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Digitalisation and thrusts of the technological modernisation in the Russian industry

Author:

Oleg S. Sukharev, Institute of Economics of RAS, Moscow, Russia

Abstract.

Technological industrialisation of the economy remains one of Russia’s most important strategic objectives. The research explores the impact of digital technologies on the tech‑ nological renewal of the industry. Methodologically, the study relies on the theory of industrial development and economic restructuring and adopts the methods of taxonomic, comparative, and regression analysis. The author identifies the stages in the evolution of production technologies by the criterion of the level of automation, classifies types of technologies by the objects, and thus demonstrates that digital technologies represent only a small part of a relatively wide class of production technologies. The goal of the technological industrialisation is reduced to the renewal of the means of production in industry. Yet the research finds that the introduction of digital technologies into industry may face the “productivity paradox”, and moreover, the para‑ dox appears to be greater when the replacement of one class of technologies does not significantly improve the manufacturability of industrial production as well as considerably increase the output of high-tech products, which the study proves by considering the case of the mechanical engineering and raw materials sectors. The author presents the methodology developed to examine the dynamics of the spread of digital technologies. The findings point to the positive dynamics of the coverage of digitalisation objects, while also indicate less obvious successes in the field of software, creation and use of various information technologies, modest dynamics in advanced technologies that does not provide a substantial increase in manufacturability. The results of analysis reflect the technological dualism of a new kind, when positive achievements in introduction of certain (digital) technologies and even growth in leading-edge technologies occurs in such a segment and a range limited by resources that there is no increased output of innovative, high-tech products.

Keywords: technological modernisation; digital technologies; technological evolution; industry; 2-D effect; technology substitution; technological industrialisation; computer technology; communication networks.

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For citation: Sukharev O. S. (2021). Tsifrovizatsiya i napravleniya tekhnologicheskogo obnovleniya promyshlennosti Rossii [Digitalisation and thrusts of the technological modernisation in the Russian industry]. Journal of New Economy, vol. 22, no. 1, pp. 26–52. DOI: 10.29141/26585081-2021-22-1-2