Evaluation of information asymmetry influence on the gross regional product (a case study of the Perm region’s labor market )

At the moment the regional labor market exists under the conditions of information asymmetry, which means that the participants of the market do not have complete and accurate information when they make their decisions. This situa tion reduces the efficiency of the market on the whole. In this article the author investigates the influence of information asymmetry in the regional labor market on the region's economic development, particularly on the gross regional product (GRP). For this purpose, the author examines the existing experience of the information asymmetry analysis in the labor market. Quantitative assessment of the information asymmetry effects on regional economy is important for finding ways to reduce them with the help of a competent regional policy in the sphere of labor and employment. The author proposes a method of estimating the GRP losses caused by the unequal distribution of information between employers and applicants. The article contains quantitative assessment of real and nominal GRP losses in the Perm region. The figures are obtained on the basis of statistical data on GRP, real capital stock and the number of employed people with higher education and without it in the Perm region during the period from 1999 to 2013. The GRP losses from the information asymmetry in the Perm region labor market fluctuate between 4.2% and 6.6% of GRP. The methods of statistical analysis, econometric modeling, and the desk research method have been used in the study.