Integral assessment of the role of regions in Russian economics

The changing realities of the modern world order lead to appearance of new approaches to managing of the socio- economic development of the state’s regions. Estimation of the complex economical transformations will require to use multidimensional, integral indicators of territorial development. The paper presents the author’s methodology of integral assessment of the role of regions, which is developed by the staff of the Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University under the guidance of Doctor in Economics, Professor L. S. Shehovtseva. The research topic is relevant and arouses scientific interest among many domestic and foreign scientists. The purpose of the study is improving the system of indicators and integral indicators for estimating the role of regions in the economy of Russian Federation on example of Northwest Federal districts. In the composition of methodology, authors substantiated the choice of the composition of basic indicators, the way of their integration; calculated and standardized, relative and absolute indicators have been formed. The methodology comprises three hierarchical levels of assessment. At the first level, a set of basic indicators is selected and calculated based on official statistical data. The second level involves the aggregation of these basic indicators into component competitiveness indices aligned with key dimensions of regional development – namely, social, investment, innovation, and economic. The third level entails the synthesis of these component indices into a final, comprehensive integral competitiveness index for the region. The calculations employ relative normalized indicators, enabling the identification of regions positioned above or below the national average and facilitating their comparative ranking. Integrated assessments of the role of the regions in the Russian economy may be useful for analytical researches for national and regional projects, programs, strategies, and development institutions in accordance with national goals of the socio- economic development.