Intra-regional typology of rural areas (the case study of the Vologda oblast)

The article analyzes the types of rural areas on the example of the Vologda Oblast. It discusses the approach to rural areas as the aggregate of rural areas, distinguished by the level and conditions of development, describes their main socio-economic problems. The territories of the region are grouped by type in accordance with the adapted version of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development method. On the basis of indicators revealing the urbanization level and distance from major cities the author singles out four groups of areas: predominantly urban, predominantly rural, mixed approximate, mixed distant. The territorial groups are compared by a number of key indicators revealing relevant rural problems. In addition, on the basis of the typology the author tests a number of hypotheses about the dependence of rural development on the share of rural population and remoteness from large cities. The article states that the peripheral regions are characterized by lower provision of transport and water supply infrastructure and greater migration outflow. It partly confirms the hypothesis of dependence of wages on the share of rural population. The lack or scarcity of the data on the informal labor market does not allow the author to identify significant differences in the level of unemployment and its characteristics between different types of areas in the region. The main result of the study is the following: there is a weak dependence of the labor market on the proportion of rural population and the fragmentation of settlement and a non-strict dependence of infrastructure development and migration outflow on the remoteness from large cities