Green Investments as a Vector of Growth of the Region’s Economy in Industry 4.0: Payback Prospects and Contribution to Security

Purpose: The purpose of the research is to verify the hypothesis and justify that green investments represent the growth vector of the region’s economy in the 4.0 industry and have significant prospects for payback and contribution to economic security. The study is conducted on the example of the regions of Russia with the most developed Industry 4.0 and includes the definition of alternative scenarios for the socioeconomic development of the regions of Russia depending on the volume of “green” investments. Design/methodology/approach: For the research, a sample of regions of Russia was formed with the most developed Industry 4.0 in 2020; the authors determine the regression dependence of GRP per capita (indicator of payback prospects) on environmental protection costs (the volume of “green” investments), as well as the depth of the “underdevelopment whirlpools” (indicator of economic security) from environmental protection costs. Findings: On the example of the regions of Russia, it has been proved that green investments can and do act as a vector of growth of the region’s economy in Industry 4.0, have significant payback prospects, and contribute to ensuring the region’s economic security, helping to overcome its “underdevelopment whirlpools”. Originality/value: The patterns of increasing GRP per capita and reducing the depth of “underdevelopment whirlpools” in the regions of Russia in 2020 have been revealed as the volume of “green” investments increases. In order to completely overcome the “underdevelopment whirlpools” in the regions of Russia with the most developed Industry 4.0 in the period until 2025, it is recommended to increase the volume of “green” investments by 4 times to 92979 million rubles.