Household income inequality: a regional dimension

The article presents the results of a study of household income inequality in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation in the context of the impact of regional budget expenditures on social benefits to the population on such inequality. The Gini coefficient is differentiated by the subjects of the Russian Federation, while the coefficient of variation increased in 2024, in some cases there is a multidirectional nature of the dynamics of the national and regional indicators. Correlation analysis shows the undesirable effect of per capita expenditures of the budgets of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation according to the 300 expenditure type code on household income inequality in the regions, including taking into account the assumption of a deferred effect for one year, as well as in those regions where there is a real increase in budget expenditures on social benefits. Additional groupings of regions based on the criteria of the age structure of the population and dependence on transfers from the federal budget, budget security and the age composition of the population also show a link between rising costs and rising income inequality. A differentiated approach to determining the level of payments depending on household income could help improve the effectiveness of budget expenditures on social benefits in order to reduce income inequality.