Inter-regional clusters as a tool for economic development of territories
The slowdown in the economic growth in 2013–2014 and the transition to the recession phase in 2015 makes the problem of analyzing the causes of the deterioration in the economic dynamics and the determination of the economic growth positions relevant. The paper systematizes the views on the problems of the Russian economic development. The major problems include: exhaustion of the restorative model of the economy and modernization potential of the old productive capacities, low competitiveness of the domestic manufacturing industry, the low quality of the institutional environment as well as some territorial issues. This study examines the territorial problems of economic growth. The regions of the Northwestern Federal District are the object of the study, and the subject is the dynamics of socio-economic processes in these regions. The methods such as comprehensive analysis of the statistics, correlation analysis, comparative analysis of different theoretical concepts, classification of the research results were used in the study. The research reveals a significant influence of the factor of the increasing number of the people employed in the economy on the regional economy development. The possibilities of this factor are now largely depleted. Besides, the development of the manufacturing sector is a significant factor in the economic growth of the federal subjects of the Northwestern Federal District, which is to say that manufacturing is the growth pole of regional economies. Over the last years, the negative dynamics of the industry has been caused by its low technological level as well as by the lack of the desired level of cross-sectoral and inter-regional cooperation. Developing clusters, including inter-regional ones, needs to be considered as one of the areas of improving the development dynamics of the manufacturing industry. The implementation of this growth area requires a detailed study of territorial resources, and this resource-sharing will allow to implement the synergy effect and thereby ensure high economic efficiency.