Evaluating the Socio-Economic Factors Impacting Foreign Trade Development in Port Areas

Seaports are an important component of the Russian transport infrastructure. They play a major role in the sustainable development of adjacent territories and the country. Investments in port infrastructure facilitate the introduction of new technologies that accelerate cargo handling, contribute to the efficient use of resources and foreign trade increase. Ports have a major impact on the dynamics of economic indicators in the coastal region, its socio-economic development and environmental condition. In turn, the optimal development of the port infrastructure depends not only on the volume of investments made but also on other socio-economic indicators of the region. This paper analyzes the impact of socio-economic factors on export and import indicators in port areas. Based on a sample of five Russian ports and ten regions, and data observed in the period from 2010 to 2019, dependency patterns were identified for the regions of the Arctic, Baltic, Far Eastern, Azov-Black Sea and Caspian basins. The methods of correlation and regression analysis, panel data analysis (fixed-effect models) and nonlinear models, are used for the analysis. The study’s findings show that investments in the development of seaports stimulate foreign trade growth in port areas and neighboring regions, which, in turn, shows the level of a region’s integration into the global economic cooperation system. The results of the original research can be used to develop programs to support the foreign economic activity of certain regions. Conclusions are also made about the existence of inverse dependence of the volume of exports and imports on the level of costs for environmental protection. The results may have scientific significance for subsequent deeper research of the problem, as well as practical value for the development of regional development strategies within the framework of a single nationwide sustainability politics.