Foreign Experience in Strategizing Accelerated Socio-Economic Development and Options for Its Application in Russia

Abstract

Socio-economic development is a vital strategy for the Russian Federation. In the 33 years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, its gross domestic product (GDP) has increased by approximately 20 %. The average GDP in EU countries has increased by halve for the same period. The US GDP has doubled while some post-socialist European countries have demonstrated a 2.5-time increase, not to mention developing countries (3-5 times) and China (12.7 times). Between 2013 and 2022, Russia’s GDP per capita stayed the same, probably because of the Crimea population. The gross fixed capital formations decreased slightly, and the volume of retail trade turnover and real income of the population went down more sharply. Compared to the Soviet period, Russia has been losing in all indicators of international ratings. Life expectancy, which is one of the main social indicators, keeps decreasing with every decade. In fact, it has been seven years since Russia’s population started to decline. Part one of this article examines the outstanding experience of China, Japan, and South Korea, which have transited from seemingly hopeless backwardness to stable economic and social growth in 30-40 years. However, these countries are so unique in their cultural and historical development that their experience cannot be applied to Russia directly. Part two examines the phenomena of Reaganomics in the USA and Thatcherism in the UK, which allowed each of these countries to overcome a decade of stagnation and crisis to resume socio-economic development based on science, technology, and innovations. Part three examines some cases of large countries that have demonstrated high growth rates over the past ten years despite complex situations in the global economy. The objective was to define the specific strategies these countries appealed to in order to combat the existing negative trends in economic development. The conclusion sums up the useful experience Russia can draw from the abovementioned cases. The author introduces a strategy for accelerated and sustainable socio-economic development of Russia though 2035.