The Role of Clusters in the Development of Region''s External Economic Potential
The article examines the trends of globalization, explaining the changings in regional policy paradigm and the need for clustering of the regional economy to increase foreign economic potential and improve the qualitative and quantitative characteristics of foreign economic activity. There is the author's definition of the external economic potential of the region as an aggregate ability of the region to carry out foreign economic activity on the base of the resources of the region, available reserves for future development, with using of a set of regional economic policy measures. The structure of the external economic potential of the region is determined as a combination of resources: geographical, natural and climatic, industrial, agricultural, financial, innovative, labor, organizational and managerial. The logical scheme of the influence of formation and development of regional clusters on foreign economic activity and external economic potential of the region is presented. The scheme suggests an algorithm for actions by regional authorities for the development of the external economic complex of the region through clustering: to analyze the current situation, to identify reserve opportunities and to eliminate problems in the use of resources. The recommendations for the foreign economic and cluster policy of the region are formulated.