Improving the population’s quality of life: The role of the socio-economic genotype in shaping the regions’ development strategy

This article examines methodological approaches to studying the socio-economic genotype, as well as practical aspects of its application in the context of regional development. The obtained results demonstrate, for the first time, a stable and statistically significant relationship between the quality of life of the population and the socio-economic genotype within a regional framework. The study identifies three fundamental genes of the socio-economic genotype: production, innovation, and institutional-social, and elucidates their economic nature. The concept of the “genotype core” is refined, defined as the minimal set of indicators sufficient for identifying a region's type. As a result of the research, regions were grouped according to the dominant gene, which revealed stable economic patterns, strengths and weaknesses of different groups, “hidden” regional patterns, and specifics of regional development that impact the population's quality of life. The proposed regional classification is based not on traditional sectoral specialization, but on the identified genetic profile, which is analyzed within the context of quality-of-life quartiles – an approach not previously documented empirically. Statistical analysis using the Chi-square test confirmed a statistically significant relationship between the genotype core and the integral quality of life index. By comparing the genotype map and the quality of life index, it was established that the institutional-social gene contributes the most to a high quality of life, whereas the production gene, without reinforcement from innovation and institutional-social factors, does not lead to increased well-being. The paper concludes by justifying the integration of the socio-economic genotype into regional strategies and monitoring systems for socio-economic programs, thereby expanding the toolkit for governance. The scientific novelty lies in applying a new approach to studying regional development issues, involving the analysis of the simultaneous interaction between the socio-economic genotype and quality of life. The theoretical significance of the work is defined by the development of a conceptual model of the socio-economic genotype, based on a triad of socio-economic genes (production, innovation, and institutional-social) and the subsequent construction of the genotype core using the Frobenius norm applied to indicator matrices as a quantitative assessment of territories’ internal potential. The practical significance stems from the creation of a methodological toolkit that enables more precise and effective development of regional strategies aimed at improving the population's quality of life.