Living standards in the Far Eastern region: approaches to monitoring and reducing imbalances

Ensuring uniform standards of living is among the priorities of the socio-economic policy of state, but lack of unified approaches to assessing and measuring the standards of living poses a significant challenge in achieving this goal. The study aims to develop a comprehensive monitoring and assessment system for living standards based on dynamic regulation and system analysis of socio-economic indicators. The purpose of this work is developing and testing a methodology for a systematic analysis of living standards using the example of regions in the Far East. A comprehensive approach to understanding the relationship between the indicators characterizing living standards and functioning of the socio-economic system has been developed, including 9 indicators based on basic poverty theories. Based on this approach, four graphs have been developed to illustrate the relationship between these indicators. These graphs help to identify trends and patterns in living standards, as well as provide a basis for policy recommendations to improve the standard of living in these regions. Based on graphs, indicators of the standard of living for the regions of the Far East were calculated using the dynamic standard method, According to the same methodology, a comparison with all-Russian indicators was carried out, for which an automated complex for assessing the standard of living was developed. There were identified the causes of differences in the living standards compared to the potentially possible ones through analysis of inversions and the origin of these disparities in the socio-economic system (internal or external factors). The most common problems leading to lower standards of living in the Far East include low incomes with a high rate of price increase, low economic productivity, and/or a large proportion of the informal sector, as well as insufficient availability of social infrastructure. It has been found out that Chukotka AO, the Jewish AO, Magadan Oblasts, Sakhalin Oblast, and Khabarovsk Krai have the worst standards of living. The ways to improve this situation are offered.