The economic and residential dynamics of settlements of the Leningrad region: influence of factors of a cross-border clustering

Abstract

In the article, based on the original author’s methodology, the influence of the transboundary clustering factor on the economic and residential dynamics of the territories of the Leningrad Region was assessed. It is established that the economic potential is primarily concentrated in the cities (particularly, in the regional centers), as well as in rural settlements, on the border with St. Petersburg. In the context of the crisis trajectory, which emerged from the summer to autumn of 2014, most of the settlements containing the components of transboundary clusters (in such areas as shipbuilding and automotive, woodworking, pharmaceuticals, IT technologies, etc.), increased its taxable base and simultaneously indicated positive demographic dynamics. The clusters themselves in this generally unfavorable situation (against the backdrop of monetary and financial turbulence, sanctions confrontation and, correspondingly, partial curtailment of the volumes of export-import transactions), demonstrating the ability to adapt, emerged as a significant factor in the socio-economic resistance of the territory.