"The efficiency of using labor resources in the Arctic depends directly on the transport infrastructures quality. We recommend paying special attention to making latitudinal transport corridors to overcome the Arctic territories fragmentation and to ensure a more even distribution of economic opportunities across the region," the press service quoted Alexander Volkov, senior researcher at the Karelian Scientific Center (the Russian Academy of Sciences, Petrozavodsk), as saying.
Volkov and his colleagues studied activities of Russian companies in the Russian Arctic's 37 districts in the European part - in the Murmansk Region (17 locations), the Nenets Autonomous Region (2 locations), the Karelia Region (6 locations), the Komi Region (4 locations), and in the Arkhangelsk Region (8 locations).
The researchers studied companies' revenues, assets and the number of employees for 2017-2022 to trace the economic dynamics in view of recent incentives to stimulate the Russian Arctic's development. They took into account geographical proximity and transport accessibility.
Researchers at a meeting with employees of the administration of the Beloyarsky District of the Khanty-Mansiysk. Source: Alexander Volkov
The scientists found that labor resources, expressed in the number of employees, have twice as strong an impact on the company's revenue than its capital. The greater the impact of labor resources, the better was the transport connectivity, the research results show. This suggests that infrastructures - including well-developed road networks - play an important role in the region's economic well-being.
With developed transport infrastructures, labor resources are more mobile and efficient, researchers said. Employees can quickly move between facilities and expensive equipment, companies attract qualified personnel easier, and cooperation between companies increases productivity without significant capital investment. Scientists hope that their conclusions may be used in work on more effective measures to stimulate economic growth in the Russian Arctic.
The study was supported by the Russian Science Foundation (grant No 24-25-00475) and published in the journal "The Arctic: Ecology and Economy" (edited by RSF PR Department).
