The article presents the classification of study methods of international production fragmentation depending on the source of data: custom statistics on processing trade, international trade on parts and components, input-output tables. The author conducted comparative analysis of data sources and study methods and described the examples of using various methods depending on the aspects of research. Based on the statistics of processing trade one can study only certain cases of international production fragmentation, when components or materials are exported (imported) to be processed abroad and then re-imported (re-exported). The availability of data on international trade of parts and components and its comparability between countries allows conducting an analysis of expansion motives of international production fragmentation, but the drawback of the methods is strong aggregation of categories of goods classification. Input-output tables, despite an array of methodical issues, are the most preferable source of data for studying the processes of production fragmentation that allows for industrial analysis, even if the tables are available for certain countries only on comparative basis and are not updated regularly. The article shows example of new improved sources of data (complex inter-country input-output tables, trade in value added), which allow softening the issues of methods based on national input-output tables

This paper examines the changing patterns of transnational value chains in the Asia-Pacific region. The methodology is based on the analysis of data extracted from the OECD – WTO Trade in Value Added Database (2016). The study demonstrates that 1) Asia-Pacific countries show extremely high involvement in the global value chains; 2) intra-Asian value chains develop at a fast pace, reflecting the trend towards regiona-lization of economic ties in Asia-Pacific (caused by the processes of transformation within China, the growing income divergence in the region and the development of regional integration mechanisms); 3) the level of participation in global value chains differs across countries and is subject to constant changes. In particular, Chinese manufacturers are moving to the processes with higher value added, and the role of an ‘assembly shop’ in the region is shifting to the ASEAN countries. Russia’s participation in the value chains in the Asia-Pacific region is currently limited to its role as a supplier of raw materials. High tariffs make manufacturing oriented towards Asia less viable, especially considering that most of Asia-Pacific countries have free trade agreements with each other. However, favorable rules of origin in Asian RTAs as well as good political relations with leading Asian countries in conditions of tensions between them still create some opportunities for involving Russia in regional value chains at the more advanced stages

The paper aims to investigate the impact of the dependence on the post-Soviet trade on the quality of economic institutions in the Russian subnational regions. For this purpose, it uses two approaches: it looks at how the effect of post-Soviet trade on growth changes over time (hypothesizing that if one observes the decline of this effect, the latter is more likely to be driven by the legacy of the Soviet economy and thus less conducive for the improvement of institutional quality) and at the correlation of post-Soviet trade and quantitative indicators of the quality of economic institutions. The results suggest that the post-Soviet trade is more likely to have a positive impact on the institutional change. Specifically, I find that regions of Russia with a larger share of the post-Soviet trade in the total international trade turnover, are characterized by persistently higher growth rates than other regions throughout the period of investigation (2001–2012). Furthermore, I find that the quantitative measures of the quality of economic institutions in the Russian regions exhibit, if any, a positive correlation with the share of the post-Soviet trade. The effect observed could be linked to the complexity of the regional economies and to the substantial presence of new market-based ties in the post-Soviet trade flows

The article studies the development of the Far Eastern bioresource sector in 2006–2015 and its components: fishing industry, forestry and agriculture. It is shown that renewable bioresources, which form the foundation of the bioresource sector, are now becoming the limiting factor of that sector’s further extensive development which necessitates a transition to new ways and technologies of extracting and processing resources. The article attempts to identify and estimate the bioresource sector’s contribution to the economy of the Far Eastern Federal District (FEFD) as a statistical unit through aggregating main macroeconomic indicators (gross added value, monetary value of exports, investments, number of employed, and tax revenue) of its three components. The conclusion is that during the studied period the bioresource sector’s contribution to the economy of the FEFD has decreased mainly due to the factors of tax revenues and gross added value. The sector’s importance as source of employment in remote areas had also declined. At the same time the bioresource sector continues to significantly contribute to exports, mainly thanks to the fishing industry and agriculture. It is shown that the dominant role in the bioresource sector belongs to the fishing industry which increased its contribution to the bioresource sector and showed the most stable development compared to other components. The article studies changes in institutional conditions in all three components, their influence on the development of investments of the bioresource sector

The article examined the dynamics of demographical and migration processes in the Russian Far East during reform in 1991–2016. The factors of changes in population in the region are analyzed. The emphasis is made on the natural reproduction, the ratio of birth and death. During 1926–1991 the population increased 5.1 times, while during 1991–2017 it decreased 23.2%. The migration flows: intraregional, migration cooperation with Russian federal districts and external migration to CIS and other countries, are analyzed. The migration flows are mainly directed at the Central, North-Western and Southern Federal Districts. The data cited show stable negative trend in the region: the decrease in population due to migration outflow. Far East is not competitive against other federal districts based on the level of socio-economic parameters that are the main factor in migration behavior of population. The conclusion is that the trends established during the 25 years make it problematic to achieve the strategic goal of socio-economic development of the region – stabilizing the population on the level of 6.2–6.3 mil people by 2020

Институтом экономических исследований Дальневосточного отделения Российской академии наук, при поддержке Научного Совета по вопросам регионального развития при Президиуме РАН, издается научный журнал «Пространственная экономика».

Институтом экономических исследований Дальневосточного отделения Российской академии наук, при поддержке Научного Совета по вопросам регионального развития при Президиуме РАН, издается научный журнал «Пространственная экономика».

This is a response to the article by K. P. Gluschenko in the journal «Spatial Economics» (2015, No. 4), where the author criticized the weighting in interregional studies, and the interregional inequality studies in particular. Examining in detail the arguments of the reviewed author, this paper shows that both approaches (weighted and unweighted) have a right to exist and are aimed at different research problems. The unweighted approach is used for estimating interregional inequality and its degree (severity), while the weighted approach reveals the extent of the problem and the income distribution disparity relative to the interregional distribution of some other parameter’s (e.g., population) values. The article describes a number of basic and additional arguments of weighting in interregional studies: it is necessary in assessing the extent of income redistribution, carrying out the decomposition of the disparity indicators and in determining the relationship between the disparity and the population dynamics and various spillover effects. The article is based on an expansive sample of both foreign and domestic literature focusing on different aspects of interregional inequality

Институтом экономических исследований Дальневосточного отделения Российской академии наук, при поддержке Научного Совета по вопросам регионального развития при Президиуме РАН, издается научный журнал «Пространственная экономика».

The article is devoted to the territorial aspect of dissemination of technologies in the Russian Federation as an actual problem of regional development. The choice of the innovative development model is still a controversial issue of the Russian macroeconomic policy. The authors model the process of spatial dissemination of technologies. Economic-mathematical modeling is based on the Cobb-Douglas production function and the hexagon of August Losch in the context of the theory of economic space organization. The study’s results are as follows: a spontaneous process of technological changes is more likely in circumstances when the number of regions is small; the country’s level of income is high; and the research infrastructure is developed to such an extent that the creation of new technologies and their implementation are relatively cheap. Without these conditions spontaneous innovation’s dissemination is unlikely