Suchergebnisse

Local border traffic (LBT) is a tool for cooperation between the EU member states and neighbouring countries. It emerged as a measure to mitigate the barrier effect of the EU's external border. In2006, the European Parliament author-ised the EU member states to conclude bilateral agreements on a simplified border crossing regime in border areas. This article analyses local border traffic as a cross-border cooperation tool. The territory described in the study includes the external borders of the EU (and Norway) with the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus. The article will be of interest to specialists in international and, particularly, in cross-border cooperation. The authors analyse the mechanism of local border traffic and identify possible trends based on the general socioeconomic situation and foreign policy background in Russia, Belarus, and the EU (Norway). The article employs the cartographic method to enhance the visual component of the study. It is concluded that the LBT mechanism is effective and it has a positive effect on the development of border contacts between countries. There is a need to continue the dialogue between Russia, Belarus and the EU countries on both expanding the geographical scope of the LBT mechanism and ensuring its qualitative development.

The article presents data reflecting the territorial peculiarities of rural population dynamics and shows their dependence on external factors (primarily, the development of agriculture). The database includes 14 indicators of the regional spatial differentiation of rural population development in Russia between 2010-2020. A typology of regions based on eight economic and ecological parameters is provided. The dataset covers the statistical indicators of 85 Russian regions from 2010 to 2020, published by the Federal State Statistics Service and the Unified Interdepartmental Information and Statistics System. The results are presented in seven tables and six maps. The dataset can be used by federal and regional authorities elaborating science-­based rural development programmes and strategies, as well as experts on rural development.

In this article, I carry out a comparative analysis of population change in the bordering regions of Russia and the European Union. Peripheries of their countries, most of these regions enjoy a more or less favourable demographic situation, which, however, differs from place to place. To attain the aims of the study, I analyse official data from Russian and EU statistical offices and map the results obtained. I identify significant differences between border regions and cities. The most adverse demographic situation is observed in the borderlands of the Baltics, a slightly better one in Poland and Finland. As to Russia's border regions, a population increase is characteristic of Saint Petersburg and the Leningrad and Kaliningrad regions. Yet, a number of cities in the immediate vicinity of the border face a population decline. The demographic situation could be improved by more active transboundary collaborations and by the border serving increasingly as a contact area rather than a barrier.

The paper provides analysis of means of individualization (trademarks) as an institutional alternative to ensure quality of market goods and to enforce specific contractual performance of sellers and buyers. In general, the price mechanism as described in the perfect competition paradigm fails to ensure efficient market exchange of sophisticated goods and supplementary institutions such as a reputational mechanism are often required. Means of individualization as part of the reputational mechanism contribute to increasing efficiency of the market exchange by ensuring quality of market goods and, in broader context, by enforcing specific performance within the market contracts. The paper provides analysis of advantages and disadvantages of the means of individualization as compared with its institutional alternatives - "pure" market institutions, and centralized regulation of quality/contract performance.

This article examines the processes of international research cooperation in the Baltic Sea region. It focuses on research works published in the leading periodicals in 1993-2012. The empirical material is collected from the world's largest abstract and citation database, SciVerse Scopus, which makes it possible to evaluate macroindicators at the national and global levels as well as the contribution of scholars to the global progress. The article also offers an assessment of the efficiency of research activities in the Baltic Sea region countries. It is based on a number of scientometric indicators that reflect the performance of universities in terms of research journal publications and the development of research cooperation in the field of Baltic studies. The authors consider the dynamics of research contribution and academic cooperation in the Baltic Sea countries in four leading fields - i. e. agricultural and biological sciences, Earth sciences, ecology and social sciences presented in the SciVerse Scopus scientometric database. The article provides a map of research cooperation in the Baltic Sea region.

This article focuses on the cooperation between
universities of the North-western federal
district (NWFD) of the Russian Federation,
Sweden, and Finland, its intensity and territorial
differentiation. The analysis was conducted
on the basis of public domain information
on the international activity of universities
available on their official websites. The authors
identify the principle areas and leading centres
of such cooperation. The NWFD universities
have significant experience in cooperation
with Finnish universities. Cooperation with
Swedish universities is proved to be less developed.
Approximately 50 NFWD universities,
29 of which are located in Saint Petersburg,
are involved in cooperation; most NWFD universities
do not cooperate with the mentioned
countries. Such low degree of cooperation in
the field of education is a serious inhibiting factor,
which reduces competitiveness on the modern
market of educational services.

Structural changes in the economy and spatial and inter-settlement differences in living standards and quality of life lead to fundamental alterations in the national settlement system. Settlement polarisation is gathering momentum, along with the movement of rural population from Russia's east and north to its southern and metropolitan regions. These processes benefit urban agglomerations. Typological differences between regional settlement systems, still poorly understood but essential for strategic and spatial planning, are growing. This article draws on the concept of the geographical demographic situation; it uses official statistics on Russian regions and Kaliningrad municipalities and settlements to explore the connection between rural settlement trends and employment fluctuations caused by structural shifts in Russian regional economies. It is shown how settlement polarisation affects differences in settlement trends of meso- and microdistrict levels. Regions are identified that have a capacity for rural-urban migration and corresponding rural employment structure and trends.

This data article presents macroeconomic data that can be used for comparative territorial studies. The data cover a sample of 413 regions (national administrative-territorial units corresponding to second level of a common classification of territorial units for statistics of the European Commission – NUTS 2 level region of the European Union, and comparable administrative-territorial units outside the EU) of 48 European countries, including Cyprus, Turkey, the European part of Russia, and two partially recognized states – the Republic of Kosovo and the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic. The statistical database covers a five-year period of 2010–2014. This dataset is created to enhance our understanding of the contemporary coastalization dynamics in Europe. Despite the fact that coastal regions of European countries exhibit an extensive level of development and remain attractive to human settlement, industry localization, and investment flows their contribution to the socio-economic development of Europe is unclear. The reported data cover a series of macroeconomic data on key indicators traditionally used in comparative analysis of regional development: average annual population, gross regional product (GRP) in purchasing power parity (PPP), labor productivity, population density and GRP (PPP) values per sq.km. Accounting for differences in geoeconomic position of the European regions enables to distinguish four subtypes of regions with a particular emphasis on the coastal area: coastal border, coastal other, coastal hinterland, and inland other. An additional focus is made on differentiating the performance indicators of regions depending on their border geo-economic position: border regions with a state border over land, lake or river surface, and midland regions – other non-border regions. This data is to be used as a comparative benchmark for the coastal border subgroup of regions against the totality of border and midland regions.

Signing the agreement on local border traffic (LBT) between the Republic of Poland and the Russian Federation was welcomed by experts as an important step towards the future visa-free regime between the European Union and the Russian Federation often discussed in the international dialogue. The three years of LBT mechanism have shown its practical significance for the development of research and cultural contacts, cooperation between municipalities and NGOs of the Kaliningrad region and the borderland (Pomeranian and Warmian-Masurian) voivodeships of Poland. When considering retail trade as a structural element of economy, it is important to address the differences in the effect LBT has had on the development of this sector in the Kaliningrad region and the neighbouring Polish voivodeships. According to Russian experts, LBT results in 7-20% losses in the Kaliningrad region's retail sales, whereas in Poland LBT stimulates retail trade (accounting for 12% of sales in the border voivodeships). This article analyses the role of LBT in the development of retail trade in the Kaliningrad region and the Polish border voivodeships as well as prospects of its development in view of the changing geopolitical situation and adjustment of the currency exchange rates at the end of 2014. Based on statistics and analytical data, the authors arrive at the conclusion that the positive effect of LBT outdoes its negative impact on various sectors of the border regions' economies, including retail trade.

Earliest studies into the influence of the sea on the economy and settlement structure date back to the mid-19th century. They became common in the 20th century. Researchers have come to a general understanding that a coastal position has a beneficial effect on the development of regions. Such areas have a denser population and develop more rapidly than inland regions. At the same time, the effect of environmental, socioeconomic, demographic, and political factors is often stronger than the influence of the sea. Thus, an inland position can be more beneficial than a coastal one. Both trends are observed in the Baltic Sea macroregion. However, the 'gravitational force' of the sea varies from place to place. This article focuses on the most significant differences between territories and countries. These differences reflect the uneven influence of the proximity of the Baltic Sea on the development of population and national economies. Qualitative differences between mesoregions are measured using a combination of theoretical and empirical typologies. An economic, statistical, and cartographic analysis helps to identify a special type of mesoregions — coastal development corridors, which make an important contribution to the economic development and consolidation of the Baltic macroregion. In transnational macroregions, such typological differences must be taken into account in strategic and spatial planning at the intergovernmental level.

Local border traffic (LBT) is a tool for cooperation between the EU member states and neighbouring countries. It emerged as a measure to mitigate the barrier effect of the EU's external border. In 2006, the European Parliament authorised the EU member states to conclude bilateral agreements on a simplified border crossing regime in border areas. This article analyses local border traffic as a cross-border cooperation tool. The territory described in the study includes the external borders of the EU (and Norway) with the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus. The article will be of interest to specialists in international and, particularly, in cross-border cooperation. The authors analyse the mechanism of local border traffic and identify possible trends based on the general socioeconomic situation and foreign policy background in Russia, Belarus, and the EU (Norway). The article employs the cartographic method to enhance the visual component of the study. It is concluded that the LBT mechanism is effective and it has a positive effect on the development of border contacts between countries. There is a need to continue the dialogue between Russia, Belarus and the EU countries on both expanding the geographical scope of the LBT mechanism and ensuring its qualitative development.

The nonparametric method of dynamic data envelopment analysis (DDEA) has become increasingly popular for conducting comparative efficiency evaluations. In recent years, dynamic data envelopment analysis (DDEA), a variant of this method, has gained significant attention. This article applies dynamic analysis to evaluate the efficiency of the research sector in Russian regions. Traditional input variables such as the number of research staff and R&D expenditure are considered, while publication and patent metrics serve as output indicators. The analysis covers a substantial time period, spanning from 2009 to 2020. Notably, the proposed evaluation method incorporates publication quality measures as a carry-over variable, in addition to accumulated R&D expenditure. The study employs dynamic data envelopment analysis to compare the obtained results with previous evaluations of the research and technology sector in Russian regions. The findings demonstrate that the proposed method serves as a valuable ranking technique, enhancing existing evaluations of regions' research and technology potential in terms of efficiency. The article concludes by discussing the prospects and limitations of the method in evaluating and forecasting research and technology profiles of regions.