Interconnection between the level of digital environment development and labor productivity

The purpose of the article is to analyze the presence and a degree of dependence of digital development levels and labor productivity on the basis of data on digital infrastructure development and labor productivity in entities of the Russian Federation. The authors' calculations were based on official statistical information available on the website of Federal State Statistics Service and collections published by Rosstat in association with NRU HSE. The relevance of the research is caused by the fact that, in conditions of digital transformation of the economy, the identification of the interconnection between the level of digital environment development and labor productivity makes it possible to develop more reasonable management decisions. The level of digital environment development was assessed on the basis of an objective criterion, proposed by the authors, which allows assessing its state in the regional context. The index includes three sub-indices that characterize a possibility of physical access to telecommunications networks, a degree of this infrastructure usage by population, and indicators that reflect changes in infrastructure which are necessary for modern production. The level of labor productivity was reconstructed by the authors on the basis of two most common methods of its calculation: per person employed in the economy and per man-hour worked. Various economic and mathematical methods of analysis, correlation analysis in particular, were used. As the result, the authors came to conclusions that indicators, related to the digital infrastructure usage by population, have more significant links with labor productivity. It confirms a thesis that the digitalization strategy in the country is aimed at the non-production sphere and state management, not at the industry. The scientific novelty of the research is that the authors use economic and mathematical methods to assess the results of digitalization.