The paper systematizes areas of structural research in economic theory. We analyze structural shifts and proportions in regional economy using the data on the Vologda Oblast for 1995–2016. We consider regularities in the Oblast’s socio-economic development at the level of the economy as a whole and its sectoral structure at all the key stages of the reproduction process: production, formation and use of income. We reveal the presence of significant transformation in the structure of output of products, expressed in the reducing share of commodity production and growing share of services production. We register a decrease in the overall efficiency of the Oblast’s economy caused by the increase in the intensity of the output of goods and services. We highlight the trend of raising the wages of employees and reducing business income in the structure of the economy. We conclude that social reproduction in the Vologda Oblast is managed poorly, and there remain certain problems in the sectoral and reproduction structure of GRP, in the structure of investments, final consumption and savings; these problems constrain modernization processes and do not contribute to the improvement of the quality of life. We propose the following directions for structural economic policy to improve the quality of economic growth in the region: to stimulate the modernization of production in order to increase the income of all economic agents and their further use to diversify the structure of the economy; to promote domestic consumer demand; to stimulate investment activity and increase fixed capital accumulation rate. The theory of national accounting is used as a methodological basis for our research. In the course of our analysis, we use classical procedures of macroeconomic and macrostructural analysis, and mathematical statistics techniques. Reliability of our conclusions is ensured by the use of general scientific methods (system approach, data analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction, analogy) and special methods of economic research (generalization of economic facts, grouping, comparison, structural analysis of economic indicators)
Keywords
region, structural transformation, structural economic policy