THE NATURE OF REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT INSTTITUTIONS AND THEIR ROLE IN INNOVATION-DRIVEN MODERNIZATION OF ECONOMY

Introduction. In the context of modern industrial revolution, Ukraine needs re-industrialization on the basis of innovative modernization, which is impossible unless appropriate institutions are created. Problem Statement. The formation and implementation of a modern regional development policy aiming at stimulating innovations requires the search for new opportunities through the creation and effective operation of regional development institutions. Purpose. To substantiate theoretical approaches to understanding the concept of regional development institutions and their role in innovative economic modernization. Materials and Methods. The theoretical heritage of leading researchers on the institutional conditioning problems of innovation processes has been used. The research is based mainly on the institutional paradigm and involves a synthesis of institutional and evolutionary approaches. Results. It has been proposed to consider regional development institutions as differentiated regulatory regimes that create the conditions for achieving the desired socio-economic status of the system as a whole by enabling economic entities to withdraw innovative rent, in a broad sense, and as organizations of different legal forms, which are elements of the regional innovation infrastructure and ensure the development and support of all innovation process stages while minimizing transaction costs, in a narrow sense. Conclusions. It has been hypothesized that regional development institutions are not only organizations, mechanisms, tools, and norms of behavior, which are created by government, but also the results of institutionalization, at the meso level, of rules elaborated by a collective of economic entities. Further research shall identify opportunities to form regional development institutions as a result of collective efforts to overcome uncertainty and to minimize transaction costs in innovation process.