Spatial concentration of the manufacturing industry in Russia during the period of [2005][2006][2007][2008][2009][2010][2011][2012][2013][2014][2015]

The aim of the article is to analyze the economic potential of agro-industrial complex of the provincial region for the case of the Mari El Republic of Russia. A resource approach with the inclusion of a resultant component was used in the study of economic potential in the framework of system analysis. The strengths of the economic potential of the agro-industrial complex of the Mari El Republic are the low cost of labor, the availability of specialized educational institutions and personnel, high productivity and growth of livestock production. The positive dynamics of livestock production was achieved at the expense of state support of the agriculture modernization. The weaknesses of economic potential of the regional agro-industrial complex are the technological backwardness of local agricultural producers, a large share of non-cultivated land, low crop yields, and low level of land chemization. The outflow of population from rural areas and the deficit of the regional budget restrict the development of the sector. The increase in agricultural production is mainly due to the livestock industry. The production of cattle meat and milk are promising to growth paths.

The purpose of the study is to analyze the processes of the economy digitalization of the provincial region, to assess their impact on the innovative development of the region through the case of the Mari El Republic. A comparative analysis of the use of digital technologies in the region, in the Volga Federal District (VFD) and Russia is carried out. A pronounced relationship between the indicators of digitalization and innovative activity in the Mari El Republic is revealed on the basis of correlation analysis. The relatively low level of digital infrastructure and digital literacy, and the low level of demand for digital technologies from local businesses are among the main limitations of the economy digitalization. At the same time, the formation of a favorable institutional environment and overall positive dynamics of the main indicators of the economy digitalization, a high level of state support due to the implementation of national and regional programs in the field of the digital economy were revealed. The drivers of digital transformation were organizations in the field of information technology and telecommunications, the electronics industry and universities. The main conclusion of the study is that the digitalization of the regional economy contributes to its innovative development and increased competitiveness.

The article analyzes the approaches to the assessment of peripherality in the framework of the center-peripheral models of the economic space. Identification of the core, semi-periphery and periphery of the Volga Federal District was made on the basis of clusterization according to two criteria: gross regional product per capita and population density. A process of centro-periphery polarization takes place in the Volga Federal District. Economic activity is concentrated in the largest metropolitan areas, forming the core of the macro-region. Moderately developed regions with gross regional product per capita from 75 to 100 % of the average level of the Volga Federal District form semi-periphery. The periphery covers a continuous belt of seven agro-industrial regions, in which 30% of the macro-region’s population lives. The peculiarities of the Volga Federal District periphery were revealed: depopulation and aging of the population, general unemployment is at the level of 4-6 %, the level of innovation and investment is lower than the average level of the Volga Federal District and strongly differentiated by the regions, the quality of roads and the availability of the Internet are lower than the average level of the Volga Federal District. A process of further peripheralization is observed in all peripheral regions.

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