Spatial Distribution of Human Development Index in the Regions of Russia

Abstract

Spatial effects in human development levels among different regions of a territory are important to study in the context of the core-periphery model. We use different methods to study human development index (HDI) for 85 Russian regions. The authors studied the human development index (HDI) for 85 Russian regions. Methods of spatial statistics (econometrics) are used to estimate the ‘spatial gradient’ in economic geography (Moran’s global and local I, Geary’s C, Getis-Ord global G indices). As a weighting matrix we used a contiguity matrix, taking into account the HDI levels only in neighboring regions. Analysis of the global indices of Moran’s I, Geary’s C and Getis-Ord G and Morans scatter plots showed the presence of time-inconsistent spatial autoregressive dependence of the level of HDI in regions of Russia. The ‘spatial gradient’ of the level of human development in Russia is influenced by historically existing imbalances (due to strong oil and gas export-oriented nature of the economy) and insufficient use of human capital. To our view the regional differentiation in human development among the regions is caused primarily by the ‘catching up’ style of Russian economy: human capital is concentrated in regions with already high level of development, although in terms of growth rates Moscow and St. Petersburg are not the leaders. The territorial and geopolitical policies of Russian Federation also influence HDI distribution. For example, huge public investments in the regions of Russian Far East are often ineffective.

Spatial modeling of human potential in the Republic of Bashkortostan

“…Анализ показал тенденцию к повышению дифференциации регионов по уровню человеческого капитала вследствие «догоняющего типа» российской экономики, при котором выделяются регионы-лидеры с высокими уровнями человеческого потенциала, что соответствует концепции «центр-периферия». Также исследованию пространственного распределения человеческого капитала посвящена работа [9].…”

Analysis Of Spatial Distribution Of Human Development Index In Republic Of Bashkortostan

“…A separate issue is the problem of correct assessment of human capital on the micro-and mesolevels (districts and regions of countries). Due to the unavailability of complete data for making estimations on UN's micro-and meso-levels, researchers frequently have to resort to modifications of this technique depending on the country that it is applied to (Anichin & Timofeev, 2013;Shamsutdinova, 2018). For example, one study (Anichin & Timofeev, 2013) describes a further evolution of this technique based on rejecting change transformations (taking logarithms) and provides an estimation of this index for ten regions of Russia using the data of 2009.…”