Tag: spatial inequality

PATTERNS OF SPATIAL DEVELOPMENT: EVIDENCE FROM RUSSIA

Veronika MASLIKHINA

Ph.D. in Economics, Associate Professor of  Department of Management and Law, Volga State University of Technology, Yoshkar-Ola, Russia

Maslikhina_nika@mail.ru

Abstract

The aim of the paper is to analyze the trends of spatial inequality in Russia in 1994-2015 based on the convergence concepts. Russia faced the problem of inter-regional inequality as well as most countries. The situation is aggravated by the external economic and domestic factors in recent years. The fall in energy prices and Western sanctions had a negative impact on the country’s economic development. Russia is compelled to take into account geopolitical interests in the implementation regional policies in some regions (the Far East, the Crimea, the Kaliningrad region, the republics of the North Caucasus, the Arctic). Many regional budgets have budget deficit, highly debt load. They optimize spending on the social sphere and reduce investments in the real economy. Russia is emerging from the crisis despite the difficult situation. A review of the theoretical positions of the four types of convergence concepts (σ-, β-, γ-, ρ-convergence) was made. The spatial inequality evaluation was carried out on the basis of σ-convergence and absolute β-convergence concepts. The Williamson coefficient, the Hoover index, the Theil index and the Atkinson index were used to analyze spatial inequality based on the σ-concept. Differentiation has increased over the analyzed period, but gap decreased after 2005. The  convergence speed  is 1.79% in Russia. Regions with a low initial level of development have higher growth rates than regions with a higher initial level of development

Keywords: spatial inequality, spatial development, β-convergence, σ-convergence, Russia

JEL classification: D63, O52, R1, R58
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ZIPF’S LAW AS ASSESSMENT TOOL OF URBAN INEQUALITY

Inna MANAEVA

World Economy Chair –Belgorod State National Research University, Russia, http://www.bsu.edu.ru
In.manaeva@yandex.ru

Svetlana RASTVORTSEVA

World Economy Chair –Belgorod State National Research University, Russia, http://www.bsu.edu.ru
Srartvortseva@gmail.ru

Abstract

The paper is concerned with the topical issues of regional economics – urban inequality in the Russian Federation. Empirical investigations of Zipf’s law were studied in the foreign and Russian literature. Application of this law for assessment of urban inequality using the method of least squares was substantiated. Assessment of urban inequality within the boundaries of the RF federal districts by the indices of population, volume of own production of goods and services is carried out in the paper. The authors used the data of the Federal State Statistics Service for 2014, the investigation included the settlements with the status of a town and with the population over 100 thousand people. Zipf’s law displays over the entire territory of Russia. By the population index in the federal districts, Zipf’s factor varies within the range from – 0.7 (Northwestern Federal District) to – 0.9 (North Caucasian Federal District). As a result of the performed analysis of the Russia’s cities by the population index, Zipf’s factor is within the range from –0.3 (Northwestern Federal District) to –1.2 (Central Federal District). Analysis of the volume of production of goods and services determined the range of Zipf’s factor from –0.26 (North Caucasian Federal District) to – 0.7 (Central and Volga Federal Districts). By the index of population and volume of production of goods and services the following “primate cities” are determined: Moscow and Saint Petersburg, Yekaterinburg (population), which allows to draw a conclusion on their dominance in urban system and high differentiation of cities by these indices. The obtained empirical estimators prove that Russia has no intermediate group of cities macroregional centers. The results of the investigation can be used for creation of methodological tools to develop the mechanisms of smoothing of interregional inequality, program of economic and social development of cities.

Keywords: city, spatial inequality, Zipf’s law, population, population density

JEL classification: R12

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