Value-added interregional inequality assessment of border regions in Russia

Natal’ya S Epifanova

doi:10.1051/e3sconf/202130104007

Abstract

The economic development of Russian border regions is accompanied by a high level of interregional disparities both within the group of border regions and across the country. The purpose of the article is to assess the degree of interregional inequality of border regions in comparison with inner ones. Based on the key indicator of regional economic development, Gross Regional Product (GRP) per capita, various indicators of interregional inequality (coefficients of variation, the ratio of the maximum value to the minimum value, the Gini and Theil coefficients) were calculated, and σ-convergence and absolute β-convergence were estimated. Estimations of all indicators show that sharp changes in inequality, as well as the level of interregional inequality itself, are characteristic of border regions. For the interior regions, the dynamics are smoother, and the degree of inequality is significantly lower. This allows concluding that the main reason for the formation of interregional inequalities in Russia is inter-regional inequality in the group of border regions.

Highlights

The economic development of border regions in modern conditions is of particular importance
It is likely that the reflection of the problem of interregional inequality in Russia's economy will correspond to a high-er level of interregional differentiation for border regions
The study shows that interregional differentiation in Russia is formed mainly due to inequality between Russian border regions

Summary

Introduction

The economic development of border regions in modern conditions is of particular importance. It is likely that the reflection of the problem of interregional inequality in Russia's economy will correspond to a high-er level of interregional differentiation for border regions (in comparison with internal ones). The purpose of this paper is to test the hypothesis of whether the level of interregional inequality is higher for the Russian border regions in comparison to the inner regions. Confirmation of this hypothesis should become an important landmark in the reorientation of the regional policy of the federal center, aimed at reducing interregional inequality in Russia

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Discussion

Conclusion