INSTITUTIONAL TRAPS OF REGIONAL AGRICULTURAL SUBSIDIES

Issue № 8, 2026, article № 7, pages 71-82

Section: Investment and innovation in agriculture

Language: Russian

Original language title: ИНСТИТУЦИОНАЛЬНЫЕ ЛОВУШКИ СУБСИДИРОВАНИЯ РЕГИОНАЛЬНОГО АПК

Keywords: AGRO-INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX, ACCOUNTING, STATE SUPPORT, INSTITUTIONAL TRAPS, METHOD, SPATIAL EFFECTS, TRANSPARENCY, REGIONAL ECONOMY, EFFICIENCY, BUDGET, EXPENSES, SUBSIDIES

Abstract: The relevance of the study is due to the need to understand the paradoxical situation in which the increase in state support for the agro-industrial complex in the Russian Federation is not accompanied by a proportional increase in the efficiency of the industry. While in some regions, budget investments are transformed into sustainable development and technological innovation, in others, they perpetuate a backward production structure, creating the phenomenon of "institutional subsidy traps." The purpose of this article is to identify and formalize the mechanisms of these traps, as well as to develop recommendations for overcoming them based on a comprehensive analysis of budgetary, accounting, and spatial factors of efficiency. The methodological framework of the study includes the method of analysis of the environment of functioning to assess the technical efficiency of the use of subsidies, the construction of an indicator of the degree of overestimation of plans, the development of an index of transparency of accounting, as well as econometric modeling of spatial effects using a spatial autoregressive model. The results of the study indicate that there is a stable inverse relationship between the amount of subsidies received and the return on their use, i.e. regions with the highest efficiency receive significantly less funds per hectare, but demonstrate a much higher increase in production compared to the outsiders. It has been revealed that more than half of the regions practice excessive overestimation of planned indicators, and in every fifth constituent entity of the Federation, the overestimation reaches critical values. A significant proportion of agricultural organizations reflect the subsidies received as "other income" without specifying the intended purpose, which makes it difficult to assess the actual effectiveness of budget expenditures. Spatial analysis has revealed significant positive effects, i.e., an increase in subsidies in neighboring regions leads to an increase in agricultural production in the region, and the presence of a cluster structure significantly enhances these effects. The study has proven that there is a negative correlation between the prevalence of "per hectare" subsidies and the dynamics of return on capital, which indicates the persistence of a backward technological structure in regions with a high share of current support. The study has also established that overcoming institutional traps requires a transition from a "cost subsidization" model to a "result subsidization" model, the harmonization of budgetary and accounting practices, and the strengthening of the role of independent performance audits.

Authors: Sheozhev Khasanbi Vladimirovich, Alekseeva Gulnara Ilsurovna, Mislavskaya Natalya Anatolyevna, Suglobova Sofia Alexandrovna