Cooperation between Business and Local Authorities: Problems and New Opportunities

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of limitations and resources of interaction between government and business in modern Russian conditions, the definition of the most popular and promising forms of cooperation in modern Russian conditions. Unlike the developed democracies, the model of interaction between government and business, built on the balance of interests and partnership, has not yet developed in our country. Based on the expert survey of municipal employees conducted by the All-Russian Council of Local Self-Government (with the participation of the authors) the main risks (the need for additional funding from the municipality, reputational losses in the event of project failure or failure to achieve its objectives, delays the implementation of projects by the contractor) and barriers to the implementation of practices in municipalprivate partnership (lack of opportunities to provide motivation for private investment, business disinterest). It is concluded that the existing malfunction of the institutional field does not allow creating a basis for normative-fixed practices of partnership between government and business, and municipal-private partnership becomes utopian for municipalities. The most promising form of interaction between government and business is the economy of cooperation as an effective tool for socio-economic development of the territory. At the same time, the active and flexible position of local authorities, the analysis of interests and needs of the business community, and the effective use of municipal property should be the conditions for implementing a new form of interaction between the public and private sectors. The principles of economic cooperation can be adapted and used in the context of the socio-economic development of Russian territories.