Industrial Policy Strategy: A Case of Changing National Priorities in Russia

Abstract

New technology trends, mainly related to the development of Industry 4.0 and the digital economy, have created significant prerequisites for changing the priorities of industrial policy. This topic is particularly relevant for countries with economies in transition or developing economies, including Russia. The accumulated structural gap, expressed in the level of industries' digitalization, indicates a low willingness of industrial enterprises to introduce digital and related advanced technologies. The data obtained show that this gap is especially pronounced (more than 50% of the average for the EU countries) in the manufacturing industry, oil and gas industry, and transport. In mining, this gap approaches 70%. These circumstances predetermined the need to identify the strategic vector of Russian industrial policy against the background of the developing modern technologies that predetermine the adjustment of industrial policy priorities. To assess the potential of industrial transformation, the authors conducted a comparative analysis of changed targets for the formation of industrial policy in the developed countries and Russia. The analysis showed a sharp evolution in the priorities of industrial policy in Russia – those changed six times during the period from 2014 through 2019. The strategic policy focus has shifted from supporting projects in the production of high-tech civilian and/or dual-use products by enterprises of the military-industrial complex and the transition of enterprises to the best available technologies to supporting the digital economy and artificial intelligence technologies. Based on the results, the researchers suggested the development of industrial policy instruments adapted to the new priorities.