The acceptable level of interregional differentiation in Russia for sustainable development

Interregional differentiation should be limited within certain frames for the sustainable development of Russia and its regions. High interregional differentiation increases the conflict level in certain regions and reduces economic growth, and very low interregional differentiation excludes competition between regions for resources and eliminates incentives for development. These problems can be solved by keeping interregional differentiation at an acceptable level. In this research, the Williamson coefficient will be used to estimate the maximum permissible level of interregional differentiation. The methodological approach is proposed for determining the lower and upper limits of the permissible interregional differentiation on the basis of the first Theil index and the Atkinson index. The permissible range of inequality is calculated for three development scenarios: stagnation, low and sustainable economic growth.