THE CONCEPT AND APPROACHES TO THE STUDY OF INTEGRATION OF TERRITORIAL SOCIO-ECONOMIC SYSTEMS: TO THE FORMULATION OF THE ISSUE

Abstract

The importance of the development of the Russian economy as a comprehensive and sovereign system is increasing under the influence of external shocks. To this matter, the question of the economy’s spatial nature in regards to the deepening of integration processes between regions becomes particularly important. The purpose of the study is to develop theoretical and methodological foundations for analyzing the mechanisms of integrating the economies of the regions of the Siberian Federal District, assessing the integration potential of the Altai Krai. The empirical object of study is the Altai Krai. The subject of the study are the various forms and types of connections between the region and the regions of the Siberian Federal District. The paper considers a number of topical issues of interregional integration. A general assessment of the state of scientific research in this area is given. Insufficient empirical knowledge of interregional relations, the absence of comparable methodological approaches to the assessment of integration processes in macroregions are noted. The possibility of using methodological developments in the field of international integration research for the analysis of interregional interaction is substantiated and shown. Approaches to assessing the degree of «maturity» of interregional integration are outlined. The «mechanism» of integration is revealed as the unity of the driving forces of this process and the factors that determine it, in relation to different types of interregional relations. The ambiguity of the consequences of integration for the socio-economic development of regions is shown, depending on the basis on which interregional relations are formed (cooperation or competition).