One of the important characteristics of the economic well being of a municipality is spatial balance, as it reflects the proportionality of the development of the regional economy in space. The aim of this article is to assess this indicator. Methodologically, the study is based on the principles of the spatio temporal and systems approaches, as well as the theory of regional economics. Spatial balance of municipal economic development is defined as the proportionality of the distribution of the regional reproduction process among municipalities, which ensures commensurate economic outcomes for the population residing in their territories. The assessment is proposed to be carried out by calculating the average deviation from unity of the presence indices for socio economic indicators reflecting the reproduction stage. The proposed definition and assessment methodology constitute the scientific novelty of research in this area. The methodology was tested on data from 69 municipalities of the Sverdlovsk Region for the years 2010, 2015, and 2020–2024, which made it possible to compare the current spatial balance with the period of active economic growth. The analysis results showed that spatial disproportionality generally tend to decrease, but in 2024 it started to grow. Among the anti leaders in spatial balance are: Verkhnyaya Pyshma Urban Okrug, Reftinsky Urban Okrug, Zarechny Municipal Okrug, and Verkhnesaldinsky Municipal Okrug. They concentrate a large volume of investment and real sector output, which, on the one hand, ensures economic growth, but on the other hand, significantly increases anthropogenic pressure and may adversely affect their long term sustainability. The paper also revealed that consumption is traditionally concentrated in the administrative center of the region and is largely shaped by non residents. With regard to the stage of distribution of local budget revenues, a trend has been identified towards their relatively stable and uniform dispersal across almost 90% of municipalities
Keywords
Municipality, region, spatial development, economic space