Regional Convergence in Russia: Estimating a Neoclassical Growth Model

43 Pages Posted: 23 Mar 2020 Last revised: 16 Apr 2023

See all articles by Hartmut Lehmann

Hartmut Lehmann

University of Bologna - School of Economics, Management, and Statistics; IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Aleksey Y. Oshchepkov

National Research University Higher School of Economics (Moscow)

Maria Silvagni

University of Bologna - School of Economics, Management, and Statistics

Abstract

In this paper, we study convergence in per capita gross regional products across Russian regions in the period from 1996 to 2017. To this purpose, we estimate growth equations, which are directly derived from a neoclassical growth model, augmented with human capital and migration. To our knowledge, this is the first paper that explicitly applies a neoclassical model to analyze the regional convergence process in the Russian case. We also take into account possible spatial effects and do a series of other robustness checks. Our main estimates establish a convergence rate of around 2% per year. While we fail to find any role of human capital for regional economic growth, we find that interregional migration and interdependencies of the growth experience of Russian regions contribute to economic convergence between them.

Keywords: convergence, economic growth, regional economics, migration, Russia

JEL Classification: O47, R11, P2

Suggested Citation

Lehmann, Hartmut F. and Oshchepkov, Aleksey Y. and Silvagni, Maria, Regional Convergence in Russia: Estimating a Neoclassical Growth Model. IZA Discussion Paper No. 13039, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3558337 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3558337

Hartmut F. Lehmann (Contact Author)

University of Bologna - School of Economics, Management, and Statistics ( email )

Piazza Scaravilli 1
40126 Bologna, fc 47100
Italy

IZA Institute of Labor Economics

P.O. Box 7240
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

Aleksey Y. Oshchepkov

National Research University Higher School of Economics (Moscow) ( email )

Myasnitskaya, 20
Moscow, 101000
Russia

Maria Silvagni

University of Bologna - School of Economics, Management, and Statistics ( email )

Piazza Scaravilli 1
40126 Bologna, 47100
Italy

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