Correlation between economic complexity and economic development in different types of Russian regions

Abstract

Economic complexity, according to the results of various studies at the country level, can be used as an indicator of economic development: more developed countries usually have a higher level of economic complexity. For Russian regions, the relationship between economic complexity, the level of innovative development and investment attractiveness is also revealed. This paper identifies the correlation between the complexity of export and the level of economic development for Russian regions and their separated more homogeneous groups. The results obtained by the author for regions of Russia contradict the rule identified for countries. For all Russian regions, there is a slight inverse correlation between the complexity of export and the value of per capita GRP. A slight positive correlation was found only for regions with a low export-to-GRP ratio and a high level of economic complexity. Such results are explained by the simple structure of Russian export, because of this the main recipients of export income are regions with a lower level of economic complexity — mainly oil and gas producing regions, as well as capitals that act as intermediaries.