Author:

Evgeny G. Animitsa, Ural State University of Economics, Ekaterinburg, Russia

Yakov P. Silin, Ural State University of Economics, Ekaterinburg, Russia

Abstract:

The crisis of macroeconomic paradigms and core transformations of economic models bring to the fore the need for a reflection on the origins of the theoretical ideas about the regularities of economic development. The paper delves into the evolution of scientific ideas related to regional economics as an independent area of economic scholarship by providing a retrospective view of economic research within the Urals’ space. Based on the principal thrusts of the evolutionary-heuristic paradigm, the study particularly focuses on the origins of regional economic research and scholars’ contribution into the formation of scientific ideas about the Ural economy. The method of the study is a summarizing review of the literature coupled with comparative and historical analysis. The findings demonstrate that during the USSR period, regional research developed markedly – the soviet scholars promoted the theory and practice of long-term planning, justified the methodology of territorial-production complexes, investigated the problems of rational location of productive forces in the Urals. During the pre-war years, the state restored the awarding of academic degrees, including in economic sciences, which also stimulated the development of this scientific field. Regional economics as a new scientific discipline grew roots in the Ural region, extended its subject, and its research paradigm went far beyond the borders of material production and location of productive forces.

Keywords: region; Greater Urals; regional economy; regional research; Ural economy; economic region.

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For citation: Animitsa E. G., Silin Ya. P. (2026). The genesis of regional economics as a science in the Ural region: A research retrospective. Journal of New Economy, vol. 27, no. 1, pp. 64–87. DOI: 10.29141/2658-5081-2026-27-1-4. EDN: JEMQAO.