The Uneven Development of Siberian Regions: Impact on Migration Loss

Abstract

The article analyzes the impact of the uneven socioeconomic development of the regions of the Siberian Federal District on the migration loss. Using the GRP (gross domestic product) indicator, the author demonstrates significant differences in the level of the socioeconomic development of Siberian regions. The trend towards a decrease in natural increase in Siberia that has emerged in recent years is exacerbated by an increase in migration loss, which has covered a number of regions of the Siberian Federal District. The article contains an overview of modern trends in the field of migration movements, identifies the features of these movements in Siberian regions. On the example of Omsk Oblast, which has demonstrated the most profound migration loss in recent years, the leading factors of influence on migration processes are identified: the fiscal capacity of the region; low wages in the region, the share of the population whose cash income is below the minimum subsistence level; environmental woes; the opportunity of continuing education, obtaining future-oriented professions; conditions for the development of small and medium-sized businesses; the stability of the regional economy; and climatic conditions. Using the methods of quantitative and qualitative analysis, the author assesses the manifestation of each factor in the indicators of migration loss in Siberian regions. The study did not show a direct relationship between the fiscal capacity of the region, the level of wages, and the indicators of migration growth. At the same time, the connection between migration loss and the state support of regions in the educational sphere or the developing assistance to small and medium-sized businesses is more clearly visible. The special role of youth migration is emphasized. The analysis of the identified trends shows that the growing differences between regions will contribute to depopulation trends in some regions and to the loss of complexity in the reproduction of macroregional socioeconomic ties. The author emphasizes that the fiscal capacity of the region should remain the main criterion for federal support, and the state system of budgetary incentives should be implemented in accordance with the needs of the regions and the characteristics of the territorial labor market. In the final part, the measures to improve the spatial strategy of Russia at the present stage are proposed. The idea of macroregional development presented in the strategy should be supplemented by the prescribed mechanisms of interaction between business communities registered in different subjects of the federation, within the framework of promising cluster formations.