European Regional Science: Between Economy of Culture and Economy of Catastrophes (Review of the ERSA 2005 Amsterdam Congress Reports)

ERSA Congress can be seen as laboratory of ideas with broad representation not only European, but also scientists from US, Japan, Korea, Brazil, African and Asian countries. With very high speed new thoughts and phenomena from the European regional scientific community appear on the stages of the ERSA annual Congresses. Three new features were characteristic for the 2005 ERSA Congress in comparison with the previous ones. First, special focus on the factors of density in the regional development. That was not surprising as the meeting was held in the city of Amsterdam with the highest density in Europe where land and space are scarce goods. Second, integrative tendencies in attempt to use natural factors to explain traditional phenomena of the regional science. Issues of land and water management coincide with economic growth and regional development in many reports. Third, for the first time theme of networks and network society was embedded in many sections of the Congress and in the very title of the Congress itself. All these aspects as participants demonstrated could be positive creative factors increasing cultural assets of the European regions, efficiency of the knowledge transfer, leisure activities; or negative as the source of disaster and risk for human beings. Density factors (lack of people or lack of space?) divide European regional science into two sciences – urban for the populated regions and regional for the territories scarcely populated with very different themes, methods and tools of research. Housing markets, urban sprawl and commuting patterns are popular topics in the first case; labour markets and human capital in the second case. New Economic Geography models work smoothly in the first regions but are inappropriate in the second. Competition is harder in the labour markets of the populated regions but is softer in the regions with scattered population where it is substituted by the forces of cooperation. Contemporary regional society can be sustainable only as network society. In the reports networks were examined on different levels: a) as transportation networks in the investment national or interregional projects; b) as policentricity urban structures replacing Cristaller’s hierarchy of central places; c) as public-public, public-private partnerships combining public and private stakeholders in the decision-making process. Transition of the European regions from the industrial to network/service has begun 25 years ago. Position of the concrete region on this route determines clearly the type and intensity of its problem and research agenda. The more advanced is the region or nation on this route the more often terms like “reinventâ€, “rethinkâ€, “revisited†are used in the scientific community. Rediscovery of the old concepts, definitions, essence (as Amsterdam Congress demonstrated) is very creative and challenging process of the post-industrial regional science.

Tools and institutions of interregional convergence: the case of Russian federal policy

After a decade of reform contrasts between regions in Russia in per resident regional gross product and per resident real income have increased essentially. The challenge to smooth these inequalities is one of the high priorities for the contemporary Russian federal regional policy. For this purpose in the year 2001 federal program of diminishing interregional disparities was elaborated. In 2002 forty regions will receive federal assistance in this Program. Institutional factors on the regional level are critical to make this assistance more efficient. To understand this influence special research of the link between the structure of the regional authorities and the regional economic growth has been undertaken for 10 regions. The model of regional authority-'open corporation' is more effective in attracting additional external investments for the federal assistance money. The model of regional authority-'closed partnership' is more effective in decreasing transaction costs of utilising federal money in social projects to fight inequalities. In the ethnic republics federal assistance sometimes in reality can increase disparities as it is chanelled for the clan in power and not distributed evenly among all the groups and localities. The paper concludes by suggestion for the improvement of the contemporary federal regional policy in Russia.

Russian Regions on the Route From Industrial to Network (Russian Realities and Experience of the EU Regions)

This work reflects the results from the cycle of research done in 2001-2004 for 20 Russian regions. At the end of it it was possible to generalize the regularities of the initial stage of transition which were characteristic for the Russian regions on their move from industrial to network model of economic development; compare Russian experience with EU core regions experience (the latter has started this way 20-25 years earlier, in mid-seventies). Typical features of this period are the increasing economic role of support sector and knowledge economy in the regional development, the increasing role of the mobile assets and footloose firms, gradual transformation of the industrial complexes into economic clusters, changes in typology of infrastructural networks (from vertical hierarchy to horizontal grid), etc. Regional authorities in every region abandon previous style of administrative commands and shift to economic coordination with the actors of the regional economy. There are expectations in the Russian regions that this transition will help to overcome economic and environmental limitations of the industrial paradygm which are evident in late Soviet period. The speed, intensity, and vulnerability of these transition are different among northern, central, and southern regions of Russia. Old economic ranks of the Russian regions of the industrial period has changed essentially. Cities-service centers have increased their importance; on the other side, role of big and small industrial cities and settlements have universally decreased. The most painful transformation is characteristic for the big industrial regions like Kuzbass (analogue of the German Ruhr). On the other side oil and gas regions of Russia are passing this transformation in easier way. But each Russian region has its own peculiarities in economy and social sphere which determine the trajectory and speed of transition.

A comparative analysis of the cohesion policy in the Russian Federation and in the European Union

First years of the economic growth of the Russian economy on one side, and the enlargement of the European Union on the other side, create mych more similarities in the cohesion policy of both entities now than in the 1990-s. Russian Federation is experiencing the shift from the dominance of the operating transfers in the investment transfers as the equalizing tool. their relative importance is naturally increasing in the contemporary period of stable regional development. On the other hand, after the access of new countries in the EU the contrast between regions will irrevitably increase though not reaching the level of disparities between contemporary Russian regions. In the year 2001 federal program of diminishing interregional disparities was elaborated in Russia. Its methodology, principles and methods of distribution of investment transfers took into consideration European experience in this field. Both Russian Federation and the European Union use simple formula-based criteria to determine the exact regions-participants of the equalizing program. Both entities have special approach for the rules of distribution of the central investment transfers for most lagging countries. But in contrast with the Structural Funds policy of the European Union the stress in the Russian case is mainly on the support of the "hard" factors of regional development - physical infrastructure and not on the "soft" factors (quality of the human capital) and direct branches of the economic activity like agriculture as is the case in the regional policy of the European Union.

Knowledge transfer inside the regional economic system: the case of eighty years of economic history of the Russian North-East

Economic role of the knowledge transfer is studied on the example of the Russian North-East and its two basic branches that is exploration and mining which form the core of the regional economy (regional mining system). Russian North-East can be considered as isolated industrial district with the basic gold mining activity. The scale of this activity has been determined regional socio-economic development for the last 80 years. The major information for this study has been taken from GIS on the spatial structure of exploration and mining branches in the Russian North-East on the district level for the last 80 years. On the basis of revealed regularities and specifics in the interregional knowledge transfer we have formed general understanding of this process. We have analyzed major channels of knowledge transfer from exploration as the branch generating new knowledge on the mineral resources to mining in which this knowledge is utilized. We have determined major systems of knowledge transfer from one branch to the other under different periods of regional economic history. We have examined how territorial structures of exploration and mining industries had been changed inside the regional system for the last 80 years. Main characteristics of knowledge transfer inside the regional mining system influence its productivity (volume of extraction, speed of development of the new deposits, etc.). Effective communication between exploration and mining industry, knowledge transfer from the geologists to the miners is critically important for the sustainable work of the regional mining system.

Towards an advanced observation system for the marine Arctic in the framework of the Pan-Eurasian Experiment (PEEX)

The Arctic marine climate system is changing rapidly, which is seen in the warming of the ocean and atmosphere, decline of sea ice cover, increase in river discharge, acidification of the ocean, and changes in marine ecosystems. Socio-economic activities in the coastal and marine Arctic are simultaneously changing. This calls for the establishment of a marine Arctic component of the Pan-Eurasian Experiment (MA-PEEX). There is a need for more in situ observations on the marine atmosphere, sea ice, and ocean, but increasing the amount of such observations is a pronounced technological and logistical challenge. The SMEAR (Station for Measuring Ecosystem-Atmosphere Relations) concept can be applied in coastal and archipelago stations, but in the Arctic Ocean it will probably be more cost-effective to further develop a strongly distributed marine observation network based on autonomous buoys, moorings, autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). These have to be supported by research vessel and aircraft campaigns, as well as various coastal observations, including community-based ones. Major manned drift-ing stations may occasionally be comparable to terrestrial SMEAR flagship stations. To best utilize the observations, atmosphere-ocean reanalyses need to be further developed. To well integrate MA-PEEX with the existing terrestrialatmospheric PEEX, focus is needed on the river discharge and associated fluxes, coastal processes, and atmospheric transports in and out of the marine Arctic. More observations and research are also needed on the specific socioeconomic challenges and opportunities in the marine and coastal Arctic, and on their interaction with changes in the climate and environmental system. MA-PEEX will promote international collaboration; sustainable marine meteorological, sea ice, and oceanographic observations; advanced data management; and multidisciplinary research on the marine Arctic and its interaction with the Eurasian continent.Peer reviewe

Economy of the Arctic “Islands”: The Case of Nenets and Chukotka Autonomous Okrugs

The article discusses the economy of Arctic «islands». These territories of the Russian Arctic are unavailable by transport all the year round and have considerable specificity in comparison with the other regions of the Russian and North European Arctic. The authors consider the economy of Arctic «islands» on the example of the Nenets and Chukotka Autonomous Areas. Despite the significant similarity in the economic and social parameters, after careful study, two regions show considerable internal differences. In order to identify dissimilarity, in the comparative analysis, we use the theoretical idea of the Arctic economy as a unity of three sectors — the traditional one, corporate (market) one and transfer (state) one. Each sector has the key contradictions, structures and its trajectory of evolution. The comparison of traditional sectors reveals significant landscape diversity of Chukotka in comparison with the Nenets tundra. The corporate sector of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug economy is significantly younger than in Chukotka, due to the fact that oil and gas development is relatively new practice for the region. On the other hand, because of the mining development of Chukotka gold, which started in 1960-s, it can be considered as an old industrial region. The level of the profitability of gold production is significantly lower than of the Nenets oil production. Therefore, we propose to include the economy of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug to the rental model, and Chukotka economy to the transfer model. The difference of transfer sectors of two areas is the result of not only the difference in the power of the regional budgets, but also of the urban settlement structure which is centralized in the Nenets Autonomous Okrug and polycentric in Chukotka. It means that the public health and culture in the Nenets Autonomous Okrug are dated generally for the capital of Naryan-Mar, and social facilities in Chukotka are significantly decentralized and concentrated in Okrug’s and regional centres

The Russian Arctic by 2050: Developing Integrated Scenarios

Scenarios of future development pathways in the Arctic created by groups of experts and stakeholders are an effective way to identify and illustrate possible alternatives and options for this region based on anticipated environmental and socioeconomic changes. Although scenarios that assess development trajectories for the Arctic are becoming increasingly popular, there is a relative lack of regional perspective in foresight exercises devoted to the Russian Arctic. This article presents and discusses development scenarios for the Russian Arctic until 2050 that were built by a diverse group of academics, local officials, Indigenous leaders, and business representatives at a scenario workshop in Naryan-Mar, Russia. The scenarios focus on Russia’s Arctic zone and incorporate future visioning of economic development, international cooperation with the West and China, shipping, human and social capital, and Indigenous peoples’ livelihoods in the context of climate change. We apply a novel circular-axial technique to synthesize and combine the 12 initially created thematic scenarios into four final cross-cutting integrated scenarios that describe alternative futures for the Russian Arctic by 2050: Harmonious Arctic, Self-Reliant Arctic, Resource-Dependent Arctic, and Forgotten Arctic. Les scénarios de trajectoires de développement futur dans l’Arctique créés par des groupes d’experts et de parties prenantes constituent une manière efficace de déterminer et d’illustrer des solutions de rechange et des options possibles pour cette région, en fonction des changements environnementaux et socioéconomiques attendus. Même si les scénarios évaluant les trajectoires de développement dans l’Arctique gagnent en popularité, les exercices de prévision sont caractérisés par le manque relatif de perspective régionale axée sur l’Arctique russe. Cet article présente et aborde des scénarios de développement pour l’Arctique russe. Ces scénarios s’étendent jusqu’en 2050 et sont le fruit du travail de divers groupes d’universitaires, d’autorités locales, de chefs autochtones et de représentants du monde des affaires ayant participé à un atelier de scénarios qui s’est déroulé à Naryan-Mar, en Russie. Les scénarios se concentrent sur la zone arctique russe et intègrent la vision future du développement économique, de la coopération internationale avec l’Ouest et la Chine, du transport, du capital humain et social et de la subsistance des peuples autochtones dans le contexte du changement climatique. Nous appliquons une technique circulaire-axiale nouvelle pour synthétiser et combiner les 12 scénarios thématiques initialement créés afin d’aboutir à quatre scénarios intersectoriels intégrés décrivant les solutions de rechange futures pour l’Arctique russe d’ici 2050, soit un Arctique harmonieux, un Arctique autonome, un Arctique dépendant des ressources, et un Arctique oublié.&nbsp

Towards improved participatory scenario methodologies in the Arctic

Abstract Participatory scenario methodologies are increasingly used for studying possible future developments in the Arctic. They have the potential to contribute to several high-priority tasks for Arctic research, such as integration of indigenous and local knowledge in futures studies, providing a platform for activating Arctic youth in shaping their futures, identifying Arctic-relevant indicators for sustainable development, and supporting decision-making towards sustainable futures. Yet, to achieve this potential, several methodological challenges need to be addressed. These include attention to whose voices are amplified or silenced in participatory research practices, with special attention to diversification and the engagement of youth. Given the historic and potential future role of disruptive events for Arctic development trajectories, methods are needed in participatory scenario exercises to include attention to the dynamics and consequences of such events and regime shifts. Participatory scenarios can also be further improved through approaches that effectively combine qualitative and quantitative information. Finally, there is a need for systematic studies of how the results of scenario exercises influence decision-making processes. This article elaborates on ways in which attention to these aspects can help make scenarios more robust for assessing a diversity of potential Arctic futures in times of rapid environmental and social change