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Regional Inequality in Russia: Anatomy of Convergence

  • VARIATIONS IN SOCIOECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT BY REGION
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Abstract

In 2002–2018, the inequality between Russian regions in terms of real personal incomes per capita was decreasing, which indicates convergence. In this context, real incomes mean that they are comparable across regions, being adjusted for regional price levels. This paper reveals the “anatomy” of the convergence process, finding the role of every individual region in it. To do so, regional time series of real incomes per capita are tested for catching-up with the national income per capita. Unlike the widespread methodology of testing convergence with the use of time-series methods, nonlinear asymptotically decaying trends model the convergence processes in this paper. The results obtained suggest that 54.4% of the Russian regions exhibit convergence, and 20.3% of regions maintain a stable (on average) income gap. At the same time, there is a significant proportion of deterministically diverging regions, equaling 22.8%. Two regions only (2.5%) do not exhibit a regular behavior.

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Notes

  1. Convergence without equity: A closer look at spatial disparities in Russia. Washington, DC: World Bank, 2017. https://openknowledge. worldbank.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/6317fcaa-e0fc-541d-be16-79a12d77a7d0/content.

  2. In the article Russia’s borders are considered in accordance with the Constitution of the Russian Federation adopted by popular vote on December 12, 1993, with amendments approved during the All-Russian vote on July 1, 2020.

  3. Computed from: Regions of Russia. Socioeconomic Indicators. 2020, Moscow: Rosstat, 2020, pp. 490, 491, 509, 511.

  4. For 2002–2007, the data are drawn from monthly bulletin Socioeconomic Situation of Russia, Moscow: Rosstat, various issues over 2002–2007. For 2008, the data are from: Monetary Income per Capita by Subject of the Russian Federation in 2008 (http://www.gks.ru/free_doc/new_site/population/urov/urov_ 11sub2008.xls; accessed April 16, 2020); for 2009–2012, the data are from: Monetary Income per Capita by Subject of the Russian Federation (http://www.gks.ru/ free_doc/ new_site/population/urov/2009-2012kv.xls; accessed April 16, 2020); for 2013–2015, the data are from: Monetary Income per Capita by Subject of the Russian Federation (http://www.gks. ru/free_doc/new_site/population/urov/2013-2015kv.xls; ac-cessed April 16, 2020); for 2016–2018, the data are from: Monetary Personal Income per Capita (https://www.fedstat.ru/indicator/57039, accessed April 16, 2020).

  5. The Cost of Fixed Basket of Consumer Goods and Services. https://www.fedstat.ru/indicator/31052. Accessed April 20, 2020.

  6. It serves as an example in Fig. 5.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Author is grateful to participants at the 4th Russian Economic Congress (Moscow, 2020), Biannual Conference of the Economics Section of the German Association for East European Studies—DGO (Berlin, 2020), and the World Inequality Conference 2021 (Paris) for helpful discussions. Thanks are also due to Alexandra Samoilova for research assistance. I gratefully appreciate comments of two anonymous reviewers.

Funding

This study was supported by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation in the framework of large-scale research project “Socioeconomic Development of Asian Russia on the Basis of Synergy of Transport Accessibility, System Knowledge of the Natural Resource Potential, and Expanding Space of Inter-Regional Interactions,” Agreement no. 075-15-2020-804 of October 2, 2020 (grant no. 13.1902.21.0016).

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  1. Novosibirsk State University, 630090, Novosibirsk, Russia

    K. P. Gluschenko

  2. Institute of Economics and Industrial Engineering of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 630090, Novosibirsk, Russia

    K. P. Gluschenko

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Correspondence to K. P. Gluschenko.

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Gluschenko, K.P. Regional Inequality in Russia: Anatomy of Convergence. Reg. Res. Russ. 13 (Suppl 1), S1–S12 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1134/S207997052360004X

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