Increasing the self-development potential of SFO’s regions

This paper represents a critical analysis of various theoretical and methodological approaches to an estimation of social and economic development of a region and projection of the future of such approaches. The method of self-identification of the territory, recently widely used by research scientists of the Institute of Economics at the Russian Academy of Sciences for a strategic analysis of the development level and definition of self-development potential; methodical approaches of other Russian researchers are also considered in particular. The author offers an own projection of development of Southwest Siberia territories, based on modernization scenarios of «addition» of potentials by economic integration of the neighbor subjects of the Russian Federation of the specified macroregion. The main objective of integration is creation of territorial economic space with competitive multisectoral economy possessing sufficient internal potential of self-development.