On the Relationship of Indicators of Sustainable Development, Quality of Life and the Share of Creative Middle Class

Abstract

This article describes the study of existence of the relationship between individual factors of sustainable development from a qualitative point of view. It is revealed that new essential characteristics of the “middle class”, connected with sustainable development, are being formed. This makes it necessary to display them by introducing a new concept of “creative middle class”. The purpose of this study is to identify the relationship between improving the environment, the quality of life of the population, the processes of formation of a creative middle class and the results of socio-economic policies to ensure sustainable development of the territory. This study was conducted on the basis of a semi-formalized mass interview. Sustainability is considered for two regions of Siberia (Kemerovo and Tomsk regions), which differ in the specialization of economies: the mining region and the innovation region. In the RIA rating of the Russian regions on the quality of life, these regions, despite the different specialization of economies, occupy fairly close positions, being in the middle of the rating table. The hypothesis regarding the role of the creative middle class as the main subject and the main driver of socio- economic transformations for ensuring the sustainable development of the region in the long term and improving the quality of life of the population has been partially confirmed. This can be explained by the fact that the process of forming a creative middle class is at the initial stage. Manifestations of innovative features in the economic and social activity of the subjective middle class in the Tomsk region were not identified.