Territorial capital of Russian regions and its spatial organization

Abstract

Relevance. The new challenges that exacerbate long-standing issues stimulate the Russian economic system to evolve faster and to seek greater efficiency. One of the impediments to this process, however, is the inertness of the spatial organization of the national economy. There is a need for more detailed research on the characteristics of the national economic space for evidence-based policy-making in the sphere of spatial development. Research objective The study aims to describe the organization of Russia's economic space by focusing on the patterns of localization of its territorial capital. Data and methods. The study uses official statistical data on Russian regions provided by the Federal State Statistics Service (Rosstat) and a set of indicators of regional inequality. Methodologically, the study relies on the methods of spatial autocorrelation analysis and cartographic analysis. Results. It has been shown that there are significant regional disparities combined with the high level of polarization of the Russian space. There is a scarcity of asset concentration areas, which are mostly located in the country's western part, leaving the eastern part lagging behind and limiting its potential. The territories that are struggling the most are those devoid of resources and located remotely from the areas of asset concentration. The patterns of geographic distribution of gross regional product are to a great extent similar to the patterns of distribution of production capital, which may point to the existence of factors leading to regional divergence. The distribution of creative capital in Russia is far from optimal, which prevents it from becoming a major driver behind the country's economic growth. Conclusions. Policy-makers need to take into account the patterns of asset distribution in devising measures for enhancing territorial capital and setting priorities for the country's economic spatial development.