Spatial Features of Social Infrastructure Development in Siberian Regions

T.G.Ratkovskaya (rtg@ieie.nsc.ru)

Journal "Region: Economics and Sociology", 2015, vol. 3

Abstract: Social infrastructure is considered in the context of quality of life as a key living condition. The article shows that the problems of social development for the Siberian Federal District are severe and that the methods of government support are in need of modernization. We define basic theoretical positions and methodological prerequisites to study social infrastructure as a category of the regional economy. A traditional analysis of indicators in selected sectors of social infrastructure is augmented by a research of a new investment aspect of its development. We present how the spatial factor affects settlement systems and the territorial organization of local self-government in Siberian regions of Russia, as well as assess the related structural particularities of regional infrastructural objects (using the example of the education sector). We provide the quantitative characteristics of spatial living conditions and study region-specific features that the territorial organization of local self-government has, as exemplified by municipal areas and rural settlements. The article gives a comparative analysis of structural characteristics of regional infrastructural systems in the education sector. The results suggest that average capacities of preschool and comprehensive educational establishments in Siberian regions under examination are significantly lower than those in the southern regions. Our research has determined a degree of regional differentiation for investment expenditures on social sector development in Russia. Then we evaluate the performance of the Siberian Federal District against other regions. The calculations demonstrate that Siberia receives substantially less investment per capita to develop social sphere than the country at large. We draw a conclusion that the detected features of regional settlement systems increase the price of guaranteed social services for the population and complicate their delivery; they decrease the quality of the said services or abolish them. In order to find a solution, the current specific spatial conditions need to be adequately considered in regional policy making and intergovernmental fiscal relations.

Keywords: Siberian regions; living conditions; social infrastructure; settlement system; territorial organization of local self-government; regional budget expenditures (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nos:regioe:2015-3_3

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