Industry of the macro-region on the way toward high-tech development

The development of high-tech activities and the formation of a highly technological basis of the economy are among the most important areas of modern economic policy in the world. Currently, Russia is implementing a wide range of measures to join the mainstream alongside developed countries in the development and implementation of new technologies in a timely manner. However, in this regard, regions are facing many objective obstacles that impede the research and development work and the development of innovative production methods. Among them are the shortage of financial and labor resources, low level of qualification of the latter; flaws in the production and energy infrastructure; low susceptibility of organizations to innovations; flaws in legislative and regulatory acts, etc. Such conditions are particularly detrimental to machine-building industries - an extremely important sector of industry that ensures the sustainability of socio-economic development. The goal of the present work is to determine the prospects for the growth of gross value added in the industry. For this purpose, such important parameters as the level of depreciation of fixed assets, innovative activity of enterprises, the level of their provision with qualified personnel are considered. Regions of the Northwestern Federal District are the object of the study, the socio-economic aspects of industrial development are its subject. The work is based methodologically on the principles of economic, statistical and comparative analysis, and on generalization methods. The information component is represented by the works of domestic and foreign scientists in the field of regional economy and industry, the data of the Federal State Statistics Service of Russia, the results of a survey of heads of industrial enterprises. The findings of the research can be used in research activities to clarify the proposed provisions or for further development of certain aspects of this work.