The applicability of the special economic zone model of local development in the Lipetsk Region

Abstract

The model of regional economic development in the Lipetsk region based on the allocation of industry and agriculture production in Special Economic Zones has shown its effectiveness for the development of the whole region. However, this model was helpless to introduce any significant breakthrough changes in the structure of the economy. Currently there has been an attempt to apply the same allocation model to tourism segment objects. It is shown that tourist entities unlike industrial and agricultural have different development imperatives. The main condition for the successful formation and functioning of tourist objects on a territory is their interconnected interaction within a tourist cluster. A tourist cluster can not be created at the only site. Tourist objects of a tourist cluster must be distributed according to tourist destinations and integrated through a well-developed infrastructure in a single functional system. When applying the special economic zone model to a territory it is necessary to make adaptations in accordance to the specifics of the allocated objects. The conclusion is that the application of the same management model for different economy segments needs adjustment. It is also important to distinguish a “Cluster” which is a geographic concentration of interconnected companies and a “Special Economic Zone” which is a territory with economic preferences.