STATIC AND DYNAMIC COMPARATIVE ASSESSMENT OF SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF REGIONS

Abstract

The results of an adequate assessment of the socio-economic state and directions of development of any region are necessary for both regional and federal authorities. The choice of a right strategy for improving the quality and standard of living of the population of a given region depends on this assessment. The authors propose a new approach to obtaining a static and dynamic picture of the results of the implementation of socio-economic policy in a region, which directly affects the quality and standard of living of its population. Widely used approaches based on the calculation of one integral indicator or on the comparison of particular indicators of the quality and standard of living of region’s population do not allow us to obtain a consistent and objective picture of the socio-economic development. The proposed approach is based on the analysis of the trajectory of “movement” of a region in space of two coordinates that objectively reflect the quality and standard of living of population. An indicator “average per capita income of the population” is selected to assess the standard of living, and an indicator “life expectancy at birth” is selected to assess the quality of life. Static assessment allows to get a picture of a location of regions in the space of these two selected coordinates and to get a basis for conducting an interregional comparison, as well as to assess the quality and standard of living of the population of a region in comparison with average Russian values. Dynamic assessment allows to obtain information about changes in the level and quality of life of the population of a region over a selected time period, analyze positive and negative trends in certain areas of the constructed trajectory, assess the consequences of decisions taken by the authorities of this region in the implementation of tasks for condition improvement. The proposed approach allows us to obtain consistent results that enable us to assess the achieved level of implementation of the socio-economic policy in a region in comparison to other regions, as well as during a selected time interval.