Approaches to Estimation of Penetration Level of Economic Borders on the example of the Far East

Abstract

Influence of the development level of transport infrastructure and penetration level of economic borders on economic growth of borderland territories is proved by many authors both theoretically, and practically. The postulates of the new economic geography fixing the nonlinear relationship between the change of transport parametres (transport costs) and change of the scale of the economy (dynamics of economy structure, capacities location) have become one of the latest. In the article influence of transport infrastructure of the region on economic development from the point of view of estimation of borders penetration is investigated. The hypothesis that the availability of branched transport network providing high penetration of borders and openness of the economy for interactions influences economic development of region positively, is checked. Internal and external indicators for the Far East Russia are estimated. The internal index is an estimation of permeability of borders between administrative subjects of the Far East of Russia. The external index is estimation of penetration of external frontiers within the territories of the Far East region of the Russian Federation. Penetration of the borders is estimated both according to the standard technique and on the adjusted indicator. The suggested indicator takes into consideration the wider spectrum of transport interactions and is calculated with modified weight factors for separate types of transport. Classical and adjusted indexes of penetration for the Far East are calculated. As a result it is possible to draw the conclusion about weak penetration of the borders for the majority of administrative subjects of the Far East Federal district. Rather low transport penetration of external borders of the region is revealed in interaction with China. The results obtained demonstrate high growth potential of external economic interactions for the Far East of Russia (for example, cooperation in the initiative “One Belt and One Way”) and importance of modernization of the check points system at the frontier with China.