The ongoing technological development leads to the emergence of a new value-creation paradigm that calls for changes and structural transformations in economic systems at different levels. Structural transformations are prompted by growing economic complexity. In this context, the selection of industrial strategies and the validation of key regional industrial policies is of paramount importance. Economic complexity (EC) analysis is a new effective tool to address the issue. Its application at a subnational level is, however, limited by methodological problems. To analyse economic complexity at a subnational level, a basic methodology and special software were developed within this study. The object of the research is the exclave Kaliningrad region, whose location makes it possible to capture accurate and comprehensive data on international and interregional trade. Based on the EC analysis theory and practice, the study involved the development of methods, algorithms, and software to form a source database and measure economic complexity. The findings may guide the use of EC analyses in regional policies. The article suggests activities for sequential upgrading of the industry in the Kaliningrad region. These activities will facilitate the development of the existing and new capabilities, improve the business environment, and increase the complexity of products, productions, and industries.

The article explores opportunities for the sustainable economic development of coastal territories in the Baltic Sea region (BSR) arising in blue economy sectors in the framework of digital transformation. The study argues that more active commercialisation of territorial resources can facilitate the sustainable economic development of the BSR coastal territories, following digitally-driven innovations. The paper provides an overview of methodological approaches to territorial sustainability. It also assesses the 2009—2018 level of the socio-economic development of the BSR coastal territories, underpins the importance of the blue economy and highlights the role of digital transformation in reaching the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the BSR through digitally-driven innovations. A comparative and problem-targeted statistics analyses show significant differences in the dynamics of socio-economic development in the BSR coastal territories with their GRP per capita being generally lower than the national or macroregional average. A review of literature on sustainable development in the BSR has shown that a more active use of the unique resources of coastal territories along with a technology-driven growth of the blue economy sectors can counterbalance the negative impact of the uneven development of these territories on the progress towards the SDGs in the BSR. Increasing the competitiveness of the BSR coastal territories requires investment in digital solutions in the blue economy sectors and building communication infrastructure. The review of key innovations in the blue economy sectors shows that their implementation gives impetus to other industries by reducing costs, creating new jobs, and improving the quality of products and services.

Introduction. The importance of economic security issues for migration-attractive regions, especially the exclave Kaliningrad region, is growing. Increasing migration gain from Russia’s regions both brings obvious benefits and poses additional challenges. These include those related to the influx of workers whose professional qualifications do not suit the needs of the regional labour market. Thus, the article aims to analyze the compliance of the mechanisms for regulating internal migration with the work-related pull factors to ensure the Kaliningrad region’s economic security. Materials and Methods. The study relies on Kaliningradstat’s regional migration data for 2014–2021 and the interviews with representatives of various sectors of the regional economy, including migrants, conducted by the authors in the summer of 2022. The paper provides systematized and structured results of the content analysis of various sources on the implementation of labour policy and, in particular, the policy of attracting workforce (information and reference portals and websites of international, national and regional institutions, official statistical data by IOM and Rosstat). Results. Drawing on the example of the Kaliningrad region, the study considers several understaffed fields of occupation, including medicine, research and education, ICT, and small and medium-sized enterprises. Based on international and Russian research it analyses work-related mobility factors for each of them. It also classifies the practice of using external and internal migration selection mechanisms. Discussion and Conclusion. Based on the survey of migrants and employers in the Kaliningrad region, the study develops and discusses a list of pull factors and mechanisms for each considered workforce group that can be used to design policies for attracting workforce to the Kaliningrad region. The study results can be used in Russian regions willing to attract in-demand specialists.

The article focuses on determining priority Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for the mesolevel coastal territories of the Baltic Sea Region (BSR), including EU and Russian ones. The analysis of strategic documents and supranational (BSR), national and subnational voluntary reviews allows identifying the main approaches to the development of strategies and the selection of indicators for monitoring progress towards the achievement of the SDGs. The paper identifies priority areas and objectives for designing sustainable development strategies in the BSR coastal territories. As a tool to choose the development path to sustainability in three spheres (economic, social and environmental), the authors propose to conduct a mesolevel economic complexity analysis.

Currently, the economic complexity (EC) theory is of considerable relevance. Developed and rapidly developing countries invest heavily in research and development to increase their products complexity as it brings an economy’s competitiveness and revenues to a higher level. The article presents the main results of the 2017-2019 EC analysis of a Russian exclave, the Kaliningrad region, whose trade and production specialization have changed dramatically. The study relies on the data of the Atlas of Economic Complexity, the Federal Customs Service of Russia, the Kaliningrad Regional Customs. It applies the author’s method for “cleaning” the data. The key feature of the study is the incorporation of the regional data into the global trade statistics. The analysis reveals general trends towards an increase in capabilities in low complexity products. The paper emphasizes that the regional government needs to pursue an active sectoral policy aimed at increasing the economic complexity.