Вестник Кольского научного центра РАН. 2011, №4.

L.V. Ivanova INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION OF THE INSTITUTE FOR ECONOMIC STUDIES KSC RAS The Institute for Economic Studies became part of the international cooperation of the Kola Science Centre practically from the very beginning of its establishment. For many years the Institutes realizes its international cooperation in the form of participation in international research projects, training of researchers abroad, joint publications in Russian and foreign scientific journals. In the context of growing interest to issues of Arctic development from the states interested to these territories the long experience of the Institute makes it possible to believe that it will take an active part in international cooperation in the future. Keywords: international scientific cooperation, development, North and Arctic, prospects. S.V. Baranov COMPLEX ESTIMATION OF SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF TOWNS AND DISTRICTS OF THE MURMANSK REGION The paper considers some aspects related to forming complex estimations of socio-economic development levels of municipalities the Murmansk Region. It is provided some appropriate methods and obtained complex estimations. Discussion of the results are heavily emphasized. It is concluded an inadmissibility of deducing problems of the Murmansk Region municipalities located above the Polar Circle to the problems of municipalities which are in the Arctic zone only. Keywords: municipalities, comparative estimation, complex estimation, socio-economic development, Murmansk Region. T.I. Barasheva REFORMING OF MUNICIPAL FINANCES: CHALLENGES AND PROSPECTS The main results of the analysis of the normative-legal and methodological basis regulating the process of tax-budget relations at the level of regions and municipalities under the reform condition are given. Consequences of the transformations for the main link of public finances - finances of municipalities are revealed. Recommendations on elaboration of mechanisms ensuring stable sources of local budgets replenishment needed by the municipal authorities for successful and efficient execution of economic, social and other tasks are proposed. Keywords: municipal finances, local budgets, inter-budget relations, reforming of regional and municipal finances. A. Vasiliev PATH TO REVIVAL OF THE COASTAL ARCTIC SETTLEMENTS - DEVELOPMENT OF FISHING AND FISH PROCESSING EQUIPMENT The necessity of development of fishing and fish processing in coastal settlements at the Barents Sea using the U.S. experience on the west coast of Alaska are discussed. It is argued that federal and regional authorities of the Russian Federation should allocate fishing quotas. Besides the competition should be organized to select investors for fish factories construction. Functioning of the combined fish-catching and fish-processing enterprises will increase the efficiency of biological resources preserving and using,and wI et, reduce unemployment in coastal settlements and rise revenues of local budgets. Keywords: Barents Sea, coastal settlements, biological resources, fishing, fish processing. E.A. Verbinenko FINANCIAL POTENTIAL OF THE REGION: ESSENCE AND ESTIMATION APPROACHES The article covers different scientific views on the essence and composition of financial potential of the region. The existing methods of the formation of the estimation of the regional potential are presented. Keywords: financial potential, economy of the region, financial resources, financial flows, estimation methods. E.B. Grushenhko DEVELOPMENT OF TOURIST ECONOMY IN THE WESTERN ARCTIC REGION OF RUSSIA The article evaluates tourist-recreation potential and perspective tourism investment projects in the Western Arctic region of Russia. The work is focused on investigation of the tourism development in the Barents and the White Seas areas of the Murmansk regtion. The most perspective tourism types are identified, among them marine Arctic tourism has the leading role. Keywords: Arctic, the Murmansk region, marine tourism, high-latitude archipelago. 145