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For attracting private capital to the economy, African governments allocate territories for commercial and industrial use within Special Economic Zones (SEZ). This is an important factor in export diversification (primarily of manufactured products), expanding country’s participation in global value chains, and creating new jobs. Despite different specialization from labor-intensive (textile production, agriculture, etc.) to high-tech sectors, most of the existing SEZs are ineffective due to the underdevelopment of African markets, weak competition, large-scale corruption, but to a large extent - as a result of insufficient interconnection between individual producers.Economic space organization through the creation of clusters - production efficiency and the emergence of a special type of competition -allows them to use common infrastructure, labor and raw materials markets; jointly export products; exchange knowledge and technologies, which is significant in terms of the industrial revolution 4.0. Clusters have the characteristics of “growth poles” - territorial conglomerates that, due to their special position and infrastructural advantages, become locomotives of industrial growth, spreading to other regions.This is especially important given the prevalence of highly inefficient micro, small and medium-sized companies in African economies, a significant part of which is in the informal sector. Clusters, emerging as a rule “from below”, can turn into structure-forming elements of the economy (both at the national and regional levels), but only on condition of organizational and financial support from individual states and their economic communities. This is in the African economies interest, as evidenced by their gradual reorientation towards the domestic market development, as well the regional market expansion within the framework of integration associations.

The understanding of economic polarization as one of the possible sources of economic development is rooted in a number of scientific papers and in strategic planning documents. This understanding requires the revision of the implications that emerge due to the formation and development of growth poles. The goal of our present research is to develop an approach that will help assess the impact of growth poles on the surrounding space. Scientific novelty of the work consists in the justification of an approach to the identification of direct and reverse effects of the development of growth poles, which allows us to measure the scale of the impact they have on the territories concentrated around. Theoretical and methodological basis of the study is formed by a set of scientific ideas in the field of regional economics, spatial analysis and modeling. Using the assessment of spatial autocorrelation (by determining the values of Moran’s Global Index and Moran’s Local Index) and the implementation of cartographic analysis, we assess the relationships between individual constituent entities of the Russian Federation according to the resulting parameters of territory development such as “permanent population” and “gross regional product”. According to the calculations we prove that the influence of growth poles on the surrounding space is ambiguous: the territories located near large-scale socio-economic systems do not receive a significant impetus to their own development; moreover, they lose the resources they already have. The revealed pronounced reverse effect of economic polarization determines the importance of applying a balanced approach to the use of growth poles as a tool of economic development. The results of our research can be used in the work of public authorities at different levels and can also form the basis for further studies related to the measurement of the effects of development of growth poles and the development of priorities and mechanisms of regional policy, taking into account the interests of the territories that surround them

The paper is devoted to the development of general methodological approaches to evaluate and identify the possibility for creating IT clusters in Kazakhstan regions. The present study considers the formation of IT clusters as growth poles. These poles are based on the establishing the groups of interconnected companies and institutions in IT industry linked by commonalities. The analysis of previous literature has shown that this approach is a novel approach to IT clusters formation. The study employs methods, which focus on analysing and identifying IT clusters in the interests of innovative development and the possibility of spreading information technology in Kazakhstan regions. We propose the methodological tools for presenting a standard form to assess innovative potential and industry specialization. This assessment allows to objectively and realistically define a potentially important region for creating IT cluster. The empirical analysis has identified certain trends in possibilities to create IT clusters in the cities of Almaty and Astana. Therefore, these regions play the role of specialized platforms for a new generation. This platform is to provide a multiplier effect on the development of the agglomeration and located in close territories or periphery. The results of this research can be used to elaborate important strategic documents in the field of the development of the IT industry, digital technology, knowledge-based and high-tech sectors in Kazakhstan on the way to Industry 4.0.

This study aims to show how the polarisation of the economic space can modify the investment attractiveness of the regional space. A thesis has been put forward that the polarisation of the economic space affects the investment attractiveness of the regional space by strengthening the polarising power of the regions with the highest investment attractiveness. This study uses the results of the parameterisation of investment attractiveness of Polish regions for 2015 by gmina; it also identifies growth poles in four five-year time periods: 2008–2012, 2009–2013, 2010–2014, and 2011–2015. The study shows that the permanent growth poles are created at a distance of several dozen kilometres from large cities. It indicates the depletion of development reserves of large and medium-sized cities, especially those with extensive space management. Smaller centres are gaining location attractiveness, especially those located in the vicinity of communication routes, where access to investment areas and lower costs of running a business attract investors. Special economic zones are also located in such places. The poles and their clusters usually form large agglomerations and industrial centres in the development phase. They are usually places with high investment attractiveness, adjusted by management decisions of large enterprises, local government units and the state government. The polarisation of the economic space affects the increase of the investment attractiveness of the regions, strengthening the succession of economic production and service functions in special economic zones. Investments in road infrastructure and revitalisation processes supported by special economic zones are essential.

The development and utilization of renewable energy is an important way to solve the environmental dilemma. Biomass energy is a kind of renewable energy and one of the most widely distributed and easily accessible energy forms. It has currently become a main direction of renewable energy development. This paper took Gansu Province of China as the research object to calculate its theoretical reserves of biomass energy resources and then evaluate its potential of biomass energy development by using TOPSIS method under different agricultural development and geographical environmental conditions. Spatial autocorrelation analysis was also performed to reveal the spatial distribution and temporal evolution of the potential of biomass energy development in Gansu Province. The results show that: (1) The total reserves of biomass energy resources from agricultural wastes in Gansu Province reach 7.28 &times, 107 t/year, with equivalent biogas production of about 1.95 &times, 1010 m3/year. (2) In most counties of Gansu Province, the Ci value is smaller than 0.5000, indicating that the potential of biomass energy development is relatively low in Gansu Province. (3) The spatial agglomeration of biomass energy development potential occurs mainly in the Hexi area, the Gannan area and the Loess Plateau area of East Gansu Province. (4) There is an area with obvious high-low (H-L) agglomeration of biomass energy development potential to the north-west side of the Gannan area with low-low (L-L) agglomeration of biomass energy development potential. It is a key zone to help drive biomass energy development in the Gannan area. (5) The spatial range of positive correlation (high-high and low-low agglomeration) areas shrunk during the evaluation period.