Regional Investment Policy: How to Overcome the Path Dependence

Аннотация

The article is devoted to investment policy, in its most interesting case when it is designed to change the path of a region’s development established over decades. The grassroots innovative potential of investment policy is shown, which is understood as the plans and intentions of local entrepreneurs who are able, independently or with state support, to make investments in new areas of development. Their investment potential, as a rule, is not comparable with large corporate structures, federal development institutions, or federal programs; however, the quality of their investment in terms of ability to ensure the transition of a city or even a region from an inertial development path to a new one can be significantly higher. A broader interpretation of regional investment policy is proposed, which takes into account not only traditional large actors, but also small ones. The need for close coordination of investment policy and business support policy is substantiated. Overcoming path dependence is understood as a change in the existing specialization of a region’s development. One could scarcely hope for an immediate change in regional specialization under the pressure of globalization; it is more realistic to see the prospects of cities and settlements gaining new microspecialization as a result of implementing innovative small business projects proposed by small and medium-sized enterprises that open up new directions for the local economy. Then, when the success of new business projects has been developed by other entrepreneurs or when an enterprise lucky enough to choose a promising new direction of local development has become a gazelle company and entered foreign markets, it would be possible to consolidate the sprouts of new local specialization in regional specialization.