Importance The article deals with the cluster approach as one of the most effective ways of development of the regions and the national economy as a whole. However, it is not used properly in the Russian Federation. Objectives The goal of the study is to develop a methodological approach to identifying potential clusters in the regional economy. Methods The authors used a comparative analysis, as well as economic-statistical methods (including the method of calculating the rate of localization) and the matrix method of pairwise comparison of coefficients of localization. Results The author's methodological approach got validated, and it demonstrated its efficiency on statistical publications about developments in the economy of the regions of the Central Federal District. In addition, this methodological approach solved an important practical problem of choice of effective regional economic clusters of the Belgorod region. The proposed approach of identifying potential clusters using a factor of localization revealed the key regional clusters in the Belgorod region, involving more than a quarter of all workers in the region. The authors have reviewed the use of the cluster approach in the economy of the United States (Silicon Valley), Germany, Finland (the cluster associated with the production of timber and the export of high-quality paper, and the cluster that produces equipment for mobile communications and mobile phones). In addition, the authors have analyzed the use of the cluster approach in a number of CIS countries, in particular, in the Khmelnytskyi Oblast and Crimea. The authors show the prospects of cluster policy in the Russian economy. They suggest the method of identifying potential regional clusters, consisting of 3 phases. The study compares the author's method with the Canadian methods and methodology of M. Porter. Conclusions and Relevance The methodological approach of identifying potential regional clusters can be used in other constituent entities of the Russian Federation.
Keywords: regional clusters, identification, potential clusters, methodological basis, coefficient, localization, Belgorod region, Central Black Earth Region
References:
Ackoff R.L. Planirovanie budushchego korporatsii [Creating the Corporate Future: plan or be planned for]. Moscow, Ekonomika Publ., 2002, 214 p.
Ansoff H.I. Strategicheskoe upravlenie [Strategic Management]. Moscow, Ekonomika Publ., 2002, 225 p.
Auzan A., Satarov G. Prioritety institutsional'nykh preobrazovanii v usloviyakh ekonomicheskoi modernizatsii [The priorities of the institutional reforms in economic modernization]. Voprosy Economiki, 2012, no. 10, pp. 65–73.
Baranenko S.P., Shemetov V.V. Strategicheskaya ustoichivost' predpriyatiya [Strategic stability of the enterprise]. Moscow, Tsentrpoligraf Publ., 2004, 493 p.
Bessonova O. Institutsional'naya matritsa dlya modernizatsii Rossii [An institutional matrix for Russia’s modernization]. Voprosy Economiki, 2012, no. 8, pp. 122–144.
Drucker P.F. Zadachi menedzhmenta v XXI veke [Management Challenges for 21-st Century]. Moscow, Vil’yams Publ., 2003, 272 p.
Eliferov V.G., Repin V.V. Biznes-protsessy: Reglamentatsiya i upravlenie [Business processes: Regulation and management]. Moscow, INFRA-M Publ., 2005, 319 p.
Isard W. Metody regional'nogo analiza: vvedenie v nauku o regionakh [Methods of Regional Analysis; an Introduction to Regional Science]. Moscow, Progress Publ., 1968, 660 p.
Institutsional'naya ekonomika: novaya institutsional'naya ekonomicheskaya teoriya [Institutional economy: new institutional economic theory]. Moscow, INFRA-M Publ., 2005, 416 p.
Lenchuk E.B., Vlaskin G.A. Klasternyi podkhod v sisteme innovatsionnogo razvitiya Rossii [A cluster approach in the system of innovative development of Russia]. Problemy prognozirovaniya = Problems of Forecasting, 2010, no. 6, pp. 45–57.
Lisovolik Ya.D. Konkurentnaya Rossiya v mire “konkurentnoi liberalizatsii” [Competitive Russia in the world of "competitive liberalization"]. Moscow, Ekonomika Publ., 2007, 446 p.
Marshall A. Osnovy ekonomicheskoi nauki [Principles of Economics]. Moscow, Eksmo Publ., 2007, 832 p.
Mokhnachev S.A. Upravlenie konkurentosposobnost'yu vuza: sovremennye osobennosti [Management of competitiveness of the higher education institution: modern features]. Vysshee obrazovanie v Rossii = Higher Education in Russia, 2007, no. 10, pp. 39–43.
Nusratullin V.K. Neravnovesnaya ekonomika [Non-equilibrium economy]. Moscow, Kompaniya Sputnik+ Publ., 2006, 482 p.
Porter M.E. Konkurentnoe preimushchestvo: kak dostich' vysokogo rezul'tata i obespechit' ego ustoichivost' [Competitive Advantage]. Moscow, Al'pina Biznes Buks Publ., 2005, 654 p.
Selin V.S. Rol' prognozirovaniya v formirovanii strategii regional'nogo razvitiya [The role of forecasting in the formation of a regional development strategy]. Problemy prognozirovaniya = Problems of Forecasting, 2009, vol. 117, no. 6, pp. 95–104.
Selin V.S. Severnye regiony Rossii: ekonomicheskaya dinamika i problemy razvitiya [Northern regions of Russia: economic dynamics and the development problems]. Region: ekonomika i sotsiologiya = Region: Economy and Sociology, 2011, no. 4, pp. 3–18.
Sotsial'no-ekonomicheskoe razvitie slavyanskikh stran SNG: sravnitel'nyi analiz: monografiya [The social and economic development of the Slavic CIS countries: a comparative analysis: a monograph]. Izhevsk, Mitra Publ., 2012, 837 p.
Hodgson G.M. Chto takoe instituty? [What are institutions?]. Voprosy Economiki, 2007, no. 8, pp. 28–49.
Ekonomicheskii mekhanizm i osobennosti innovatsionnoi politiki na Severe: monografiya [An economic mechanism and the features of innovation policy in the North: a monograph]. Apatity, Kola Scientific Center of RAS Publ., 2012, 255 p.
