NONE20261013224546164Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal Universityno-reply@balticregion.kantiana.ruImmanuel Kant Baltic Federal UniversityBaltic Region2079-85552310-052410132026183Экономико-демографические процессы в Балтийском регионеE. G.KropinovaImmanuel Kant Baltic Federal Universityhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-6971-7275101320264710.5922/2079-8555-2026-3-0https://balticregion.kantiana.ru/baltic_region/16145/99138/Барьерный эффект региональных границ для миграции населения в РоссииL. B.KarachurinaHSE Universityhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-7760-7925N. V.MkrtchyanInstitute of Economic Forecasting of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IEF RAS)https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9603-0594Although international borders are widely recognised as barriers to migration, evidence of a comparable effect at internal administrative boundaries remains limited. This study assesses the barrier effect of regional boundaries on long-term internal migration in Russia and examines the factors that may explain it. The study draws on anonymised individual-level data on internal migrants for 2011—2020, enabling an analysis of migration links between settlements. It compares intra- and interregional migration links across 165 settlement pairs in different parts of Russia. Settlement pairs were selected to maximise comparability in terms of population size and the distance between settlements. This approach provides a basis for assessing the barrier effect of regional boundaries through differen­ces in migration intensity while accounting for these two key characteristics. The results show that intraregional migration intensity is 3.5 times that of interregional migration. Regional boundaries consistently act as barriers to migration, although the magnitude of this effect varies with the relative attractiveness of neighbouring regions to migrants, differences in their ethnic composition, and the strong pull of particular centres. The effect also depends on the location of settlements relative to regional capitals and other local migration destinations.1013202682310.5922/2079-8555-2026-3-1https://balticregion.kantiana.ru/baltic_region/16146/99139/Трудовой потенциал нестоличных регионов России в условиях пространственной поляризацииI. D.TurgelUral Federal University named after B. N. Yeltsinhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-8647-7739A. A.PobedinRussian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administrationhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-2388-596XWidening spatial disparities in Russia and the persistent gap between capital regions and the largest non-capital regions have made preserving the latter’s human capital a priority for spatial development. This study aims to assess differences in labour potential among Russian regions whose administrative centres have populations exceeding one million. The methodology involves calculating a set of relative indices to compare regional indicators with those for the Moscow metropolitan region and Russia as a whole, in both absolute and normalised terms. The analysis covers 2010—2023 and examines population size, the total wage fund, gross regional product, the number of researchers and university students, and rates of natural increase and net migration. The results reveal widening spatial disparities: all the regions examined have become less competitive relative to the Moscow metropolitan region. Nevertheless, some retain a degree of competitiveness through three mechanisms: integration into smart specialisation networks, the use of natural resource rents, and the capitalisation of environmental amenities that shape their attractiveness to migrants. The research and higher education component of labour potential is the most resistant to decline. A common structural constraint is the combination of heavy workloads and relatively low wages, which reinforces the process of cumulative causation.10132026244810.5922/2079-8555-2026-3-2https://balticregion.kantiana.ru/baltic_region/16146/99141/Структурные диспропорции на российском рынке труда IT-специалистов в Балтийском регионе: количественные оценки и выводы для политикиA. N.MorozovLomonosov Moscow State UniversityRussian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administrationhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-5402-8023A. E.ShastitkoLomonosov Moscow State UniversityRussian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administrationhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-6713-069XThe paper identifies the channels through which the regional institutional environment affects the efficiency of labour resource utilisation in IT companies in the Baltic Region. On this basis, targeted recommendations for human resource and industrial policy are formulated for each of the three regions — St. Petersburg, Leningrad and Kaliningrad regions. It is shown that labour is the key factor of production in the IT industry. However, its returns vary across regions not so much because of quantitative differences, but rather due to the qualitative characteristics of the workforce and the institutional environment. Policy should therefore focus on improving the quality of human capital and refining the mechanisms for its efficient use, rather than simply expanding employment. Measures should be tailored to the specific characteristics identified in each of the three regions. The study empirically estimates the production function for the software development sector to examine how individual factors influence the performance of IT companies in the Baltic region and to assess regional imbalances. In St. Petersburg, technical efficiency is negatively associated with firm assets, firm age and the share of debt financing. In the Leningrad region, output elasticity with respect to capital is positive, and larger workforces are associated with higher technical efficiency. In the Kaliningrad region, output elasticity with respect to labour is negative, while a higher share of debt financing is associated with greater technical efficiency.10132026496910.5922/2079-8555-2026-3-3https://balticregion.kantiana.ru/baltic_region/16147/99143/Экспансия онлайн-торговли в условиях внешних шоков: региональные стимулы и ограничения в РоссииS. P.ZemtsovRussian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administrationhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-1283-0362M. A.MakushinRussian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administrationhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-6850-2005P. A.LevakovRussian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administrationhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-4731-5766E-commerce is growing rapidly, driven by the adoption of advanced digital technologies. In the early 2020s, Russia’s online retail market was among the largest and fastest-­growing in the world, despite external shocks. However, rigorous evidence on the regional determi­nants of this growth remains limited. This study therefore aims to identify the main drivers and constraints of e-commerce expansion across Russian regions during 2019—2024. The theoretical framework is based on diffusion of innovations theory. The empirical analysis uses generalised method of moments (GMM), fixed-­effects models and principal component analysis (PCA), and incorporates a spatial weights matrix. First, the results highlight the im­portance of rising consumer demand: a 1 % increase in regional income per capita is asso­ciated with a 0.67—0.78 % increase in online retail turnover per capita. Second, e-commerce is more developed in regions with a better-­educated workforce, possibly reflecting their grea­ter use of financial and other online services. Third, the findings demonstrate the importance of large markets and favourable economic and geographical conditions, highlighting the need to reduce transport and logistics barriers, particularly through the development of warehouse networks. The study also provides new evidence of the significant role of local entrepreneurial activity, strengthening the case for improving the business environment to support e-commerce development. No direct adverse effects of recent external shocks are detected. The Moscow and St. Petersburg agglomerations, both hotspots of innovation, are identified as centres of e-commerce expansion, consistent with the theoretical framework. Mountainous areas of the North Caucasus lag substantially behind, owing to the high proportion of rural settlements where internet access is limited and trust in online payments is low. Regions of the Far East and the Arctic, meanwhile, face logistical constraints that hinder e-commerce expansion. These findings underpin the recommendations presented in this study.101320267010710.5922/2079-8555-2026-3-4https://balticregion.kantiana.ru/baltic_region/16147/99145/Сфера туризма и гостеприимства российского эксклава в контексте дефицита кадровE. G.KropinovaImmanuel Kant Baltic Federal Universityhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-6971-7275T. V.KomarnitskayaImmanuel Kant Baltic Federal Universityhttps://orcid.org/0009-0001-0365-4101V. S.KorneevetsImmanuel Kant Baltic Federal Universityhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-7049-0346This article examines the challenges facing the tourism and hospitality sector in the Kaliningrad region, a Russian exclave. It analyses trends in key indicators, including tourist flows, gross value added and tourism infrastructure, focusing on collective accommodation establishments and food and beverage service establishments. Particular attention is paid to workforce availability as a potential constraint on the sector’s development. Drawing on comparative geographical analysis, economic and statistical methods, and cartographic analysis, the study provides evidence of the region’s strong potential as a domestic tourism destination and documents growth in the sector. Between 2020 and 2024, the number of accommodation establishments in the region increased by 55 %, reaching 393; accommodation capacity grew by 38.9 %, to 26,373 bed places; and the number of food and beverage service establishments - cafés, restaurants and bars - rose by 15 %, to 696. Over the same period, employment in the sector increased by only 29 %, to 5,718 people. The analysis confirms that demographic factors pose the principal threat to the sector’s labour supply across the region, particularly the marked decline of 53,000 in the population aged 20 –29. It also identifies spatial imbalances within the region that present additional challenges to maintaining a stable labour supply in tourism, notably the concentration of existing and newly developed tourism facilities in the coastal zone. The study argues that labour shortages associated with demographic conditions across Russia are exacerbated by the region’s exclave status. It also identifies limitations to addressing these shortages by attracting workers from other Russian regions with greater labour potential. The findings indicate that encouraging higher birth rates remains the most effective long-term response, while managed intraregional migration offers the most effective approach in the short and medium term. A range of federal and regional measures is being implemented to support tourism in the region, including through the “Employment Promotion” initiative under Russia’s “Demography” National Project. However, greater attention should be paid to the issues and proposals presented in this article, including within the “Tourism Workforce” initiative under the “Tourism and Hospitality” National Project.1013202610813510.5922/2079-8555-2026-3-5https://balticregion.kantiana.ru/baltic_region/16148/99147/Демографическая ситуация в регионах Финляндии в 2019—2024 годахD. V.ZhitinPetersburg State Universityhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-3810-9138M. A.VinogradovaPetersburg State Universityhttps://orcid.org/0009-0007-6963-4342Demographic and socioeconomic developments in Finland are of continuing importance to neighbouring Russia. Finland is in the final stage of the demographic transition, characterised by natural population decline, which is offset to varying degrees by net immigration. Regional differences in rates of natural population change and the direction of internal migration flows contribute to population redistribution within the country. This study aims to identify spatial patterns of demographic change across Finland’s regions during 2019—2024, with parti­cular emphasis on the eastern regions, and to examine the factors underlying these changes. This relatively short period witnessed several major events and geopolitical developments that directly affected the country’s demographic trends: the COVID-19 pandemic, a sharp increase in immigration from 2022 onwards, and the closure of the Russian–Finnish border (2022—2023). To assess these changes, the study examines trends in key indicators of natural population change and migration at the regional and municipal levels, alongside shifts in the geographical patterns of internal and international migration. Particular attention is paid to five regions in eastern Finland that, until recently, maintained extensive economic, cultural and people-to-people ties with Russia. Despite positive net international migration, whose geographical patterns have changed substantially in recent years, demographic conditions in the eastern regions examined remain unfavourable, particularly in comparison with those in the urbanised areas of southern and southwestern Finland.1013202613615610.5922/2079-8555-2026-3-6https://balticregion.kantiana.ru/baltic_region/16148/99149/