CORE-PERIPHERAL MODEL OF INDUSTRIAL LOCALIZATION: WORLD AND RUSSIA

Abstract

The article deals with the problems of industrial territorial organization in the world and Russia under the “core - periphery” concept. The study is currently important because of the lack of systematic works considering the position of countries and regions in the “core - periphery” structure and the need to elaborate a typology of regions for the purposes of industrial policy. The object of the study is the countries of the world and the regions of Russia, and the subject is the level of their industrial development. The purpose of the study is to suggest a typology of the countries of the world and the regions of Russia in the core-periphery structure of industrial space basing on the qualitative and quantitative methodology. The novelty of the study is the application of an evolutionary and multi-scale approach to the analysis of the distribution of industrial potential across the countries of the world and the subjects of the Russian Federation. The research methodology assumes a qualitative and quantitative procedure for differentiating countries and regions of Russia by industrial productivity, its share in GDP/GRP, the evolutionary stage of development (duration of the industrialization cycle) and geographical location. The main task is to check the operability of the “core - periphery” model in relation to the cycles of industrialization for the end-to-end typology of the countries of the world and the regions of Russia. Special emphasis is placed on the study of differences in industrial productivity under the influence of such geographical factors as the level of industrialization, the resource capacity of production, the scale and branch structure of industry. While analyzing industry at the country level, the emphasis is on the duration of the period of industrialization, the per capita volume of industrial production and the share of industry in GDP. Labor productivity was calculated for the regions of Russia, and the level of innovation activity was also considered. The position of a country or a region in the “core - periphery” system depends on the branch of specialization, the “age” of industry and the industrial policy of the state: the countries and regions that modernize existing funds faster or create new industries preserve their core position. Old industrial countries and regions are shifting into sub-periphery and periphery. The sub-periphery also includes industrial and agricultural regions with a high share of agriculture and small resource regions of Siberia and the Far East. The composition of the periphery is stable and includes the underdeveloped republics of the Caucasus and southern Siberia. The current results made it possible to compare the typology of countries and regions in the “core - periphery” system, while the final results could be used to adjust Russia’s industrial policy.