Indicators of regional competitiveness amidst the structural transformation of the Russian economy

Abstract

The article examines the problem of assessing regional competitiveness in the context of the structural transformation of the Russian economy. The relevance of this work stems from a series of external shocks and crisis phenomena that the Russian economy has faced in recent years, including increased sanctions pressure, the need for foreign trade reorientation, the mobilization of domestic sources of financing, and the formation of its own technological base. Based on data on gross value added by industry for 2022 and 2025 and on gross regional product by federal district for 2022 and 2024, using the Ryabtsev coefficient, it is shown that aggregate structural shifts remain insignificant, which brings to the fore the question of regions ability to integrate into the priorities of the Plan for Structural Changes in the Russian Economy up to 2030. At the same time, the dual nature of the relationship between structural transformation and regional competitiveness is outlined: structural transformation sets new vectors for regional development, while its speed and depth depend on the ability of regions to adapt, attract resources, and maintain positions in changing markets. The author analyzes existing approaches to the composition of indicators of regional competitiveness and concludes that traditional indicators are mainly oriented toward assessing accumulated resources and current socioeconomic parameters; therefore, it is proposed to supplement them with indicators reflecting the region’s adaptive potential under conditions of structural transformation, as well as its economic efficiency and resilience within this process. In conclusion, it is noted that the most important task of the state at this stage is not only to stimulate regional competitiveness but also to equalize its level in spatial terms in order to ensure an even distribution of the effects of structural transformations.