Assessment of the impact of industrial-type special economic zones on the socio-economic development of regions

Belousova Svetlana Nikolaevna ORCID: 0000-0001-8493-7922 PhD in Economics Associate Professor, Department of Economic Security and Taxation, Southwestern State University 305040, Russia, Kursk region, Kursk, ul. 50 Let Oktyabrya, 94 bsn275@mail.ru

Trubin Anton Gennadevich Student, Department of Economic Security and Taxation, Southwest State University 305040, Russia, Kursk region, Kursk, ul. 50 Let Oktyabrya, 94 trubinanton107@gmail.com

Conduction

The creation and operation of special economic zones in Russia is aimed at increasing the investment attractiveness and competitiveness of the subjects of the Russian Federation and strategically important industries. A special economic zone is a part of the territory of the Russian Federation, which is determined by the Government of the Russian Federation and in which a special regime of entrepreneurial activity operates, and the customs procedure of a free customs zone can also be applied. They are created in order to develop the manufacturing sectors of the economy, high-tech sectors of the economy, the development of tourism, the sanatorium and resort sector, port and transport infrastructures, the development of technologies and commercialization of their results, the production of new types of products.

Materials and methods

Based on the data presented on the websites of the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation and the Territorial Body of the Federal State Statistics Service for the Kaluga Region, an assessment of the effectiveness of the work and development of special economic zones in the Russian Federation was carried out.  The article uses a set of methods of economic research.

Results and their discussion

The creation and operation of special economic zones in Russia is aimed at increasing the investment attractiveness and competitiveness of the subjects of the Russian Federation and strategically important industries

A special economic zone may be located on the territory of one municipality or the territories of several municipalities within the territory of one subject of the Russian Federation or the territories of several subjects of the Russian Federation, while it is not allowed to create this zone on the territory of a municipality on which a territorial development zone has been created.

The analysis of foreign and domestic experience in the implementation of effective socio-economic policy has shown that the policy of development of special economic zones (SEZ) is more effective in modern conditions. In Russia, according to Federal Law No. 116-FZ of 22.07.2005, four types of special economic zones have been identified:

- industrial and industrial special economic zones, the main direction is the concentration and expansion of industrial production in the regions;

- technical and innovative special economic zones - creation, production and sale of scientific and technical products;

- tourist and recreational special economic zones - creation of favorable conditions for the development of the tourism industry;

- port special economic zones - creation of favorable conditions for international transport corridors and transport hubs.

The number of special economic zones operating in the Russian Federation is increasing every year, table 1 presents a quantitative analysis of the special economic zone by type for 2018-2022.

Table 1 – Number of functioning special economic zones by type for 2018-2022, units.

Source: compiled by the author on the basis of ^{[1],[2],[3],[4],[5]}.

During the analyzed period, the total number of special economic zones doubled and in 2022 amounted to 44. The number of TVT and POEZ SEZs also increased by 1, while the growth rate was 16.67% and 100%, respectively. The growth rate of the SEZ PPT for 2018-2022 amounted to 177.78%, and the SEZ TRT – 66.67%. The number of SEZs has increased by 16 in 5 years, which is much more than other types of economic zones.

As of January 17, 2023, 354 companies were residents of the industrial-production type special economic zone, with the help of which more than 26.7 thousand jobs were created, 441.1 billion rubles of investments were made, revenue amounted to about 1,119.9 billion rubles, 153.2 billion rubles of tax, customs deductions and deductions to state extra-budgetary funds were paid^[6].

Below is a more detailed list of benefits that are provided to enterprises registered in the territory of the SEZ:

- reduced rent for the use of land and premises compared to market prices for similar services;

- reduced income tax rate (this item depends on the management company of the SEZ, usually for enterprises during the first five years, the SEZ leaves mandatory payment of tax to the federal budget, and leaves part of the tax to the regional budget equal to zero);

- absence of property tax, transport and land taxes (the period of preference is five to ten years from the beginning of activity on the territory of the SEZ);

- reduced amounts of insurance premiums that the employer must pay from the salary of employees;

- application of the free customs zone regime, when goods without payment of customs duties are placed and used within the territory of the SEZ, value added tax is also not paid;

- ready-made industrial and communal infrastructure (production premises, offices intended for rent, equipped with all necessary furniture and appliances, land for rent is rented with utilities);

- a guarantee against adverse changes in the legislation of the Russian Federation on taxes and fees ^{[7, p. 347]}.

Special economic zones of industrial-production type are opened in densely populated areas with highly developed engineering infrastructure, which reduces logistics, marketing and other costs of entrepreneurs. Table 3 presents an analysis of the performance indicators of the SEZ PPT for 2018-2022.

Table 3 - Performance indicators of SEZ PPT for 2018-2022

Source: compiled by the author on the basis of ^{[1],[2],[3],[4],[5]}.

The number of residents in the SEZ PPT increased by 56.58% over the analyzed period and amounted to 357 in 2022, the number of jobs also increased by 77.84%. The volume of revenue and investments increased in 2018-2022 by 58138.59 million rubles and 148434.02 million rubles, respectively. The amount of taxes paid to the budgets of the budgetary system of the Russian Federation has increased by 234.57% over 5 years, but the highest amount of taxes paid is 15701.5 million rubles in 2021. The activity of the SEZ PPT in the Russian Federation has a positive trend towards progressive development, increasing the performance indicators of economic zones every year.

To assess the impact of special economic zones of industrial and production type on the socio-economic development of the regions, we will analyze the indicators characterizing the effective functioning of the SEZ PPT in the Kaluga region, as well as socio-economic indicators in this region.

The Kaluga Special Economic Zone of Industrial Production type was established in accordance with Decree No. 1450 of the Government of the Russian Federation dated December 28, 2012 on the territory of the Lyudinovsky district of the Kaluga Region.

Currently, the Kaluga SEZ is two sites: ludinovskaya and Borovskaya, with a total area of 994.2 hectares. The plots are located at a distance of 0.1 km from the town of Ludinovo near the village of Voylovo in the Ludinovsky district of the Kaluga region (625 ha) and in the area of the village of Kozelskoye, Borovsky district, Kaluga region^[8]. Table 4 presents an assessment of the impact of the Kaluga SEZ on the socio-economic development of the Kaluga Region for the period 2018-2022.

Table 4 – Assessment of the impact of the Kaluga SEZ on the socio-economic development of the Kaluga Region for the period 2018-2022

Source: compiled by the author on the basis of ^{[1],[2],[3],[4],[5],[9]}.

The average annual number of people employed in the economy of the Kaluga region in 2022 amounted to 516.2 thousand people, while the share of the number of jobs in the Kaluga SEZ was 0.68%, which is not a high value for the region, while the indicator for the analyzed period doubled and will grow and increase the number of jobs every year. The volume of investments made by residents of the Kaluga SEZ has increased by 661% over 5 years and in 2022 amounted to 26.76% of all investments in the region, which indicates the significant role of the SEZ in socio-economic development. The share of SEZ revenue from the gross regional product for 2018-2022 increased by 2.9% (2018 - 0.69%, 2022 – 3.62%). However, the last payment of taxes of the Kaluga SEZ was made in 2018 in the amount of 83.21 million rubles, as of 2022, the debt on tax payments is 652.3 million rubles.

Currently, the socio-economic development of the Kaluga Region is expressed in the ability of the territory to rationally and effectively use the competitive advantages of the territory to meet the demands and needs of the territory. The creation of the Kaluga SEZ in the Kaluga region is aimed at improving the quality of life and the level of the economy in the region by attracting new investments, which directly affects the main indicators of socio-economic development.

The Special Economic Zone plays the role of a specific catalyst for the dynamic development of the regional economy, contributing to the accelerated economic growth of the territory. With the help of the special economic zone, entire regions are integrated into the system of world economic relations, which greatly contributes to the development of the economy of individual regions.

As of 2023, there are 25 SEZS in Russia, in addition, 6 new zones are being created. Table 6 shows an assessment of the efficiency of the SEZ operation for 2018-2022.

Table 6 – Assessment of the efficiency of the SEZ PPT for 2018-2022, %

Source: compiled by the author on the basis of ^{[1],[2],[3],[4],[5]}.

In accordance with the Rules approved by the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 643 dated July 7, 2016 "On the Procedure for evaluating the effectiveness of the Functioning of Special Economic Zones", the effectiveness is evaluated according to the consolidated calculation index of the Eea using the following criteria:

a) the effective functioning of the SEZ (if the value of the Eea indicator is more than 80 percent);

b) sufficiently effective functioning of the SEZ (with the value of the Eea indicator from 40 to 80 percent);

c) inefficient functioning of the SEZ (if the value of the Eea indicator is less than 40 percent).

As a result of the data given in Table 6, it can be assumed that the Kaluga SEZ in the Kaluga Region, the Alabuga SEZ in the Republic of Tatarstan, the Uzlovaya SEZ in the Tula region, the Lipetsk SEZ in the Lipetsk region, the Stupino Kvadrat SEZ in the Moscow Region, the Titanium Valley SEZ in the Sverdlovsk Region regions, the Togliatti SEZ in the Samara region are leaders among the SEZS in the Russian Federation and during the analyzed period have an effective functioning, since they were created more than 5 years ago, having more time for development. SEZ PPTs created in 2019-2022 are still like  The SEZ "Third Pole" in the Kursk region, the SEZ "Ust-Luga" in the Leningrad region, the SEZ "Alga" in the Republic of Bashkortostan, the SEZ "Novgorodskaya" in the Novgorod region have inefficient functioning, but in the future the estimated efficiency of these zones may gradually increase, as in the SEZ "Moglino", SEZ "Eagle" and the Grozny SEZ by 69.17%, 123.33% and 270%, respectively.

Along with the obvious advantages in the form of creating a favorable investment climate in the regions, stimulating industrial production and the development of innovative industries, SEZs help to solve at the federal level a number of systemic problems of the Russian Federation, such as historically established imbalances in the development of individual regions of the country. The practice of organizing special economic zones not only activates the development of the region's economy, but also structures it and gives a synergy effect due to their appearance. The functioning of a business on the territory of the SEZ gives him tangible benefits: the entrepreneur reduces the costs of the company's operating activities, which allows him to get a large share of profit and direct it to the development of the business, including scientific research.

Conclusions

Thus, the state's position in the functioning of the SEZ brings negative revenues to the country and the region, such as: the budget loses part of tax deductions, the construction of the zone requires huge financial investments, the payback period of the SEZ is estimated in tens of years. However, all these costs justify themselves, because thanks to the benefits, business directs its funds to research and development, conducts research and introduces new technologies, which is an integral part of the economic development of any state.