Analysis of Approaches for the Measurement of the Spatial Digital Divide in Russia and Abroad

Abstract

Despite the increasing role and importance of digitalization at the present stage of development of the world economy, the problem of digital inequality is also worsening. From the point of view of sustainable spatial development of the economy, it is important to measure the digital inequality between cities and regions, urbanized and rural areas. This article is devoted to the study of approaches to the measurement of digital inequality at the national and regional level. The authors conducted a comparative analysis of the most wellknown national indexes of development of the digital economy, rating approaches to the assessment of the development of "smart cities", research methods of digitalization of the regions. The analysis of the Russian market of data processing centers in the context of regions and main players is carried out, the factors of its development are revealed. It is established that economic problems are concentrated in the absence of a business model for implementing smart city and smart region technologies in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. Infrastructure problems, in turn, are associated with the phenomenon of digital inequality in Russian regions, low payback for IT-projects, and the lack of a single policy and a single driver for the implementation of the concepts under consideration. The main limitations and shortcomings of existing approaches to the measurement of spatial aspects of digital inequality are significant underestimation of the socioeconomic effects of digitalization at all levels, the lack of integrated methods of evaluation and ratings of digitalization of the regional level, the lack of estimates of intraregional digital inequality, which in the Russian economy is extremely important.