Assessing the Efficiency of Regional Practices of Governance Centralizationin the Field of Urban Planning in Russia

The study is devoted to assessing the efficiency of governance centralization in the sphere of urban planning in Russia, expressed in the redistribution of municipal powers in favor of the authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. The theoretical basis of the work is formed by key publications on the topic of urban planning, considered in the context of theories of public administration. It is shown that the redistribution of municipal powers in favor of the authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation can lead to an increase in the relative efficiency of state policy on the creation of new housing; at the same time, the limitations of using the presented methodology of data envelopment analysis when measuring the effectiveness of the exercise of powers are identified. At the same time, the duality of motivations of regional authorities to initiate the redistribution process is revealed: in a number of constituent entities of the Russian Federation, it was aimed at increasing the efficiency of the exercise of powers, while in other regions the redistribution itself was a consequence of achieving high efficiency. As a result, a thesis is formulated on the need to use quantitative metrics at the stage of formulating the composition of qualitative indicators in the framework of the introduction of full-fledged monitoring of law enforcement in the field of urban planning. In particular, the proposed methodology for assessing effectiveness can be used to select in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation that will participate in the pilot stage of monitoring. The presented work can thus serve as a basis for improving the system for assessing the efficiency and effectiveness of the government bodies and officials of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation activities in the field of urban planning, as well as contribute to the adjustment of inefficient practices of redistribution of powers in regions, associated primarily with the partial withdrawal of thematic powers from local authorities’ self-government.