A small remote economy: theoretical framework and empirical observations

Since the 1990s the subject of the influence of the geographical factor on the economic dynamics and, hence, inter-country and inter-regional inequality attracts close attention in the economic literature. The problems of isolated remote regions within a country are relevant for countries distinguis...

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Main Author: Larisa V. Melnikova
Format: Article
Language:Russian
Published: Novye Issledovaniâ Tuvy 2019-09-01
Series:Novye Issledovaniâ Tuvy
Subjects:
Online Access:https://nit.tuva.asia/nit/article/view/867
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author Larisa V. Melnikova
author_facet Larisa V. Melnikova
author_sort Larisa V. Melnikova
collection DOAJ
description Since the 1990s the subject of the influence of the geographical factor on the economic dynamics and, hence, inter-country and inter-regional inequality attracts close attention in the economic literature. The problems of isolated remote regions within a country are relevant for countries distinguished by their size of territory and diversity of natural conditions, such as Russia, Canada, Australia, and the USA. Research in the field of “economics of isolation and remoteness” carried out on the basis of national economies of the world resulted in the creation of concepts and approaches that are applicable to the level of the region, to the extent that the region can be considered as analogous to the national economy. The article is devoted to the analysis of theoretical substantiations of the effects of remoteness and the results of their empirical tests. The effects discussed are illustrated by the example of 4 remote republics: Altai, Tuva, Buryatia and Khakassia. An overview of the discussion on the topic “Death of distance” has demonstrated that the role of distance in shaping the spatial structure of economy does not decrease despite of the development of transportation and telecommunication technologies. The microeconomic analysis reveals that a firm behavior in the course of choosing its location is based by the interaction between transportation costs and the type of economies of scale. At the macroeconomic level these 2 factors define how the parameters of remoteness and of the size of national or regional economy affect the indicators of production and welfare. Depending on the ratio of the 2 parameters, multidirectional effects are possible: generally, the remoteness of reduces production efficiency, decreases competition and complicates the spread of innovation, while the growing size of local market may reap economies of scale in production. For these reasons, remote regions are distinguished by their specific sectoral structure of economy that is characterized by a small number of specialization sectors and hypertrophied proportion of public sector due to the difficulties in delivering public goods.  Basic recommendations in the field of regional policy aimed to overcome the isolation of remote regions come down to promoting infrastructural development, supporting local demand and developing human capital, but potential positive influence of such policies is restricted by structural specifics of local economies while long-term impacts of enhancing transport accessibility weaken protective effects of remoteness.
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spelling doaj.art-05401b71456e4568ae01100cbbe3ccbb2022-12-21T23:28:04ZrusNovye Issledovaniâ TuvyNovye Issledovaniâ Tuvy2079-84822019-09-010310.25178/nit.2019.3.8837A small remote economy: theoretical framework and empirical observationsLarisa V. Melnikova0Институт экономики и организации промышленного производства Сибирского отделения Российской академии наукSince the 1990s the subject of the influence of the geographical factor on the economic dynamics and, hence, inter-country and inter-regional inequality attracts close attention in the economic literature. The problems of isolated remote regions within a country are relevant for countries distinguished by their size of territory and diversity of natural conditions, such as Russia, Canada, Australia, and the USA. Research in the field of “economics of isolation and remoteness” carried out on the basis of national economies of the world resulted in the creation of concepts and approaches that are applicable to the level of the region, to the extent that the region can be considered as analogous to the national economy. The article is devoted to the analysis of theoretical substantiations of the effects of remoteness and the results of their empirical tests. The effects discussed are illustrated by the example of 4 remote republics: Altai, Tuva, Buryatia and Khakassia. An overview of the discussion on the topic “Death of distance” has demonstrated that the role of distance in shaping the spatial structure of economy does not decrease despite of the development of transportation and telecommunication technologies. The microeconomic analysis reveals that a firm behavior in the course of choosing its location is based by the interaction between transportation costs and the type of economies of scale. At the macroeconomic level these 2 factors define how the parameters of remoteness and of the size of national or regional economy affect the indicators of production and welfare. Depending on the ratio of the 2 parameters, multidirectional effects are possible: generally, the remoteness of reduces production efficiency, decreases competition and complicates the spread of innovation, while the growing size of local market may reap economies of scale in production. For these reasons, remote regions are distinguished by their specific sectoral structure of economy that is characterized by a small number of specialization sectors and hypertrophied proportion of public sector due to the difficulties in delivering public goods.  Basic recommendations in the field of regional policy aimed to overcome the isolation of remote regions come down to promoting infrastructural development, supporting local demand and developing human capital, but potential positive influence of such policies is restricted by structural specifics of local economies while long-term impacts of enhancing transport accessibility weaken protective effects of remoteness.https://nit.tuva.asia/nit/article/view/867удаленностьмасштаб экономикитранспортные затратырегиональная политикаАлтайТуваБурятияХакасиямалая экономикаэкономия на масштаберегиональная экономика
spellingShingle Larisa V. Melnikova
A small remote economy: theoretical framework and empirical observations
Novye Issledovaniâ Tuvy
удаленность
масштаб экономики
транспортные затраты
региональная политика
Алтай
Тува
Бурятия
Хакасия
малая экономика
экономия на масштабе
региональная экономика
title A small remote economy: theoretical framework and empirical observations
title_full A small remote economy: theoretical framework and empirical observations
title_fullStr A small remote economy: theoretical framework and empirical observations
title_full_unstemmed A small remote economy: theoretical framework and empirical observations
title_short A small remote economy: theoretical framework and empirical observations
title_sort small remote economy theoretical framework and empirical observations
topic удаленность
масштаб экономики
транспортные затраты
региональная политика
Алтай
Тува
Бурятия
Хакасия
малая экономика
экономия на масштабе
региональная экономика
url https://nit.tuva.asia/nit/article/view/867
work_keys_str_mv AT larisavmelnikova asmallremoteeconomytheoreticalframeworkandempiricalobservations
AT larisavmelnikova smallremoteeconomytheoreticalframeworkandempiricalobservations