Identification and analysis of agglomeration effects in the regional economy (Samara region case)

In the context of Russia's gradual exclusion from a number of foreign economic processes, there is a need to search for internal reserves for economic growth. Urban agglomerations that concentrate a significant amount of resources, population, and production capacity become one of such reserves. The growing concentration of subjects of economic activity and the growth of interaction between them create conditions for the appearance of agglomeration effects. This article presents a methodology for identifying and analyzing agglomeration effects in the regional economy. The methodology has been tested on the example of the Samara region. The main stages of its application are shown. The novelty of the study consists in the formation of an algorithm for identifying and analyzing agglomeration effects, which includes the stages of limiting the subject of research through delimitation, selecting the most significant regional agglomeration, characterizing the degree of manifestation of signs and factors of agglomeration effects in the region and its parts, forming a model of interaction of signs and factors of agglomeration effects based on structural equations using the method of partial least squares (PLS-SEM). The application of this methodology makes it possible to understand whether agglomeration effects exist in the region, in which part of the region they are concentrated, how factors of agglomeration effects affect the regional economy. This ultimately allows to propose a sequence of priorities for management decisions.

agglomeration effects, factors of agglomeration effects, identification of agglomeration effects, signs of agglomeration effects