Economic Efficiency of Forestry Activities in the Russian Penitentiary System

The industrial and economic activities of penitentiary systems are rarely analysed in the literature. However, given the fact that in terms of the number of prisoners, penitentiary institutions in large countries are comparable to certain sectors of the economy, the study of the efficiency of such aggregates of such enterprises may be of important socio-economic importance. In the present paper, on the basis of the data provided by the Russian Federal Penitentiary Service using the methodology of Data Envelopment Analysis, the first assessment of economic efficiency of forestry activities of production units of the penitentiary system, which together form a spatially distributed forestry complex noticeable for the domestic Russian market, is carried out. The regional departments of the Russian Federal Penitentiary Service, which have reserves to increase their efficiency through a more economic use of production factors, are highlighted. It has been suggested to develop the above analysis on the basis of calculation of resources and production factors saving potentials under the condition of achieving high indicators of logging and production of timber products. It is concluded that such work can make a significant contribution to the formation of a comprehensive strategy for the transition of the Russian Federal Penitentiary Service to carbon neutrality as part of achieving the national objectives set in the Strategy for socio-economic development of Russia with low greenhouse gas emissions until 2050