State Support for Single-Industry Towns of the Russian Federation: a Comparative Analysis of Municipalities of the Volga Federal District

Our study addresses the issue of identifying socio-economic and demographic factors that are most characteristic of single-industry towns, in comparison with municipalities that are not classified as single-industry according to the official classification. The purpose of this study is to determine the relationship between mono-profile and socio - economic indicators of the city. To achieve this purpose, an analysis of relevant international experience and an analysis of the current situation of state support for single-industry towns were carried out. As a result, hypotheses were built about the most influential factors for the socio-economic development of single-industry towns. To verify the hypotheses, econometric models were built to identify relationships between statistical indicators of municipalities in the Volga Federal District and determine the strength of these relationships. The relationships identified as a result of our analysis are the most influential risk factors for single-industry towns, which must be taken into account when working out state programs for the development of single-industry towns. According to the study, mono-profile is not a factor determining the low level of socio-economic development of the city.