Comprehensive assessment of the quality of life in Russian regions

Abstract

Aim. The presented study aims to assess the quality of life in Russian regions comprehensively and quantitatively by calculating integrated indices based on an updated list of indicators.Tasks. The authors update the list of indicators used in quality of life assessment; calculate quality of life indices for the constituent entities of the Russian Federation over a certain period; present and explain the results of the calculations; evaluate quality of life differentiation; compare the results with similar studies.Methods. This study uses general scientific research methods (analysis, synthesis, generalization, abstraction, etc.) and methods of statistical data processing (normalization of indicators, calculation of integrated indices, calculation of decile coefficients, etc.).Results. Despite the large number of works on the topic of the study, methodological problems of quality of life assessment still remain relevant. These include the selection of parameters that best describe the quality of life in the context of territories that significantly differ in terms of geographical location, natural resource potential, historical and socio-economic development, etc., and the selection of methods and criteria for assessing these parameters. The study proposes a method for assessing the quality of life by calculating an integrated index based on 26 indicators describing the quality of life in six areas (units): health, education, income, culture, safety, ecology. The proposed method is tested in eighty constituent entities of the Russian Federation in 2010–2020: for each region and each year, six indices for each of the indicator units and the general integrated index I_Quality as the resultant of all unit indices are calculated.Conclusions. Based on the obtained values of I_Quality, the examined constituent entities of the Russian Federation are divided into groups according to the level of the quality of life (from high to very low). For each group, the dynamics of the unit indices and their constituent indicators are analyzed, making it possible to identify factors that form the living standards in the regions and the nature of their changes compared to 2010. The level of differentiation between regions is estimated according to the integrated quality of life index I_Quality and unit indices. The obtained results are compared with another methodologically similar study, showing 50% and 60% coincidences in the upper and lower segments of Russian regions ranked by quality of life respectively.