Efficiency of Government Support for the Manufacturing Sector in Russian Industrial Regions

Abstract

The Russian manufacturing sector is concentrated in regions considered as potential centres of technological development, productivity growth and long-term export opportunities. Realization of this potential requires the timely implementation of effective support measures. Using relevant statistics, the study aims to analyse how budget subsidies affect the dynamic and structural aspects of the development of Russian industrial regions. The research methodology is based on assessing the total budgetary cost of government support and correlating it with regional industrial indicators. To this end, data from the Treasury of Russia, statistical indicators, industry databases and target indicators were examined. The study revealed that government subsidies not always positively affect the industry target parameters, even distorting market mechanisms. In general, the implementation of state programmes in Russia has led to an increase in export volumes, costs for innovative activities and labour productivity with stable employment in industry. However, in industrial regions, an increase in the share of the manufacturing sector does not cause an increase in economic growth. In addition, fixed capital investment in the manufacturing sector is lower in these regions. A sharp increase in the number of high performance employees due to the implementation of support measures was observed in Russia and individual industrial regions. In terms of innovative activity, the number of patent applications in industrial regions is significantly lower than the national average. The efficiency of industry support measures in the Russian Federation can be re-evaluated based on the obtained results. Future research will focus on further detailing the budgetary cost of government support and assessing its long-term results.