Selecting Industry Priorities For The Transition Of The Old Industrial Regions Of The Urals And Western Siberia To The Neo-Industrial Type Of Economy (Part 2)[Выбор Отраслевых Приоритетов Перехода Старопромышленных Регионов Урала И Западной Сибири К Экономике Неоиндустриального Типа: На Примере Челябинской Области (Часть 2)]

Introduction. The issues of transforming the economy of Russia’s old industrial regions are, and will be of high relevancy for a long time. This is largely due to the objective effect of a powerful factor — technological inertia accumulated over many decades, as well as the existing limited resources to overcome it. Another important factor is the necessity for the economy to transfer to new technologies without reducing the quality of the population’s life in the process of restructuring, in particular, the level of employment and income. The search and analysis of possible options for transforming the economies of Russia’s old industrial regions from the industrial to the post-industrial type is currently both complex and relevant. The Chelyabinsk region can be regarded as one of Russia’s old industrial regions. Currently, the economy of this region is experiencing serious difficulties in its development. This article discusses one of the possible trajectories of the region’s development, focused on a phased transition from an industrial type to a neo-industrial type, which is intermediate on the way to a post-industrial type economy. The aim of the study is to conduct a scientific and methodological justification for selecting priority industry directions for the short and medium term transition of the regions of the Urals and Western Siberia, as exemplified by the Chelyabinsk region, from an industrial type economy to a neo-industrial type economy with a subsequent transition to a post-industrial economy. Methods. The basic research methodology is a systematic approach to solving the problems of managing the complex systems development. To solve some specific problems, the authors use scientific methods of generalization, grouping, comparative analysis and classification of the results of activities of the Chelyabinsk region’s large enterprises. According to the results of analyzing literary sources, the study is based on the concept of forming a neo-industrial economy as an intermediate stage in the transition of old industrial regions to a post-industrial economy. The study was performed with the help of official statistics on the largest enterprises in the Urals and Western Siberia from 2011 to 2017. The scientific novelty of the study. According to the results of analyzing the activities of large enterprises in the Chelyabinsk region, which determine the structure of the regional economy, the industry was for the first time classified according to the following criteria: volume of sales and growth in sales volumes. The authors classified industries into four groups that have a different level of significance in terms of the regional economy development prospects and its successful transition to the neoindustrial type. The authors point out a group of priority sectors, the accented development of which can give the maximum useful result in the short and medium term, without straining the situation in the social sphere during the transition period. Results. In the context of the financial resources shortage, the results of the study make it possible for the authors to formulate rational strategies for regional development, concentrating available resources in priority industry areas. The proposed approach to solving such problems makes it possible to update the industry structure and make adjustments to the formation of industry development priorities at any time on the basis of the State Statistics Committee data. Conclusions. The research results presented in the article can be used as a practical tool to solve a number of applied problems of managing the Chelyabinsk region economic development, as well as to study the specifics and priorities of the industrial structure development of the old industrial regions in the future more deeply.