eastern territories growth. Positive dynamics of specific activities is noted, determining the competitiveness of the coastal territories-port activities, fishing industry, recreation, and tourism. It is grounded that the prospects of the Far Eastern costal regions are related to the development of transport and infrastructure projects. It is reasoned that despite the positive dynamics of their economic development, the Far Eastern costal regions still fail to provide an adequate standard of living for the population and to stimulate development of social infrastructure at the level of the regions in the centre of the Russian Federation. It is shown that the fullest realization of strategic prospects for the development of the coastal regions of the Far East is promoted by the strategy of-smart specialization‖, involving arrangement of conditions for the full realization of the social-economic potential of the territories, their comparative competitive advantages with the aim of stimulating economic growth as the basis of achieving socially important targets of the Far Eastern regions and the Russian Federation as a whole.