Examination of Regional Convergence in the Russian Federation

The issues of socio-economic differentiation, regional convergence, identification of influencing factors, and analysis of their impact on spatial economic development are one of the main topics of interest for regional researchers and are widely discussed in scientific literature.

Aim. The presented study aims to examine regional convergence in the Russian Federation in order to develop proposals aimed at eliminating the problem of spatial disparities.

Tasks. The authors examine the theoretical framework of regional convergence, analyze the convergence of Russian regions in 2000–2015 using the main indicator of socio-economic development — gross regional product per capita, and test several scientific hypotheses, including the presence and speed of absolute convergence, the presence of conditional convergence among Russian regions, the expected impact of regional economic growth determinants used in the conditional convergence model on the development of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation.

Methods. The study uses economic, mathematical, and statistical information processing methods. The theoretical framework of the study is based on the works of Russian and foreign researchers in the field of regional development. The information basis includes statistical databases, official data published by the public authorities, and studies of Russian and foreign organizations.

Results. The results of the analysis show a lack of unconditional β-convergence among the regions of the Russian Federation. The following regional development factors prove to be significant in the construction of the conditional convergence model: fixed investment, the ratio between employees in knowledge-intensive service industries and the region’s total number of employees, and population density. The hypothesis about the expected impact of these determinants on the economic growth of Russian regions is confirmed.

Conclusions. The performed analysis makes it possible to identify the most important economic growth factors for Russian regions and to make proposals aimed at developing mechanisms for the targeted and efficient influence of the government on the regional economy. The obtained results and conclusions indicate the relevance of the national economic policy in solving the problems of socio-economic differentiation and can be used by the scientific community and the public authorities of the Russian Federation.

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