Improvement of the social and economic development of single-industry regions in the Russian Federation

In this paper, the author has made a comprehensive analysis of a number of Russian studies devoted to single-industry towns, categorizing them according to their contribution to theoretical knowledge as well as their methods and methodology. Common features in these papers have been identified, including those establishing the criteria for classifying a city as a single-industry one and estimating the number of such cities in the Russian Federation in terms of their socio-economic status. Methods for assessing the socio-economic development of single-industry towns and directions for their development are proposed. Having summarized existing theoretical and methodological approaches set out in the various papers reviewed, the author (1) proposes the adoption of the novel concept of a “single-industry region†; (2) identifies the criteria for assigning such a designation; (3) calculates the number of such single-industry regions in the Russian Federation; (4) suggests allocation of grants from the federal budget to the respective RF Subjects for improving the socio-economic situation in their single-industry towns; (5) classifies single-industry regions into (a) “balanced socio-economic development†, (b) “an unbalanced and backward economic development†, (c) “an unbalanced and backward social development†and finally (d) “deprived regions that are unbalanced and have very low levels of socio-economic development†. The author has developed a model for improving the socio-economic development of single-industry regions, whose focus is on a balanced approach to project planning for the socioeconomic development of mono-cities and the efficient allocation of budgetary funds, providing mechanisms for regular and detailed monitoring of the socioeconomic development of mono-cities and allowing the effectiveness of the allocation of budgetary funds to be systematically monitored by introducing a system of grantification aimed at improving the socioeconomic development in mono-cities. The scientific and practical results of the research will allow the development of theoretical and methodological approaches to improving the socioeconomic development of single-industry towns, facilitating the introduction of the new term “single-industry region†into the academic lexicon.