FACTOR ANALYSIS OF FOREIGN ECONOMIC ACTIVITY INDICATORS OF ST. PETERSBURG
Purpose: To consider and analyze the opinions of foreign and domestic scientists on the problem of the choice of indicators for the city’s foreign economic activity assessment. To identify the list of major indicators for St. Petersburg foreign economy assessment. To reduce the number of presented indicators till a minimum with the help of factor analysis method. Methods: Major methods of logical analysis were applied such as ones of induction, deduction, analysis and synthesis of scientific literature on the given issue, analysis statistical methods: correlation analysis and factor analysis of the indicators of foreign economic activity of the city of St. Petersburg. In the course of indicator factor analysis, a graphical method for analysis of the obtained results for eigenvalues of indicators was also applied. Results: As a result of scientific literature analysis, the major indicators, characterizing St. Petersburg city foreign economic activity, were identified. The reasoning for factor analysis performance necessity is given and the impossibility to apply correlation analysis for these purposes because of the presence of multicollinearity of the presented indicators has been proved. As a result of factor analysis application, the number of indicators for the city foreign economic activity evaluation has been decreased till 2. Practical importance: Due to the held factor analysis, the number of indicators of St. Petersburg’s foreign economic activity has been reduced. The obtained result opens the opportunity to assess the city foreign economic activity with less labor expenditures which are associated with initial data search and indicator large number analysis.