Regional differentiation of living standards: challenges of time

Significant regional differentiation of living standards is an urgent national problem the solution of which is aimed at strengthening the state's territorial integrity, optimizing migration flows, and increasing the economic potential of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. One of the most important parameters of living standards is the amount of consumption of basic food products, the economic availability of food. The share of food expenditures in consumer spending, characterizing the realized demand of the population, makes it possible to carry out international and interregional comparisons of living standards. The analysis of the dynamics of this parameter indicates substantial differences in the federal districts as a whole and in their territorial components. Based on the forecast of the dynamics of the studied indirect indicator of the living standards, the author determines that the vector of changes in the current socio-economic situation with the existing arsenal of regional policy tools will remain. Currently, the state policy principles of regional development have been comprehensively worked out, the problems have been revealed, and the goals and directions of their implementation have been defined. At the same time, it is worth improving a number of regional policy instruments taking into account global approaches in this area. An analysis of the experience of the Nordic countries and Germany shows that inter-budget transfers are an important tool for regional equalization of living standards. In the countries with developed market economies, various forms of inter-budgetary relations have worked out. However, in most countries there is a complex system where tax revenue is distributed among budgets of different levels. Interesting is the experience of Germany, where great importance, along with the vertical alignment of living standards, is attached to horizontal alignment in which the redistribution of value added tax between regional budgets is actively used. It is advisable to adopt the practice of horizontal financial alignment and provide in the law on the federal budget standards for the redistribution of the federal value added tax in favor of the regions to stimulate their business activity.