A large federal economy: theoretical and methodological research approaches and their implementation in the Russian economy

This article considers the functioning of large federal economic systems. It is revealed that in the theory of federalism and in application of regional measures, there is an abstraction from the territorial scale, which determines the heterogeneity of the economic space. The specific characteristics of a large spatially heterogeneous federal economic system are analyzed. The study develops the theoretical and methodological foundations of the concept of a large heterogeneous federal economy, which ensures the integrity of the economy and the development of regions. The hypothesis of the study is that a large federal economy is characterized by high regional differentiation, which requires the development of federal measures to reduce this heterogeneity. This will increase the connectivity of the economic space and the independence of the regions. The research methods are comparative analysis, coefficient analysis, and content analysis. Key quantitative characteristics and qualitative differences for classifying federal countries as large federal systems were identified. A methodology for distinguishing regions in a federal economy by their functional role was developed, which was tested on Russian regions. Combinations of regulatory instruments were proposed depending on the functional role of the regions in the Russian economic space.