[Prospects for silver economy development in the Russian megapolis.]

The article examines theoretical approaches to the development of a silver economy in the world and the practical value of promoting its model for the Russian Federation. Based on the consideration of various interpretations of this concept, the author's definition of the category «silver economy» is proposed with the allocation of two vectors of its development: economy - for the elderly and the elderly - for the economy. The purpose of the study was to assess the potential demand for silver economy products: in accordance with it, the paper presents the results of a specific sociological (expert) survey conducted by the authors in St. Petersburg. The conducted research allowed us to establish that the awareness of the involved expert community regarding the production of specialized goods for the elderly population in St. Petersburg is generally low; the range of specialized high-tech products for the elderly population is estimated as very poor, and the level of localization of the silver economy in terms of the production of goods in St. Petersburg is low.