Regional characteristics and determinants of using electronic services among rural population

The purpose of this study is to analyze the regional characteristics of using information and communication technology and information and telecommunication networks for public and municipal services and for purchasing goods and services by rural population, as well as to identify the determinants of interregional differences of the studied parameters in Russia as a whole and in regions with similar type-forming features. The spatial analysis of the degree of using information and communication technology and information and telecommunication networks by the rural population for obtaining various services and purchasing goods is carried out. Four classification groups of Russian regions with similar typological features are received: the share of the rural population which used the Internet for state and municipal services and the share of the rural population who purchased goods and services online. We characterized the typological groups in the space of socio-economic and demographic parameters of regional development. Based on regression models the role and influence of economic, demographic, and social factors on the performance of the process of informatization of rural areas in terms of using the possibility of obtaining public services and purchasing goods in electronic form in different typological groups of regions of the Russian Federation. Interregional comparisons are carried out, along with comparative analysis of the influence of the considered factors on positive dynamics of using the means of information and communication technology for the designated purposes by rural population in each typological group is carried out. It is established that in the presence of significant regional differentiation, there are common objective factors determining the processes of receiving e-services by the rural population. The research results also showed a significant role of the level of human capital development in the development of the process of informatization of the Russian village. Research methods include cluster analysis and regression modeling.