Neo-Industrial Content of Economic Growth: Criteria, Indicators, Factors and Prospective Assessment for Russia

Background/Objectives: The study investigates the problem of economic growth from the perspectives of neo-industrial economic paradigm. Methods: The authors associate the content of economic growth with three principal criteria: innovativeness, sustainability and inclusiveness that attach new quality to the category under investigation. Thereat, neo-industrial economic growth is understood as the manifestation of the expanded reproduction of national economy with no detriment to the environment, when not only the final product is improved (in the system of national accounts it corresponds to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and national income), but also when the economic potential of the country is enhanced and intensified (production assets, inventories, labor), when well-being of the population is increased (measured by GDP and national income growth rates per capita), and when social inequality is reduced. Findings: The new quality indicators and factors of economic growth have been suggested. The study justifies the conclusion that the export-oriented resource-based model of economic growth hampers the achievement of the identified criteria and does not ensure any efficient and high-quality social and economic development of the country. The suggested economic model proves the abovementioned conclusion and testifies of the fact that the country’s dependency on natural resources does not affect economic growth directly, but it does so through the system of governmental institutions. Thereat, in the states where these institutions are deficient, the latter, affected by the availability of natural resources, deteriorate even more, because the people in power try to formalize in legislation their easy access to these resources, thus, in turn, considerably reducing the potential economic growth. Applications/Improvements: The study presents suggestions to create the preconditions for neo-industrial economic development in the Russian Federation.