The balanced development of the region: review using scoping review methodology

The authors of this article have conducted scoping review (ScR) of scientific publications on the balanced development of the region. The ScR method included a search for literature on the topic under study, a demarcation of the category under study, a study of the genesis of definitions of the balanced development of the region, a generalization of the methods used, a search for gaps in ongoing research and a formation of the author's principles of the balanced development of the region. Also the authors have borrowed the approaches and methods of other researchers, they have applied the monographic method and content analysis, which made it possible to propose the author's concept of the balanced development of the region. The study of the content of the selected publications led to the conclusion that the theoretical and applied aspects of the balanced development of the region as a complex socio-economic system remain insufficiently studied and partially controversial. These aspects also overlap with other economic definitions. The comparative analysis of research undertaken by Russian and foreign scientists has shown the lack of generally accepted universal approaches, tools and mechanisms used to solve regional problems of the balanced development in the new unstable economic conditions. Therefore, it is necessary to review and search for new, alternative conceptual and methodological approaches to ensure the balanced development of the region. The conducted review will contribute to a better interpretation of the term “balance”, the expansion of the conceptual-categorical apparatus and the growth of interest of the researchers to the topic under study. Although it is an overview, the bibliographic sources were chosen not subjectively by searching the library catalogs, but by using the ScR method (overview of the subject field). The study made it possible to systematize specific and general principles of the balanced development of the region in the conditions of turbulence of the external environment. At the same time the research made it possible to clarify certain conceptual provisions of the balanced regional development (the multivariability and dynamism of the processes in the region, the need to quickly respond and maintain balance under the influence of the external environment, the need for compromise interaction between all participants in economic processes, the respect for the interests of the territory and the country as a whole, the compliance of the region’s capabilities to its resource potential, the spatial integrity of the region). An assessment of the balanced development of regions is necessary to ensure the successful implementation of projects related to the development of regions. It allows you to make rational decisions related to the expenditure of budget funds and to formulate a development strategy to minimize the risk.