Main trends of human potential development in the provincial region

Human potential in the Republic of Mari El is examined in the paper. The Republic of Mari El is an underdeveloped agro-industrial region of the Middle Volga region of Russia. Two approaches were used to assess a region's human potential: the UN approach, which defines an integral human development index, as well as an approach based on decomposing human capital into 4 components (demographic, socio-labor, intellectual and cultural potentials). The Republic of Mari El is characterized by low demographic potential, average levels of sociolabor, intellectual and cultural potentials. In general, human potential is assessed below the average Russian level, with a high differentiation between the human potential of rural and urban areas. Depopulation occurs only in rural areas and is a serious problem. The outflow of the rural population is caused by unemployment, low wages in agricultural sectors, disparity in prices for agricultural and industrial products, low access to social services, and a low quality of life compared to the urbanized territories of the region.