The effectiveness of housing renovation programs in the Russian Federation

Abstract

The Housing Stock Renovation Program in Moscow, endorsed in 2017, caused a large number of public and academic debates on its quality and potential efficiency as well as (in more general terms) on possible methods of estimating the effectiveness of government and municipal programs implementation in the Russian Federation. The relevance of these discussions is predicated, among other things, on huge funds actually injected by the Russian government (especially on the national and subnational levels) into various links of the national development and construction industry. More than 1.74 trillion rubles were allocated from the Moscow budget alone for the financing of various construction programs in 2018-2020. Inquiring into the existing and prospective methods of decision-making in the process of development, approval, execution and assessment of the housing stock renovation program efficiency as well as suggesting practical recommendations in the given sphere were the main goals of the research undertaken by the author. Using the comparative analysis of several earlier completed government programs versus similar ones or the recently adopted Moscow renovation program, their goals and objectives, the author identifies, pigeonholes and compares their basic parameters and targets which were or weren’t actually attained. The undertaken research brings the author to the conclusion about the absence in the modern research, economic or practical circulation of any scientifically grounded methodology for ensuring a synchronous integrated real estate development and preset mechanisms of state participation in the investment and construction process, based, among other things, on bringing the target parameters of public (municipal programs) in conformity with their economic parameters.