The impact of the oblast center on regional socio-economic development: the center-periphery dimension

Purpose. The paper aims to examine the impact of the oblast center on regional socio-economic development in the context of the center-periphery relationship. Methodology / approach. The general scientific methods (analysis, synthesis, generalization, systematization, graphic method) and special ones (statistical analysis, comparison, organizational and managerial modeling) were the basis of the methodological approach. The author improved the scientific-methodological approach to the comprehensive evaluation of a region's socio-economic development in terms of the center-periphery relationships based on interrelated stages and methods. It stipulates the research of the impact each district of a region has on the major socio-economic parameters of an oblast; calculation of the District Socio-Economic Development Index and its comparison with the district's distance to the oblast center; evaluation of interdependencies between the districts' shares in major socio-economic parameters of respective oblasts and their distance to the oblast center; and analysis of the development intensity of the oblast districts depending on their distance to the oblast center. Results. Testing the scientific-methodological approach on the example of three oblasts of Ukraine (Lvivska, Poltavska, and Chernihivska), which are developing in different spatial-geographic, socio-economic, and demographic conditions, has contributed to substantiating the features of generation and development of the center-periphery relationships in the regions with different initial development conditions; outlining the areas of socio-economic centers' impact on the districts; detecting the intensity of positive stimulus generation and their absorption in the region considering the role of local “growth poles” in the process. Originality / scientific novelty. The paper further develops the theoretical-methodological foundations of researching the center-periphery relationships in a region at the oblast center – oblast area level. The results of calculations following the author's methodological approach have allowed developing the space structure for Ukrainian regions under research in the context of the center-periphery relationships. Practical value / implications. The conducted research based on the methodology developed by the author is quite important both in terms of the scientific-methodological aspect and in the context of addressing the important regional development tasks and searching for balanced and coherent spatial development.