Structural transformations of the economy in the Pacific Region of Russia and efficiency trends

Abstract

Pacific Russia is viewed as an aqua-territorial macro-region that encompasses the Far Eastern Federal District and the adjacent water area within the 200-mile maritime economic zone. The macro-region has a wealth of natural resources at land and on sea, opportunities for the use of sea transport to link Russia and Europe with the countries of Asia-Pacific Region. Pacific Russia is divided into 2 latitudinal zones — the northern zone and southern zone, which include the territories of northern and southern constituents of the Russian Far Eastern Federal District. The combinations of activities by constituent entities and latitudinal zones are considered as the territorial structures of the economy. This article reveals the differences in socio-economic capacity and development level of these latitudinal zones. The authors have assessed the structural transformations in the economy of latitudinal zones in 2004–2013 by taking into account the changes of similar activities in the constituent entities and their ratios measured as a share of value added. This allowed to identify the transformations of territorial economic structures in the latitudinal zones. Over this period, the greatest changes of economic structures occurred in the northern zone. In the southern zone, the structural transformations of the economy were smaller, except for the Sakhalin region. In all latitudinal zones, there was a decrease in the share of manufacturing industries and the increase in the share of extractive industries. The article compares the generalized assessment of changes in the social and economic efficiency (by the growth of population income, labor productivity, and profits) with the structural changes in the economy of the constituent entities of Pacific Russia. The authors note that an important premise for building a sufficiently sustainable system of interregional division of labor in Pacific Russia is the location of extractive industries and initial stages of the manufacturing industry activities in the northern zone, while the major manufacturing industries and interregional transport and logistics services are located in the southern zone. This article is intended for experts and students interested in the development problems of Russia’s eastern regions.