Economic well‐being of municipalities and responsible development: measurement possibilities

Since its inception, the concept of sustainable development has aimed at preserving the environment during an increase in material welfare, though its implementation in socio‐economic systems of different levels has remained limited. Our hypothesis is that following the principle of responsibility in adopting the values of sustainable development underlies the economic well‐being of such systems. Aim. To justify the concept of responsible development as a platform for the economic well‐being of a municipality and confirm its measurability. Methods. Generalization, systematization, and deduction. Their use made it possible to project the ethics of responsibility as the value basis of sustainable development onto the concept of municipality economic well‐being. The analysis of municipal statistics, which have the potential to measure economic well‐being as a result of responsible development, was performed using materials of Municipal Indicators Database by Russian Federal State Statistics Service. The root cause of the crisis in the relationship between society and nature is a crisis of mentality, which justifies the need to switch to the use the term “responsible development”. This is the development based on deliberate adherence to values, priorities of sustainable development and the application of the principle of responsibility in decision‐making. The latter implies reliance on scientific knowledge, clear self‐ identification of an actor, taking into account the surrounding culture and values; an active, free and intentional actors aware of themselves as part of a whole, considering the interests of other actors; distribution of responsibility; attention to the consequences, to a favourable long‐term outcome. The analysis of municipal statistics allowed compiling three groups of indicators: 1) related to reproduction (indicators of depreciation of fixed assets, diversification of the municipal economy and characterizing the economically active population); 2) related to meeting the needs of the municipal economy (indicators of financial independence, infrastructural development, civic engagement); 3) characterizing the conservation of natural resources. The results confirm the measurability of the economic well‐being of a municipality as a result of responsible development, and can also serve as a guide in managing the development of municipal statistics.