Socio-economic inequality of regions in the Russian Federation: measurement issues and long-term evaluation

The article is devoted to the problem of interregional differences in the economic area of the Russian Federation. The research covers a long period (from 1990 to 2020), since this period saw significant changes in the economic, institutional and political structure of the country. The assessment of the level of differences of regions is based on the main socio-economic indicators, data on which are formed in the system of state regional statistics. The Theil index was used as the basic method for measuring inequality. This made it possible to assess the dynamics of the spatial localization of economic activity in terms of the main socio-economic indicators, as well as form the groundwork for continuing the research - assessing its intragroup and intergroup components in the sectoral aspect. For a structural analysis of the problem of regional differences, we propose our own algorithm that allows us to form a discrete variation series and calculate the integral decile coefficient. The numerical implementation of the proposed algorithm made it possible to compile a multidimensional classification of regions according to the level of their economic activity and calculate the decile coefficient on this basis; the decile coefficient integrates the totality of the main socio-economic indicators adopted for the research. The results of the research show the long-term dynamics of the growth of differences and its significant level in comparison with the pre-reform period. A numerical assessment of the measure of differences, measured using the integral decile coefficient for a set of basic economic indicators of the regions, has been compiled. On this basis, it was found that in the long term (1995-2020) the level of economic differences of the regions increased from 2.4 to 5.6 times. A classification of regions according to the level of economic activity has been compiled, which reflects the nature of the differences of the regions of the Russian Federation, as well as the geography of the location of centers of concentration of economic activity.