Factor Analysis of Economic Leadership Peculiarities of Countries and Regions Around the World

The paper examines the impact of various factors on regional economic growth and the development of various countries in the long-term period. During the research, the system approach, the structural-functional method, the formalization method, the method of scientific abstraction, and the methods of stochastic modeling of economic activity, including correlation-regression analysis, were used. The basic factors of economic development of regions and increase of their competitiveness (such as financing of education and investments in research and development) are considered. Correlation-regression analysis of ten factors influencing the index of human development was carried out to identify the reasons for the uneven economic development of the regions. The studied countries were divided into four clusters according to the degree of influence of the investigated parameters. The regression equations for each cluster are constructed, and the features characterizing each cluster are revealed. The results of the analysis of the factors included in the model confirm that the level of the country’s competitiveness in a globalizing world is determined not only by the level of development of the economy but also by the competitiveness of the education system. The directions of the development of the system of higher education are proposed in order to strengthen innovative processes at universities and the formation of creative cadres for the country’s economy.