Development of Russia’s Regions in the Conditions of the Digital Economy: Management, Effectiveness, and Competitiveness

Abstract

Purpose: Authors pursue the goal to define a mass-available (simple in realization) economic and mathematical method (applied on a junction of economic and mathematical sciences) and its adaptation for the solution of a problem of nonlinear optimization and its approbation on an example of the regions of the North Caucasian district of the Russian Federation. Design/Methodology/Approach: As a result of the research, the scientific and methodological support of scenario modeling of public administration of the region’s development in conditions of the digital economy by means of adaptation of analytical hierarchical procedure of Thomas L. Saaty to the solution of the formulated problem of nonlinear optimization was formed. The advantage of this method is that the use of specialized software is not required—all calculations can be automated in the mass-available program Microsoft Excel using standard formulas. The method implies modeling with the help of matrices. We have adapted the method to solve the problem of nonlinear optimization according to the choice of the scenario of state management of the region’s development in the conditions of digital economy, which resulted in the following algorithm of its practical application. Findings: Testing of the developed scientific and methodological support by the example of the regions of the North Caucasus Federal District of the Russian Federation in 2018 showed that in modern Russia, the efficiency criterion is much higher than the criterion of competitiveness. However, even though the economy of the regions of the North Caucasus Federal District of the Russian Federation becomes more digitalized in 2018, the efficiency of state management of their economy decreases (inverse regression dependence), and the accelerated digitalization scenario (scenario 3) proved to be optimal. Originality/Value: It is proved that the intuitive choice of an optimal scenario is difficult, and the developed scientific and methodological support of scenario modeling of public management of the region’s development in the conditions of digital economy has high theoretical and practical significance.