The Impact of the Development of E-Commerce on Inflation in Russia

Abstract

Over the past few years in Russia and the world there has been a rapid development of goods and services e-commerce. Therefore, an issue of inflationary consequences of the process of e-commerce growth is topical. The subject of this research is the impact of the development of e-commerce on inflation. The purpose of the paper to identify key theoretical mechanisms of e-commerce development influence on inflation, in addition to empirically verify the presence of the de-inflation effect on Russian data. The paper bases on methods of systematization, descriptive analysis, panel data econometric analysis. Also systematize basic mechanisms of e-commerce influence and provide empirical evidence for the disinflationary effect of ecommerce in Russian regions as a result of the study. The study concludes that e-commerce causes predominantly downward pressure on prices and inflation. Econometric analysis confirms this effect on Russian regions data in 2014–2020. The scientific novelty of the research lies in systematization of channels of e-commerce influence on various spheres of economy and confirmation of disinflationary effect of e-commerce using Russian data. The study’s recommendation is to consider the aspect of price reduction pressure in Russia’s monetary policy during the further spread of e-commerce.