Institutional Measures to Overcome Innovation Inertia of Peripheral Regions in Russia
The paper forms the conceptual basis for overcoming innovation inertia typical of peripheral regions of Russia, which directly correlates with the historical asymmetry in the socio-economic development of the centre and periphery and the strengthening of centripetal tendencies. On the basis of the theories of regional economics, system-related and institutional approaches, as well as the fundamental concepts of spacial development, the authors substantiate the decisive role of the institutional environment in harmonization of innovation processes. Our study shows that institutional support of balanced innovation flows in the system “centre-periphery” helps to remove inequality, which is a natural property of space, and streamline the structure of regional economies. The authors put forward their own view of the concept of “innovation inertia of a peripheral region”. We perform a strategic examination of relevant factors in territorial innovation disharmony, the methodological basis of which is the views of a number of researchers on the causes of centripetal tendencies in the innovation space of the Russian economy. The paper concludes that success in resolving the problem of innovation inertia of peripheral territories, including Southern Russia, centres around the formation of institutional infrastructure that ensures integration and interaction in the system of “centre-periphery”.