Cluster Approach in the Analysis of the Socio-Economic Situation of St. Petersburg.

Abstract

Introduction: This paper addresses the issue of comparative analysis of the socio-economic status of Russian regions via developing and testing a comprehensive cluster approach. The goal of the research consists in determining the position of Saint Petersburg within the system of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, identify a consistent group of analogous regions, as well as some specific characteristics of the city in the key development areas. Methods: The methodology is based on the hierarchical clustering of 85 subjects of the Russian Federation employing a system of 39 indicators (2017-2023), grouped into six thematic blocks. To enhance the robustness of the results, comprehensive data preprocessing was applied: a Box-Cox transformation for normalizing distributions and a comparative analysis of four standardization methods (Z-standardization, Min-Max, robust, and MedCouple standardization). The similarity index was calculated as the proportion of analyses in which a region was placed in the same cluster as Saint Petersburg. Results: The study identified a stable core of the regions analogous to Saint Petersburg, including Moscow, major industrial centers, developed Far Eastern territories, and high-income resource-rich areas. A significant differentiation in similarity was established: Saint Petersburg shows typical characteristics in demographic and economic spheres, the uniqueness in educational and cultural perspectives, while in terms of living standards and infrastructure development, it belongs to a narrow group of leading regions. The comparison of standardization methods has demonstrated that their combined application provides a more complete and consistent presentation of interregional comparisons. Discussion: The academic novelty of this study consists in the comprehensive comparison of standardization methods to enhance the robustness of clustering results. The conclusions drawn constitute the foundation for developing targeted recommendations in regional policy, allowing for a shift from comparisons “with the average in Russia” to focused work with specific analogous regions and the strategic management of Saint Petersburg’s unique competitive advantages.