The Concept of Infrastructure: Definition, Classification and Methodology for Empirical Evaluation

Modern economic literature considers infrastructure as one of the key factors behind eco‑ nomic growth, welfare, quality of life, performance of trade, and labour mobility. During economic crises, the issue of infrastructure becomes increasingly relevant, what makes gov‑ ernment bodies extremely interested in academic research in this field. The paper aims to clarify the concept of infrastructure and its theoretical foundations. Accordingly, it examines the evolution of approaches to the research on infrastructure and systematizes methods for assessing the infrastructure's contribution to economic development. Having identified two elements, namely a “hard core” and a “flexible shell” in the concept, the authors analyze and describe the mechanism of interaction between them. The results of the study allow build‑ ing a methodological framework for designing a universal template, which can be used in specific applied research into infrastructure.