Socio-economic effects of mechanisms for the company towns development: methodological aspect

In the context of spatial differentiation of regions and the need to improve the effectiveness of state policy in relation to single-industry towns, the importance of developing sound methodological foundations for analyzing their functioning and development is increasing. The main purpose of the article is to identify and describe the conceptual approaches to the methodology of economic research existing in modern science, and proposes to use the research methodology in studying the problems of the functioning of company towns as special management objects and assessing the socio-economic effects of implementing various financial and economic mechanisms for their support and development. The article proves that philosophical methodology, being divorced from empirical reality, does not fully meet the practical needs of economists, while research methodology, focused on solving specific problems of analysis and forecasting, has a high applied potential. It is noted that it is the systematic approach that provides not only opportunities to identify the sources of problems in single-industry towns, but also to substantiate effective mechanisms and ways to solve them. Based on a systematic approach, the variable approach to the formation of support mechanisms for single-industry towns is proposed, taking into account the assessment of the market prospects of city-forming enterprises and the level of regulatory impact of government mechanisms on the development strategy of single-industry towns. This approach makes it possible to adapt support mechanisms to the conditions of a particular municipality and increase the effectiveness of management decisions. The results of the research can be used in the practice of strategic planning and in the development of measures of state support for single-industry towns within the framework of territorial development.