Data economy development potential: Evaluated and tested with some Russian regions

Introduction. The implementation of the national project “Data Economy and Digital Transformation of the State” presupposes that the starting point of the transition of the regional economies in Russia to a new stage of digital economy should be evaluated. Purpose. The aim of the study is to propose a methodology for assessing the formation and development of the data economy in the regions of Russia. Materials and Methods. The authors’ methodology for the growth potential of data economy is derived from the structural-functional approach, index method, and rating. Open data of the Federal State Statistics Service of the Russian Federation, ratings of expert agencies are taken as the information materials of the study. The methodology was tested with the 2020–2022 data. Results. The authors’ methodology modifies the Global Connectivity Index and refers to its concept at the subnational level. The four key areas of digital transformation, such as Demand, Supply, Use, and Potential, combine 22 indicators characterizing various aspects of digital transformation of a regional economic system. The growth potential index of data economy was tested with 83 constituents of the Russian Federation. This divided the regions into three conditional groups: Leaders, Catch-ups, and Newbies, each of which has its own characteristics of the current digital transformation. Conclusions. The proposed methodology for assessing the growth potential of data economy can be used as a starting point in creating tools for monitoring the national project “Data Economy and Digital Transformation of the State” at the regional level. Further studies could test the growth potential index of data economy over a longer period of time, which will reveal certain patterns in the dynamics of the indicator development.